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DUBAI / WAM The Sustainable City, the Middle East’s first fully operational sustainable community, has announced its plan to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic (SUP) within the community by 90 percent as early as next year. The Sustainable City’s phase-out of single-use plastic — a significant environmental polluter with a lasting ecological footprint —will target plastic bags, straws, balloons, ...

DUBAI / WAM Expo 2020 Dubai is inviting anyone in the UAE, no matter their age or nationality, to be part of ‘The World’s Greatest Show in the Making’ tour – a free sneak preview of the 4.38 sqkm Expo site as it nears completion. Passing through those gates for the next 173 days will be a procession of artists ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE, represented by the Ministry of Finance, MoF, recently signed an agreement to encourage and protect mutual investments with the Gambia at the ministry’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi. Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, UAE’s Minister of State for Financial Affairs, and Mamboury Njie, Gambia’s Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, signed the agreement in the presence ...

HOUSTON / WAM Emirati astronauts, Hazzaa Al Mansoori and Sultan Al Neyadi began a training programme at NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Centre, JSC, as part of the preparations for the first Emirati astronaut to travel to the International Space Station (ISS), in approximately 10 weeks from now, aboard the Russian Soyuz-MS 15. The two-week programme includes training on various ...

ABU DHABI / WAM In 2018, the UAE occupied the first and second positions internationally in 47competitiveness indexes covering around 13 development sectors, reflecting its efforts to achieve comprehensive development and the UAE 2021 Vision. The UAE’s accomplishments were documented by several leading international organisations. In the labour sector, the UAE occupied the first position in the “Ease of Employment ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi General Services Company, Musanada, has handed over two internal roads and infrastructure projects at Al Rahba City in Abu Dhabi at a total cost of AED453 million over approximately three million square metres. According to Musanada, execution of these projects, in collaboration with Abu Dhabi City Municipality, formed part of its efforts to realise ...

Bloomberg North Korea warned that upcoming US-South Korea military drills could jeopardise new talks, saying that President Donald Trump pledged to suspend such exercises during his last meeting with Kim Jong-un. A spokesman for North Korea’s foreign ministry told state media on Tuesday that regime was monitoring the so-called Alliance 19-2 exercises planned for next month in South Korea. The ...

Bloomberg Casting himself against Afghanistan’s entrenched political elite and powerful warlords, Faramarz Tamanna is looking to galvanise a new generation of voters who have lived through near constant conflict since the American invasion 18-years ago. The 42-year-old academic and chancellor of the University of Afghanistan is pitching his outsider credentials to the country’s war-weary youth and is the youngest of ...

Bloomberg Mark Esper, President Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, said the US needs more bases “throughout the Indo-Pacific region” to counter China’s “significant technological advancements.” “Alternate operating locations” will be sought as the Pentagon works “to develop new concepts, build a distributed and resilient force posture and field new capabilities to counter these threats,” Esper, who had been serving ...

Bloomberg A meeting of chief Brexit negotiators was one of the most difficult encounters of the last three years, according to European officials, who are bracing for talks to become more hostile under the next British government. The EU side is weighing up possible concessions it could offer the UK to avoid a chaotic no-deal Brexit, according to European officials ...