NEW DELHI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, met in New Delhi On Thursday with Pranab Mukherjee, the President of the Republic of India. The Indian President received His Highness Sheikh Mohamed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Presidential Palace. Sheikh Mohamed is on ...
Read More »Kerry signals ‘crunch time’ on Syria
Secretary of State John Kerry said in an interview that the US is nearing a final “crunch time†on Syria — in which it will either make progress toward a cease-fire or begin moving toward “Plan B” and new military moves. For Kerry-watchers, it’s a familiar moment of brinkmanship: He’s making a last, desperate push for a diplomatic breakthrough with ...
Read More »US-India patrols in the South China Sea
Early on Wednesday, Reuters published an interesting exclusive, suggesting that the United States and Indian navies are considering the idea of jointly conducting patrols in the South China Sea. It isn’t explicit if the idea under consideration is a bilateral US-India freedom of navigation patrol, which would require Indian and US vessels to challenge excessive maritime claims, or simply a ...
Read More »EU’s austerity must not hurt economies
European Union’s (EU) austerity measures have divided Europe as many member states are calling for relaxing these to address domestic concerns. While the goal of austerity is to reduce government debt through reduction of government spending, their effectiveness remains controversial. But with EU economies once again facing stagnation and unemployment persisting at record highs while Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in ...
Read More »TAPI survey work
With Eurasian economic troubles showing no signs of abating, the government in Turkmenistan is casting about for public proclamations of plans to stanch the slowdown. Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has begun shuffling members of his administration and, a few weeks ago, publicly castigated a senior Cabinet official. That official is now reportedly jailed. In an administration as opaque as Berdymukhamedov’s, ...
Read More »Why the USA-ASEAN Sunnylands summit matters
From February 15-16, U.S. president Barack Obama will host Southeast Asian leaders as well as the ASEAN Secretary-General for a special summit at the historic Sunnylands Center in Rancho Mirage, California. While observers may be looking for headlines on big-ticket items such as the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea, the true significance of ...
Read More »Count the New Hampshire losers and move on
Who had it worst in New Hampshire? Hillary Clinton: Might as well start with the obvious one, but her defeat is unlikely to cost her the nomination. It may be similar to George W. Bush’s landslide loss to John McCain in New Hampshire in 2000. There was a fuss, but nothing more, as it turned out. Chris Christie: The first ...
Read More »For a happy and tolerant UAE!
RITIKA SHARMA The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has a Minister of Happiness now, and guess what is adding to the beauty of this position? The minister is a female! In an exemplary move, UAE has appointed Her Excellency Ohood Al Roumi as the Minister of State for Happiness. While some countries are banning females from entering public spheres and others ...
Read More »Kazakhstan in political bind
Catherine Putz SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS Kazakhstan still finds itself situated awkwardly between two long-time allies: Russia and Turkey. Up until late November 2015, when Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet it claimed violated its territory, Russia and Turkey were allies too. Now, Russians won’t be vacationing in Turkey any time soon and Turkish businesses in Russia are facing ...
Read More »Learning anytime, anywhere
Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Technology adds tempo to life. One of the major sectors that is reaping benefits out of the technology marvels is education. E-classrooms have started dominating the traditional form of learning, providing countless online resources for students. Draft a roadmap for the future, leading global technology stalwarts are converging in GESS Dubai next month (March 1-3). ...
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