News U Wish to Read – 19 July 2017
Wednesday, 19th July 2017
Energy/Business
World’s first commercial-scale floating offshore wind farm on its way to Scotland
Wam
The first of five turbines for the Hywind Scotland commercial-scale floating offshore wind farm has now sailed away from Stord in Norway to its final destination, Buchan Deep, 25 km east of Peterhead in Scotland. Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, announced that it had acquired a 25% stake in the Hywind Scotland project during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in January. All five turbines were successfully assembled outside Stord, Norway this summer. Now they are being individually towed to Scottish waters. Each turbine journey takes 4 days of sailing across the North Sea. On arrival, work immediately starts to install anchor lines and to perform hook-up operations, taking 2-3 days per turbine. Turbine installation is scheduled to be finished by the end of August.
Published: 19th July 2017
Follow: http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302623951
Leading Dubai banks post strong set of first-half results
Gulf News
Cost control and lower provisions support operating performances. Leading Dubai banks such as Emirates NBD (ENBD), Emirates Islamic (EI) and Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) posted their first-half results on Wednesday, reporting strong operating performances supported by declines in costs, lower provisions and improved margins.
Published: 19th July 2017
Politics & Economy
Why alternative assets may become the ‘new normal’
The National
When it comes to investment strategies, we are all aware that past performance is no guide to future returns. But it’s easy to forget that the same applies to asset classes. Most of us have rules of thumb as to the typical returns that particular markets provide. But we need to acknowledge that future returns from those assets may be very different. In the years ahead, equities and bonds will still be vital to many investors’ portfolios. But traditional 60:40 equity/bond allocations are unlikely to fare well. That model worked well when government bonds produced a 6 per cent return, but it won’t work when returns are just 1 per cent. Instead, combining equities with a diversified mix of higher-return alternative assets should offer investors better outcomes in the ‘new normal’ of low rates and slowing growth.
Published: 19th July 2017
Follow: https://www.thenational.ae/business/money/why-alternative-assets-may-become-the-new-normal-1.610337
Community, Environment & Society
Lubna Al Qasimi tops Forbes list of 10 most successful women in government sector
Wam
The UAE topped the list of countries with most powerful Arab women in 2017 with 18 of its citizens making it to the list, according to Forbes Middle East in its July edition.The UAE was followed by Egypt with 16 women, Lebanon with 12 women, and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia with 10 and nine women, respectively. The list included two sub-lists, ‘The 100 most powerful Arab businesswomen’, which was headed by Lubna Al Olayan, CEO of Olayan Finance Group, who is managing multi-billion dollar investments in the Middle East, followed by Lobna Hilal, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, and Rajaa Al Garg, administrative director of Issa Saleh group, in the third place. Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of State for Tolerance, led the second sub-list of most powerful 10 women in the government sector, followed by Sahar Nasr, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation in Egypt, who signed three agreements worth US$227.9 million in a range of fields with German Minister of Development, and Ghada Wali, Minister of Social Solidarity in Egypt, in the third place.
Published: 18th July 2017.
Read more: http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302623768
Abu Dhabi Art announces line-up of galleries participating in 2017
WAM
Organised by Abu Dhabi Tourism Culture Authority, TCA Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Art 2017 will return this November with 48 established and emerging galleries from 18 different countries, offering works by a diverse range of globally celebrated and up and coming artists. Running from November 8th – 11th, the fair will feature galleries from Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East, and will see the introduction of a new curated section by Dr. Omar Kholeif entitled, ‘Focus: Beyond Territory’, exploring the concepts of formal, social and economic landscapes. Curated by Dr. Kholeif, the Manilow Senior Curator and Director of Global Initiatives at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the ninth edition of Abu Dhabi Art will introduce a group of inter-generational artists and major projects from both emerging and leading galleries to a Middle Eastern audience for the first time. Established and emerging galleries will offer visitors a selection of exceptional artworks from the modern era, as well as contemporary works by leading artists. Abu Dhabi Art has also introduced a new category for 2017 entitled ‘Solo Projects’, encouraging participating galleries to focus on a curated presentation of a single artist.
Published: 19th July 2017
Read more: http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302623864
Telangana puts cap on school bag weight
The Hindu
A GO has has banned homework for children in primary classes.
Acting on proposals submitted by the Commissioner and Director of School Education, the Telangana School Education Department on Tuesday issued strict guidelines to reduce the weight of school bags for children in the State. Schools including aided and un-aided private schools have to follow guidelines, according to the GO. Terming the weight of the school bags as a serious threat to the health and well being of the students in primary, upper primary and high schools, the guidelines limit the number of books and notebooks students bring to the classroom. It shifts the onus on school officials to supervise the implementation of the steps.
Published: 19th July 2017
Readers are our mirrors
The Hindu
Last week, a score and five senior journalists and editors from across South Asia were in Kathmandu for two different events. One was on borders and the other was on labour migration. The journalists were from different platforms: print, radio, television and online. But they were curious about the efficacy of news ombudsmen in this region. They wanted to know about The Hindu’s decade-long experience in having an independent news ombudsman. The idea of an Open House between readers and the senior editorial team of this newspaper flows from this unfailing faith in oral tradition. The physical presence of readers amidst the editorial staff becomes a silo-breaker. The fifth Open House is scheduled in Delhi this weekend. The warmth in this dialogue can never be captured by any innovation of Silicon Valley. Readers are our mirrors and we invite them so that we can look at ourselves in them.
Published: 17th July 2017
Technology
Google back in the news feed game
The National
Years ago, Google built a social network separate from its prized asset, Web search.
The effort failed. Now the company is trying again – only this time it is turning its search engine into something that looks a lot like the news feed of a social network. The Alphabet unit is introducing a tailored feed of news, entertainment and myriad web content based on users’ searches, YouTube video views and other personal information. It is an expansion of an older mobile service called Google Now. Yet some new bells and whistles – information from local trends and an ability to “follow” public figures, for instance – give Google’s search feed a similar feel to the algorithmic stream of Facebook’s News Feed. That feature has helped Facebook to capture online attention like few other companies.
Published: 19th July 2017
Read more: https://www.thenational.ae/business/technology/google-back-in-the-news-feed-game-1.610416
Sports
A gold and three bronze medals for Indian judokas at Commonwealth Youth Games
Times of India
Indian junior judokas won a gold and three bronze medals in the ongoing Commonwealth Youth Games being held in Nassau, Bahamas.
Soni of Haryana won the gold medal in the below 73Kg Weight Category, after beating Nikolic Uros of Australia in the final bout, while Ashish won a bronze in the below 60Kg weight category, defeating Zain Prosser Harry of England in bronze medal bout.Published: 19th July 2017. Antim Yadav of Madhya Pradesh won a bronze in the below 48Kg weight category, surpassing Russell Jasmine of Bahamas in the repechage bout.
Manipur’s Rebina Devi Chanam also won a bronze medal in the below 57Kg Weight category after getting the better of Saskia of Australia.
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