Bored, isolated citizens are a win for Facebook

The tension between the media and technology industries has long been characterised as a fight for users’ attention. The more of it they have, the greater the opportunity to sell new products and services. The advertising technology giants Facebook Inc and Google have turned that into a $200 billion-a-year business. Now that millions of people are stuck at home trying ...

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Hoarding chloroquine won’t cure coronavirus

The need for any kind of treatment to help stem the coronavirus outbreak is acute as cases and hospitalisations continue to mount. But there’s a strong need to balance urgency and evidence. President Donald Trump’s cheerleading of chloroquine and its derivative hydroxychloroquine — older malaria drugs with limited evidence of efficacy in Covid-19 — is arguably dangerous. As he touts ...

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Modi’s India shutdown an unprecedented gamble

Since 2016, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at a prime-time television address that he was withdrawing most of India’s currency overnight, such speeches have been preceded by wild speculation. Modi’s message was even starker than most expected. From midnight [March 24], this country of 1.3 billion will shut down: “For 21 days, forget what going out means.” Modi is ...

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Sheltered in place? Then make masks

It’s no secret that US hospitals are facing a dire shortage of personal protection equipment for their workers. The surgeon general even urged the public to stop buying masks, stating, “They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if health care providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities ...

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How to make a Boeing bailout more palatable

Boeing Co is the least deserving of the corporate needy in the coronavirus crisis, but the nature of its position means it must get a special cut of a $2 trillion aid package working its way through Congress. As the only US company capable of producing a major commercial jetliner, the country’s biggest exporter, and a major defense contractor, it’s ...

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DubaiStore, UAE’s first online shopping initiative goes live

DUBAI / WAM UAE consumers will now be able to shop online with trust and confidence with DubaiStore, a new UAE e-commerce marketplace platform created by Digital Economy Solutions (DES), which has gone live. The new e-commerce platform is an initiative that will facilitate small- and medium-sized businesses to sell their products online, offering healthy competition to big e-commerce players, ...

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Etihad Airways halts all flights from UAE

ABU DHABI / WAM Etihad Airways has announced suspension of all flights departing from Abu Dhabi International Airport for two weeks, and subject to further directives by the relevant authorities. According to a statement released by the airline, the announcement was made following the UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) and the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) ...

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UAE reports 85 new cases of coronavirus

Abu Dhabi / WAM The UAE announced on Wednesday the detection of 85 new coronavirus (Covid-19) cases and the recovery of seven more individuals. The announcement was made by the Ministry of Health and Prevention during a regular press briefing on Wednesday, wherein Dr. Farida Al Hosani, the official spokesperson for the UAE health sector, highlighted the latest Covid-19 developments ...

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Salama posts AED55m net profit

Dubai / Emirates Business Islamic Arab Insurance Company (Salama), the UAE’s largest and oldest takaful provider, announced its audited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2019, reporting a net profit of AED 55 million. The gross written premium grew by 6.25% to reach AED 1,106 million in 2019 compared to AED 1,041 million in 2018. Salama’s focus on ...

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UAE launches fund to unify anti-coronavirus efforts

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE on Wednesday launched a fund for unifying national efforts to combat the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Titled “The Fund of the United Arab Emirates: Homeland of Humanity”, the fund has been launched in coordination with the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) and other humanitarian and charity organisations ...

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