The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.

  ABU DHABI / WAM Shareholders in First Gulf Bank PJSC (FGB) and National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), have approved a proposed merger of the two banks, which will create the largest financial institution in the UAE with assets of approximately AED655 billion (US$178 billion). At separate general assembly meetings held on Wednesday, shareholders in FGB and NBAD voted ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM Fares Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation for Security and Military Affairs, met on Wed-nesday, Mikhail Bogdanov, Russian President’s Special Representative for the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia. During the meeting, the duo discussed bilateral relations and ways to enhance them, as well as means ...

  DUBAI / WAM HH Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) unveiled the first ‘Smart Lounge’ of the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) to strengthen customer service standards and to ensure round-the-clock access to DED’s business registration and licensing services. Dedicated user-friendly and interactive kiosks and smart devices are ...

  Saddha Batolni / AFP A Pakistani plane carrying 48 people crashed on Wednesday in the country’s mountainous north and burst into flames killing everyone on board, authorities said, in one of the deadliest aviation accidents in the country’s history. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Flight PK661 came down while travelling from the city of Chitral to Islamabad, the civil aviation ...

  Bangkok / AFP Thai authorities are investigating the BBC over a Thai-language profile of the nation’s new king, officials said on Wednesday, after the article outraged ultra-royalists in a country where criticism of the monarchy is outlawed. Thailand’s harsh royal defamation law has been used to jail scores of critics and spawned a culture of self-censorship across the media, academia ...

  Meureudu / AFP Rescuers scrabbled through the rubble of shattered homes, shops and mosques in search of survivors on Wednesday after a powerful earthquake struck western Indonesia and killed at least 97 people. The shallow 6.5-magnitude quake struck Pidie Jaya district in Aceh province at dawn as many in the mainly Muslim region on Sumatra island were preparing for morning ...

  Brussels / AFP Damaging economic sanctions imposed on Russia over the Ukraine crisis must be kept in place to force Moscow to meet its Minsk ceasefire commitments, NATO head Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday. “The international community must keep pressure on Russia to respect its obligations, especially (when) the security situation in eastern Ukraine remains so serious,” Stoltenberg said ...

  Seoul / AFP Friends and associates of the woman at the heart of a corruption scandal engulfing South Korean President Park Geun-Hye told a hearing on Wednesday her influence extended to everything from Park’s wardrobe to senior appointments. The impeachment-threatened Park has been accused of letting long-time confidante Choi Soon-Sil meddle in a wide range of state affairs, and ...

  The Hague / AFP Prosecutors urged UN judges on Wednesday to jail Ratko Mladic for life, accusing the former Serb commander of a ruthless campaign of ethnic cleansing to create a Greater Serbia in the 1990s Balkans wars. “It would be… an insult to the victims, living and dead, and an affront to justice to impose any sentence other than ...

  MANAMA / WAM The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states and the United Kingdom have agreed to launch the GCC-UK Strategic Partnership to foster closer relations in all fields, including political, defence, security, and trade. This was announced on Wednesday, following the first GCC-UK Summit in Manama, which was presided over by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, ...