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  Bloomberg UK pension deficits surged by 100 billion pounds ($131.4 billion) in August, as the gap between company set-asides and their obligations to retirees ballooned by more than 16 percent in a month. So-called defined benefit pensions, which pay retirees fixed amounts based on service, were underfunded by 710 billion pounds as of August 29, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s ...

  AFP Apple chief Tim Cook on Thursday slammed a European Commission ruling demanding the US tech behemoth pay Ireland €13 billion in back-taxes as “political crap”, urging the Irish government to launch an appeal. “It’s total political crap,” Cook told the Irish Independent newspaper, of European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager’s assertion that the company had paid a tax rate ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business According to demographic forecasts, the world population will reach 9 billion by the year 2050 with 70% living in urban areas, according to a United Nations survey. A strong emphasis on solving problems faced by people living in the world’s cities is therefore needed. Some of the main challenges lie in addressing unmet and ...

  Emirates Business The Galleria on Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi’s luxury shopping and dining destination, unveils family friendly activities for shoppers over Eid Al Adha. All activities have been created to celebrate the joyous holiday, and can be enjoyed by everyone visiting The Galleria this holiday season. A live henna station will host residents of Abu Dhabi, creating traditional ...

  Beirut / AFP Demonstrators crowded the streets on Thursday in a test of strength between Venezuela’s government and opponents seeking a referendum to remove President Nicolas Maduro, raising fears of violence. Thousands of protesters dressed in white marched in the east of the capital, waving signs reading “Change now” in what the opposition dubbed “The Taking of Caracas.” A rival ...

Bloomberg Billionaire Mukesh Ambani said his Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. unit will offer mobile phone calls for free, pressuring existing carriers to follow suit in what’s already one of the world’s lowest-priced wireless markets. Jio’s service will debut Sept. 5 and will be free until December, after which the company will begin charging subscribers as little as 149 rupees ($2.22) ...

  Bloomberg The strength of Australia’s jobs market is being overstated by a surge in casual positions and an inability by workers to secure more hours. While the unemployment rate fell to 5.7 percent in July from 6.3 percent a year earlier, 87 percent of the jobs created in that period were part-time: a definition that covers anything from 1 ...

  Dubai / WAM Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), has recorded strong growth in H1, 2016, becoming the number one financial centre in the Middle East and Africa, with 143 new companies licensed, including 39 leading financial firms. The DIFC has registered significant growth in workforce to over 21,000 professionals across more than 1,500 firms and continued infrastructure development including launch ...

  Dubai / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said on Wednesday that the private sector is a key partner to the public sector in the UAE’s economic development growth and in the country’s ambitious vision for comprehensive development. Sheikh Mohammed made the remarks while visiting the IMG ...

  Abu Dhabi / WAM The federal government takes interest in the national companies that work within the food diversity ecosystem, Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment said. While touring the National Feed and Flour Production and Marketing company in Abu Dhabi, he praised the company’s role in preserving national food diversity, noting that such ...