WTO ministers struggle to forge deals as talks go into overtime
ABU DHABI, UAE – World trade ministers were locked in disagreement Thursday on fisheries subsidies, agriculture and digital customs duties as...Business Economy Geostrategy Global
Saudi Arabia presides over CSTD session to advance science, technology
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia--Saudi Arabia has presided over the 26th session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD)...The participants deliberated on ways to develop science, technology, innovation for the environment, and development of society
The session also took a review of the progress made in implementing the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) outcomes
EU parliament adopts tough rules to tackle gender pay gap
Women earn on average nearly 13 percent less per hour than men for the same work in the 27-nation European...Other rules stipulate that if a company has at least 100 employees, they must publish information regularly on the gender pay gap.
Companies must also negotiate with staff representatives if there is a discrepancy of five percent. Those who break any of the rules face sanctions, including fines.
UK warns against protectionism after US green energy subsidy
London, United Kingdom - Britain on Thursday warned against the threat of protectionism as it slammed the United States for leading...UK Finance Minister Jeremy Snape said the threat of protectionism is making a comeback in the world in the form of subsidy.
US President Biden has launched $370bn initiative of subsidies for green energy and tax cuts for US manufactured e-cars, batteries.
Petrofac shares surge
Petrofact and Hitachi Energy secured a $14.1bn energy deal.European electricity grid operator TenneT awarded the pair multi-year projects to expand offshore wind capacity in the Dutch-German North Sea.
Shares in Petrofac soared 58% to 77.5 pence after the group's outgoing CEO Sami Iskander said the deal would "deliver affordable clean energy for millions of European homes".
UAE launches new weekly shipping service to Qatar, Kuwait
Abu Dhabi, UAE - The AD Ports Group has launched a new weekly shipping service that facilitates commercial and logistic...Through the new service, AD Ports aims to enhance commercial and logistic connectivity with Qatar and Kuwait.
AD Ports Group would provide customers with a digital appointment booking system for the new service through the Advanced Trade and Logistics Platform (ATLP).
Saudi Arabia’s Q4 2022 unemployment rate drops to 8 percent
Dubai, UAE -- Saudi Arabia's unemployment rate dropped in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to the previous quarter, mainly...Legislation and Emiratization programs, job support and follow-up of establishments from all relevant government agencies has led to this rate of unemployment.
GASTAT said Saudi women's unemployment rate decreased from 20.5 percent in the third quarter of 2022 to 15.4 percent in the fourth quarter.
H&M stays in the black
The company's profit more than doubled in the first quarter.Shares in H&M surged following the announcement, rising 9% in the early hours of trading on the Stockholm stock exchange
The world's second largest clothing retailer posted a net profit of 540 million kronor ($51.9 million) for its first quarter
Aldar, Mubadala to develop new commercial assets on Al Maryah Island
Abu Dhabi, UAE - Aldar Properties and Mubadala Investment Company have signed an agreement to develop commercial assets in Al...The addition of the new tower will bring Aldar Investment’s total net leasable area of commercial office space to over 400,000 sqm
Aldar’s active asset management and the increased leasing activity, office leasing occupancy of the four ADGM office towers have reached 96%
Empower to pay $116m dividends
The amount makes 42.5% of the company's paid-up capital.The dividends are approved for the second half of the year 2022, and are set to be paid to shareholders in April
The company expects to pay a minimum dividend $231 million per annum in the first two fiscal years following its DFM listing
Poland asks EU to limit ‘destabilizing’ Ukrainian grain
Warsaw, Poland - Poland's prime minister on Wednesday appealed to Brussels to limit the amount of Ukrainian grain entering the European...Ukraine, one of the world's largest grain exporters, saw its traditional Black Sea export routes blocked or limited by Russia's invasion.
The European Union has since allowed the war-torn country's grain exports to transit through the bloc to other countries.
