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Bloomberg Deliveries by drones took a step closer to being allowed in the US after a federal advisory panel agreed on a framework for allowing law enforcement to routinely track the small devices. The committee’s report to the Federal Aviation Administration is a significant step towards widening drone flights to allow them over people, urban areas and over long distances. ...

Bloomberg Facebook Inc. is introducing new facial recognition features that will automatically notify users when their photo is posted on the social network, the company said. The new features are being rolled out in the face of growing pressure on the company from regulators in Europe, the US and elsewhere who have criticised Facebook for spreading fake news, fostering hate ...

Bloomberg Didi Chuxing has scored another investment from SoftBank Group Corp. in a massive funding round that will bankroll the Chinese ride-hailing leader’s exploration of new markets and technologies. Didi said it’s secured new financing of more than $4 billion. That pushed its valuation to about $56 billion and lifts cash reserves to $12 billion, people familiar with the matter ...

EMIRATES BUSINESS Mumbai-based Omkar Realtors & Developers, one of India’s leading brands in redevelopment, boutique and luxury housing has obtained 150 plus EOIs (express of interest) from NRIs in the GCC for its 1200-plus apartments residential project, launched recently. This boutique inventory offering is the biggest realty launch across pan-India, post-RERA, by a branded realty player with Dubai-based NRIs leading ...

Bloomberg Alipay is chasing Chinese tourists to Japan, where it’s signing up a growing number of retailers and eyeing the long-term potential of the nation’s $45 billion digital payments market. The volume of payments processed on Alipay in the country swelled about eight times in the 12 months to September, said Genki Oka, Japan chief executive officer of Ant Financial, ...

Bloomberg Tanzania said Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s local unit belongs to state-owned Tanzania Telecommunications Co., a claim that sets up an ownership dispute between the government and the Indian phone operator. “Airtel, according to the information we have,” is an asset of Tanzania Telecommunications Co., President John Magufuli said on the East African country’s national broadcaster, TBC. “A terrible game was ...

Bloomberg Brazil is expecting to see about 27 billion reais ($8.2 billion) invested into the country’s energy infrastructure over the next six years, the result of an end-of-year flurry of auctions aimed at boosting its electricity capacity. Energy companies won contracts to build about 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) of new power lines and more than 4.5 gigawatts of power plants, ...

Bloomberg Congress is close to lifting a 40-year-old ban on energy development in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but drilling for oil in that frozen wilderness may still be years away as the effort faces exhau- stive environmental reviews and likely lawsuits. It could be a decade or more before any well is drilled, following required environmental scrutiny and permit ...

Bloomberg The last survivor among a slew of major US nuclear power projects is getting one step closer to seeing the light of day. The project could become the first US nuclear plant licensed in recent years that gets to be built, following delays that sent total estimated costs soaring to more than $25 billion. “We hope a decision is ...

Bloomberg Pakistan’s drive to tackle its polluted skies has left it with a problem: It has more dirty fuel oil than it wants. Their solution? Swap it with shipments of cleaner liquefied natural gas. The top oil marketing firm in South Asia’s second-largest economy, Pakistan State Oil Co., is exploring whether it can take delivery of LNG cargoes in return ...