UAE. Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been ranked as the 23rd and 33rd most expensive cities to live in (respectively) according to Mercer’s 2015 Cost of Living Survey. The two cities have experienced a significant jump compared to 2014, with Dubai soaring 44 places from last year’s position at 67 and Abu Dhabi going up 35 places 68th in 2014. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the most […]
Every week, The National looks at the people and politics of the UAE, as the country steps more confidently forward on the world stage. June 11 New Zealand military visit to Ajman Museum A military delegation from New Zealand visited Ajman Museum and was received by Faisal Al Nuaimi, general manager of Ajman Tourism Development Department accompanied by ATDD national heritage adviser Ali Al Matroushi. Mr Al […]
ABU DHABI // The prices of meat and vegetables increased by 20 per cent and 5 per cent respectively by vendors in Mina Market on the eve of Ramadan. According to Al Ittihad, The National’s Ararbic sister publication, workers at Mina Market expressed their anger at the price rise, which they claim happens every year on this occasion. They said some vegetable and meat vendors were deliberately […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Islamic State fighters are preventing fuel shipments from reaching rebel-held parts of northern Syria, causing severe shortages that are paralyzing ambulances, stopping medical centers from providing care and shutting down bakeries, according to antigovernment activists and aid workers. Adding to the misery, international aid groups said, the forces of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, are targeting medical centers in opposition areas, killing some workers and […]
SANTIAGO, Chile — A haunting, yellowish glow radiates from the tiny section of empty wooden benches and crumbling concrete behind the north goal at Estadio Nacional. All around this space there is noise: 47,000 soccer fans screaming and jumping in delight as Chile’s national team plays Ecuador in the opening game of the Copa América. But no one sits on those wooden benches. They are reserved in […]
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Thursday called for a radical transformation of politics, economics and individual lifestyles to confront environmental degradation and climate change, as his much-awaited papal encyclical blended a biting critique of consumerism and irresponsible development with a plea for swift and unified global action. The vision that Francis outlined in the 184-page encyclical is sweeping in ambition and scope: He described a relentless […]
MUMBAI India’s oldest and most distinguished IT firms are doing what would have been almost sacrilegious a few years ago – holding coding marathons to develop innovative fixes and deploying “commando” units to resolve clients’ IT woes within hours. Infosys (INFY.NS), Wipro (WIPR.NS) and other Indian IT giants, which rose to prominence during the outsourcing boom in the 1990s and 2000s, have struggled to keep pace with […]
MRC Global announced that its subsidiary, MRC Transmark Middle East FZE, has signed a framework agreement with Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), naming MRC Transmark Middle East as one of SABIC’s primary valve suppliers to SABIC’s operations in Saudi Arabia. SABIC, headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ranks among the world’s top petrochemical companies. It operates from more than 50 countries and has more than 60 manufacturing and […]
By RICK GLADSTONE June 17, 2015 The monitoring group overseeing the destruction of Syria’s chemical arms stockpile said Wednesday that almost all effluent from the neutralized weapons had been eliminated, portraying the progress as a great success in the nearly two years since Syria agreed to relinquish its arsenal. But the news from the group, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, was partly overshadowed by outrage over […]
Trevor Tasin with three of his sons: John, 11; Ben, 13; and Dominic, 2. Mr. Tasin, a pilot who retired as a major in 2014 after flying Predator drones and training new pilots. By CHRISTOPHER DREW and DAVE PHILIPPS June 16, 2015 CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — After a decade of waging long-distance war through their video screens, America’s drone operators are burning out, and the Air Force is being […]
Visitors at the exhibit “A Brief History of Humankind” at the Israel Museum. The museum is Israel’s largest cultural institution, presiding over Jerusalem from a hilltop site alongside the Knesset and the Supreme Court. By ISABEL KERSHNER June 17, 2015 JERUSALEM — A softly lit case displays a small, gnarled implement that is said to be the world’s oldest known complete sickle, dating back 9,000 years. On a wall […]
File photo of Stephen Elop introducing the Nokia Lumia 930 mobile phone during Microsoft’s ”build” conference in San Francisco, California April 2, 2014. Reuters/Robert Galbraith/Files SEATTLE Stephen Elop, the former top boss at phone-maker Nokia, is one of four high-level executives leaving Microsoft Corp as the company sharpens its focus on software services and the cloud, Chief Executive Satya Nadella announced on Wednesday. The departure of Elop, […]
|TAP Special| The airlines muddle involving Gulf and Western airlines got murkier, with the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, representing more than 25,000 active flight attendants at American Airlines getting the International Labour Organization to issue a report calling on Qatar Airways to remove a clause from its flight attendant contracts that allows the company to terminate members of the flight crew upon becoming pregnant. “It is […]
LOS ANGELES Virtual reality gaming, once a distant concept, became the new battleground at this year’s E3 industry convention, with developers seeking to win over fans with their immersive headsets and accessories. Microsoft, Sony and virtual reality company Oculus are squaring off at the June 16-18 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, promoting their virtual reality accessories. Dan Ackerman, a senior editor at online technology and […]
ME firms facing challenges in human capital trends BEIRUT, 1 days ago The readiness to address challenges in learning & development, reinventing human resources (HR), leadership, and culture & engagement is decreasing in Middle East organisations, a report said. This raises the question of whether leaders are doing enough to prepare their organisations to respond to today’s most pressing business and human capital needs, added the Global […]
UAE. Private wealth in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) showed solid growth in 2014 (8.4 percent), according to a new report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Global Wealth 2015: Winning the Growth Game, being released today. In the UAE, the growth of private wealth was driven mainly by equities. After all, between 2013 and 2014, the amount of wealth held in equities rose by 13.8 percent […]
UAE. EY’s Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) Fraud Survey, Fraud and corruption – the easy option for growth?, has found that many businesses still do not have the basic building blocks in place for effective compliance. Only 52% of MENA respondents stated they had an anti-bribery or anti-corruption (ABAC) policy and code of conduct in place. The survey, which polled 3,800 employees of large businesses […]
INTERNATIONAL. Oil production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) totaled 31.11 million barrels per day (b/d) in May, up 180,000 b/d from April and the group’s highest monthly volume since October 2012, according to the latest Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts. “OPEC’s communique after the June 5 meeting mentioned that members had been urged to adhere to its production […]
By KAREEM FAHIM June 16, 2015 BAGHDAD — Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen released a video statement on Tuesday confirming the death of its leader, Nasser al-Wuhayshi, in an American missile strike last week. His death was also confirmed by the Obama administration on Tuesday. Mr. Wuhayshi, 38, who had led Qaeda operations in Yemen since 2002 and was also the global extremist network’s second-ranking leader, was killed along […]
The theme so far this week at the three-day Electronic Entertainment Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center has been video-gaming, with Sony claiming the keynote address slot. Here are nine announcements from the conference so far: New “Doom” on the Way Bethesda got E3 under way by showing off the latest installments of first-person shooter “Doom” and post-apocalyptic role-playing saga “Fallout 4.” The latter game will […]
The online file-sharing service Box on Tuesday announced a “deep integration” with Microsoft Office Online that will let users more easily open, edit and save Office documents. Box users will now be able to manage Office files directly from Box and automatically save any changes in real time without having to open other applications installed on their devices. The new integration eliminates the need for users to […]
The black flag of the Islamic State, left, flew over Tal Abyad, Syria, on Tuesday. After Kurdish and rebel fighters took over the town later Tuesday, they hoisted a Kurdish militia flag. By BEN HUBBARD June 16, 2015 ISTANBUL — Kurdish militias and rebel fighters on Tuesday took full control of the strategic Syrian town of Tal Abyad on Turkey’s border, striking a blow against the Islamic State and expanding […]
Video | Morsi Death Sentence Confirmed by Judge A judge in Egypt announced the confirmation of last month’s sentence of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK June 16, 2015 CAIRO — An Egyptian judge slammed the rule of the deposed president Mohamed Morsi as “a black night that lasted a whole year” and confirmed a death sentence against […]
OMA Emirates implements Ingenio terminal for NBO SHARJAH, 14 hours, 16 minutes ago OMA Emirates, a provider of cutting edge technology for the payment industry, has implemented its Ingenico Point of Sales (POS) solution for National Bank of Oman (NBO). The technologically advanced payment terminal from Ingenico used by OMA Emirates – Solution Gulf that works on multi communication protocol will make it possible for mobile and […]
