News Desk ABU DHABI: Etisalat Carrier & Wholesale announced the launch of ‘Etisalat Smart Cloud Talk’, its unified communications (UC) portfolio in collaboration with leading industry partners supported by its tier 1 global network infrastructure to deliver advanced connectivity and productivity. Ali Amiri, Group Chief Carrier & Wholesale Officer, Etisalat, said: “We are delighted to launch ‘Smart CloudTalk’, an agile, …

DUBAI: Malaysia registered 4,252,997 tourist arrivals in the first half of 2020, marking a decrease of 68.2% compared to the same period in 2019. Last year, Malaysia received over 13.3 million tourist arrivals from January until June. For the first six months of 2020, the tourist expenditure recorded a total of RM12.5 billion, a decrease of 69.8% compared to RM41.6 billion received for the same period last year. …

DUBAI: The Porsche 718 Spyder as well as the 718 Cayman GT4 models can now be ordered with the seven-speed Porsche dual-clutch transmission (PDK). The automatic transmission is now available for all drivers who want to enjoy no interruptions in acceleration during gear changes and better acceleration values. Compared with the 718 models featuring a manual transmission, the 420 PS …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s leading digital payments app, Easypaisa has partnered with the fastest growing fintech, PayFast, in pursuit of disrupting digital payments. Easypaisa wallet users can now pay online using PayFast’s indigenous payment gateway. Approved for Pilot Operations by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), PayFast empowers multi instrument acceptance of Scheme Cards, Mobile Wallets and Bank Account Numbers. They address merchant …

News Desk KARACHI: Nestlé Pakistan has donated 75 tons of water to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to facilitate them in their relief activities in Karachi following the torrential rains during recent monsoon spells. Nestlé will support NDMA’s relief efforts by donating 50,000 bottles of 1.5 liter Nestlé Pure Life for people affected by the rains. The contribution will aid relief …

News Desk DUBAI: To help stranded Moroccans around the globe get home, Emirates plans to operate two flights between Dubai and Casablanca on 8 and 9 September. Customers can also connect to these flights in Dubai from Emirates’ current network of 84 destinations across the Middle East and GCC, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas. Emirates flight EK9953 on 8 and 9 …

News Desk ABU DHABI: Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, is introducing COVID-19 global wellness insurance cover as part of Etihad Wellness, the airlines new health and hygiene programme. Guests who are diagnosed with COVID-19 during their trip won’t have to worry about medical expenses or quarantine costs when they fly with Etihad. Duncan Bureau, Senior Vice President …

News Desk DUBAI: Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry has announced that 76% of construction work on its headquarters extension has been completed, with the new state-of-the-art building on track to be ready by early 2021. The first phase of the project will see the structure completed by the end of September 2020. During the second and final phase, solar …

By Rafiq Vayani DUBAI: Emirates reveals that is has returned over AED 5 billion (US$ 1.4 billion) in COVID-19 related travel refunds to date, making strong and steady progress on its commitment to customers to complete pending refunds. More than 1.4 million refunds requests have been completed since March, representing 90% of the airline’s backlog. This includes all requests received from customers around the world up …

RIGA: Latvian airline airBaltic announces that as of today it resumes flights between Riga and nine additional destinations. In total, airBaltic now connects Riga with 35 destinations across Europe. Martin Gauss, CEO of airBaltic: “We welcome the decision of the Latvian government to ease the travel restrictions in place, while maintaining safety and health of the public as its top priority. It enables us to perform a …