Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, has successfully completed the first edition of its Volunteer Emirates 2017 initiative, which took place at Al Manama Private Charity School in Ajman. The popular initiative, which supports the UAE non-profit education sector, saw more than 100 volunteers from across the UAE come together ...
Read More »ADCB opens uBank digital banking centre
Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), created history and set a new standard for digital banking in the UAE with the opening of its first uBank – ADCB’s digital banking centre. uBank at Yas Mall Level 1, Abu Dhabi, is a first of its kind digital banking centre which delivers a transition from conventional banking ...
Read More »US judge temporarily blocks Trump’s travel ban nationwide
SEATTLE / AP A federal judge’s order blocking President Donald Trump’s ban on admitting travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries or any refugees left authorities and advocates wondering what to do Saturday with the people who finally got visas to come to America, only to be turned away. The White House said it would try to get a court ...
Read More »Iran: If enemies do wrong, missiles will come down on them
TEHRAN / AP Iran’s missiles will come down on the country’s enemies if they do wrong, a senior commander in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard was quoted as saying in a Saturday report from semi-official Tasnim news agency. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, chief of the Guard’s airspace division, said: “If the enemy does not walk the line, our missiles come ...
Read More »Refugee agencies brace for funding loss
SALT LAKE CITY / AP Refugee resettlement organizations are bracing for significant funding cuts and possible layoffs over the coming months during President Donald Trump’s temporary refugee ban. The agencies receive a certain amount of federal dollars per refugee they help resettle, which means they would lose a key source of funding unless the Trump administration provides funds in ...
Read More »China lashes out at Mattis’ islands remarks
BEIJING / AP The U.S. is putting regional stability in East Asia at risk, a Chinese spokesman said Saturday following remarks by President Donald Trump’s defense secretary that a U.S. commitment to defend Japanese territory applies to an island group that China claims. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang on Saturday called on the U.S. to avoid discussion of ...
Read More »UN removes former Afghan warlord from blacklist
KABUL/ AP The United Nations has removed the name of a former Afghan warlord from its IS group and al-Qaida sanctions list. According to a statement posted Friday by the Security Council, a UN committee removed Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s name from the sanctions list. The statement said Hekmatyar, leader of Islamist organization Hezb-i-Islami, would no longer have his assets frozen, ...
Read More »India state polls test Modi popularity after currency chaos
NEW DELHI / AP Nearly three years ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a sweeping national election victory with promises to develop the economy and root out corruption. But with a series of key state elections beginning on Saturday, Modi’s popularity — and his surprise currency decree that sparked months of financial uproar — is now being tested. ...
Read More »Trump’s senseless war on Mexico
“Mexico braces for a trade war with Washington,†headline in the Financial Times, Jan. 31, 2017. Let’s hope not, because a trade war triggered by President Trump would be an act of pure economic aggression, unjustified either by the United States’ economic and political interests or by Mexico’s behaviour. It would be the economic equivalent of Russia’s seizure of ...
Read More »Modi reaps the reward of sparing Indians further pain
Most Indians are getting a tax break, thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s botched demonetisation program. A halving of the tax bill for the lower middle class and a 5 percentage point rebate for most companies should go some way to help steady consumption and employment, both of which were hurt by the 8 November ban on high-denomination cash. ...
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