Business of Sport Hacker tournament brings together world’s best in Las Vegas A team of hackers from two North American universities won the “Capture the Flag” championship, a contest seen as the “Olympics of hacking,” which draws together some of the world’s best in the field. In the carpeted ballroom of one of the largest casinos in Las Vegas, the few dozen hackers competing in the challenge […] August 18, 2022
Economy Turkey to re-appoint ambassador to Israel Turkey and Israel will mutually re-appoint ambassadors, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday, marking a milestone in the two countries’ efforts to normalise ties. “Appointment of ambassadors was one of the steps for the normalisation of ties. Such a positive step came from Israel as a result of these efforts, and as Turkey, […] August 18, 2022
Tourism Dubai airport sees Q2 passenger travel surge, hikes annual forecast The operator of Dubai International said on Wednesday over 14 million passengers had travelled through the airport in the second quarter, and raised its forecast for the year to 62.4 million passengers. That was the ninth consecutive quarter that saw greater passenger figures than the prior quarter as international travel demand ramps up amid an […] August 17, 2022
Real Estate Dubai Mall owner Emaar mulls sale of e-commerce business The board of Dubai’s Emaar Properties, which owns the Dubai Mall, will meet on Thursday to discuss the sale of its e-commerce fashion business, the company said today. The meeting, disclosed in a statement, will be held a week after Emaar announced a $2 billion cash and stock buyout of a joint venture partner in […] August 15, 2022
Tourism Tokyo diners can nosh on food at ‘Stranger Things’ cafe Japanese fans of the sci-fi hit “Stranger Things” can chow down on demonic pasta and rock out to retro 1980s tunes at a pop-up cafe inspired by the Netflix Inc horror drama. The shop, a partnership with local restaurant chain Pronto Corp, recently extended its run in the fashionable Shibuya district of Tokyo several months […] August 15, 2022
Tourism Crushed by war, Syrian tourism eyes expat uptick Somar Hazim had high hopes when he opened a hotel in Damascus in 2009, adding to a growing number of boutique guest houses in the Old City that were proving to be a hit with tourists, before war broke out and forced him to close down. Although security returned to Damascus years ago, big-spending foreign […] August 10, 2022
Tourism Wizz Air Abu Dhabi to resume flights to Russia in October European budget airline Wizz Air will resume flights from Abu Dhabi to Moscow from October, it said on Thursday, more than five months after the carrier suspended all services to Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February. The airline’s Abu Dhabi-based joint venture, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, will operate the daily flight from October […] August 9, 2022
Banking & Finance World Bank accuses Lebanese politicians of ‘cruelty’ over deposits The World Bank has said that assertions by Lebanese politicians that deposits kept in the country’s collapsed banking sector are sacred are “cruel” because they “flagrantly contradict the reality.” Lebanon is in the third year of a financial meltdown that has left eight in ten people poor and which the World Bank says is both […] August 4, 2022
Tourism Qatar Airways could revive order for 25 737 MAX airplanes Qatar Airways could revive an order for 25 Boeing 737 MAX airplanes at the Farnborough Airshow, sources told Reuters. On Monday, Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker confirmed that a provisional deal to buy at least 25 of the Boeing planes had lapsed. Boeing and Qatar Airways declined to comment Wednesday but two sources said the […] July 21, 2022
Tourism Emirates boss says travel sector must ‘tough it out’ until 2023 The president of Dubai’s Emirates, which has clashed with London’s Heathrow over its cap on capacity, said on Monday that the air travel industry would return to equilibrium in 2023 and must “tough it out” until then. Speaking at an event at the Farnborough airshow, Tim Clark criticised Heathrow managers for failing to anticipate the […] July 19, 2022
Tourism Qatar Air chief says home-working ‘epidemic’ fuels travel chaos The head of Qatar Airways has said an “epidemic” of home working has contributed to staff shortages that are being widely blamed for travel disruption in Europe this summer. The aviation sector is struggling to secure the staff needed to cope with a post-pandemic surge in air travel, prompting London Heathrow airport to impose curbs […] July 19, 2022
Tourism Israel to boost Asia flights when Saudi Arabia opens airspace Israeli airlines plan to expand and open new routes to India and other Asian destinations after Saudi Arabia announced it would allow unfettered access to its airspace, a move that would save fuel costs and reduce flight times. In the absence of open relations between the countries, however, and given talks on including Oman in […] July 18, 2022
Tourism Saudi Arabia to open airspace to all airlines, including from Israel Saudi Arabia said it would open its airspace to all air carriers, paving the way for more overflights to and from Israel, in a decision welcomed by US President Joe Biden who is due to visit the kingdom on Friday. The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said the country’s airspace was now open […] July 15, 2022
Retail Subway can be sued over its ‘100% tuna’ ads, says judge A federal judge said Subway can be sued for allegedly deceiving customers about its tuna products, including a claim it uses other fish species, chicken, pork and cattle instead of the advertised “100% tuna.” US District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco called it premature to accept Subway’s argument that any presence of non-tuna DNA […] July 12, 2022
Tourism UAE’s flydubai suspends operations to Sri Lanka United Arab Emirates carrier flydubai has suspended operations to Colombo in Sri Lanka until further notice, a spokesperson for the budget airline said on Monday. “We will continue to closely monitor the situation on the ground in Sri Lanka. Passengers who have booked to travel on these flights will be contacted and offered a refund,” […] July 12, 2022
Media & Advertising Twitter says it removes over 1 million spam accounts each day Twitter removes more than 1 million spam accounts each day, executives told reporters in a briefing on Thursday, providing new insight into efforts to reduce harmful automated bots as billionaire Elon Musk has demanded more details from the social media company. The briefing comes after Musk threatened to halt a $44 billion deal to purchase […] July 8, 2022
Tourism Norwegian Cruise scraps Covid testing for UAE voyages Passengers boarding Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings ships won’t have to take Covid-19 tests from next month unless required by local law, the US cruise operator said on Wednesday as the crucial summer sailing season gathers steam. Cruises setting sail from the United States, Canada or Greece’s Piraeus will still require pre-cruise Covid testing, and all […] July 7, 2022
Economy UAE doubles support for low-income Emirati families The United Arab Emirates is doubling the financial support it provides for low-income Emirati families to 28 billion dirhams ($7.6 billion) to help them with soaring living costs in the Gulf state. The expanded budget allocation, reported by state news agency WAM on Monday, includes increasing existing benefits and establishing new ones targeted at mitigating […] July 5, 2022
Tourism No experience, no resume – you’re hired! Hotels fight for staff Top European hotel chains are hiring workers without experience or even a resume as executives admit years of underpaying staff have come back to bite, leaving them unable to meet post-pandemic travel demand. Thousands of workers left the hospitality industry when international travel shut down during the coronavirus pandemic. Many chose not to return, finding […] July 4, 2022
Media & Advertising Snapchat paid version launches in Saudi Arabia, UAE Snap Inc on Wednesday launched a paid version of the Snapchat app in the US, priced at $3.99 a month, and a few other markets, in a major step away from a revenue model dependent mostly on advertising. Snap, which had teased the subscription version, Snapchat+, earlier this month, said it would be available in […] June 30, 2022
Uber ex-security chief accused of hacking coverup faces charges A federal judge on Tuesday said a former Uber Technologies Inc security chief must face wire fraud charges over his alleged role in trying to cover up a 2016 hacking that exposed personal information of 57 million passengers and drivers. The US Department of Justice had in December added the three charges against Joseph Sullivan […] June 29, 2022
Banking & Finance US mass shooting insurance rates jump as incidents rise The cost of buying insurance protection against mass shootings has spiked more than 10 percent in the United States this year following a string of deadly events, insurers said. The United States witnessed 293 mass shootings so far this year, according to a report by the Gun Violence Archive that defines them as any event […] June 29, 2022
