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  Anurag Batra is a serial Entrepreneur and the founder of the iconic exchange4media group and chairman BW Businessworld group.  Anurag Batra is a serial entrepreneur, media mogul, journalist and lifelong optimist. He holds a B. Tech degree in Computer Sciences before joining the Management Development Institute MDGurugram, one of the leading business schools in India. He is a first-generation entrepreneur, after acquiring the iconic business media and magazine brand BW Business World, a 35-year strong media brand as well as the most respected business publication in the country. Early life Mr Anurag doesn’t come from a business family. He considers himself an accidental entrepreneur. He feels a lot of things are God’s wish. In that serendipity, one accidental thing leads to another and there is no grand plan. Studying at MDI was one such gift of God. Anurag met a friend who gave him 63,00,000 to start an exchange for media. He had gone to him for advice on accepting investme...

  Barq EV’s mopeds have cooled handlebars and a reflective windshield to protect the driver from the heat. A UAE company has introduced electric delivery vehicles that are environmentally friendly and have designs that speak to the region. Barq EV’s mopeds have cooled handlebars and a reflective windshield to protect the driver from the heat. A smart dashboard also helps the driver to find any address without the need to use their phone. They have also developed an electric bicycle and drones. Barq has already signed an agreement with restaurant and food group Americana and specialised vehicle equipment global manufacturer Motherson. The company is the brainchild of two friends and business partners ― Ahmed Al Mazroui and Abdullah Abu Sheikh. “Barq will be the first company on regional level to start such an initiative and compete with big global competitors,” said Mr Abu Sheikh. “We believe that it is time that we started inventing and innovating out of the region instead of...

  The national security establishment and its corporate allies dominate Congress’s new nuclear weapons commission. on Tuesday, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, reiterated a well-known tenet of Russian military doctrine: The country could resort to the use of nuclear weapons if it perceives an “existential threat.” Russian Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy made a similar comment to Sky News, saying that nuclear war could be a possible outcome if the country is “provoked” or “attacked” by NATO. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby called Peskov’s comments to CNN “dangerous,” saying: “It’s not the way a responsible nuclear power should act” — begging the question of whether there is such a thing as a “responsible” nuclear power. As the Ukrainian resistance, fortified by NATO arms, continues to fend off a Russian takeover, Putin is growing more belligerent, and Washington appears increasingly fearful that he could use a nuclea...

  Developers advised to listen to educators to come up with effective solutions to their problems Teachers need to be at the centre of decision-making in education, particularly when technology is being introduced into classrooms, a global summit was told on Friday. About 36,000 teachers and educators came together for the Teacher Tech Summit 2022, an online conference for teachers. The meeting was organised by T4 Education, a platform for educators and schools, and co-hosted by the World Bank and Owl Ventures, a venture capital firm that focuses on education technology. Vikas Pota, founder of T4 Education and the Teacher Tech Summit, said: “In all the conferences I’ve been to around the world, I never once saw a teacher invited to be a part of the EdTech discussion. “You always see policymakers, CEOs, tech entrepreneurs and investors. But it’s teachers who are on the front line, delivering education to the next generation. “If governments and tech companies want to know what ...

  Exports to the US rose by 55 per cent last year, nudging America past China for the top spot After more than a decade, Americans are once again spending more on Swiss watches than anyone. One big reason is that they are thinking differently about them. Call it less bling, more investing. During the pandemic in the US, there has been a boom in the value of collectibles of all sorts — from baseball cards to vintage video games. The reasons are many, but one central catalyst is that people had more time and fewer ways to spend their money. That led to almost anything with scarcity being seen as an investment and finding a robust secondary market. The rising tide lifted Switzerland’s high-end watch industry, with prices surging. “It has become an investment piece,” said 68-year-old Albert Ganjei, who, as founder of Boston-based European Watch Company, has been selling timepieces for nearly three decades. “It has totally changed.” While some watches are so coveted that they sell ...

Fears of low stocks in Middle East, with 20 million tonnes of grain trapped in warehouses by invasion Millions of tonnes of Ukraine wheat desperately needed in the Middle East are going to waste in warehouses caught up in the fighting around Kyiv, The National can report. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made it a key national priority that a seeding programme will start in the coming days to ensure grain is growing despite the Russian invasion . Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said the consequence of President Vladimir Putin’s “aggression” would extend far beyond Ukraine, which was the “granary of the world” providing half of the World Food Programme’s wheat. “As humanitarian needs are already at an all-time high, the Kremlin-made war threatens food security across the world,” she tweeted on Tuesday. Global stocks are 31 per cent below the five-year average due to a poor harvest and the pandemic. Prices that were already very high have now increased a fu...

  The UAE’s most famous race returns to full capacity at Meydan on Saturday, March 26  The Meydan Racecourse is expected to be packed to its capacity of 80,000 on Saturday as the Dubai World Cup returns to normal service this year after the 2020 race meeting was cancelled and the 2021 event was staged behind closed doors due to the pandemic. For the 26th race meeting, the showpiece event’s total purse has been raised to more than $30.5 million  — up from $26.5m — while for the first time, all races will offer at least $1m in prize money. The highlight of the nine-race card will be the $12 million Group 1 Dubai World Cup, a 2,000-metre contest run on the dirt surface.

  Government announced indefinite humanitarian truce on Thursday to allow access to aid for civilians Tigrayan rebels agreed to a “cessation of hostilities” on Friday in a new turning point in the nearly 17-month war in northern Ethiopia . It comes after the government’s announcement of an indefinite humanitarian truce a day earlier. The rebels said in a statement sent to AFP early on Friday that they were “committed to implementing a cessation of hostilities effective immediately”, and urged Ethiopian authorities to hasten delivery of emergency aid to Tigray, where hundreds of thousands face starvation . Since war broke out in November 2020, thousands have died, and many more have been forced to flee their homes as the conflict expanded from Tigray to the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar. On Thursday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government declared a surprise truce, saying it hoped the move would ease humanitarian access to Tigray and “pave the way for the resolution of th...

  Tech-focused group joins other Abu Dhabi companies as cornerstone investors in the listing Abu Dhabi’s Multiply Group, a technology-focused investment holding company, will invest $100 million in the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s initial public offering . Multiply joins Emirates Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi holding company ADQ, the UAE Strategic Investment Fund, Alpha Dhabi Partners and Investment Holdings as cornerstone investors in the IPO. Together, these companies have committed up to Dh4.7 billion ($1.27bn), Dewa said on Thursday. Alpha Dhabi said in a separate statement that it would invest Dh367m in the IPO. Dewa’s “unique positioning, attractive financial profile and clear strategic objectives make it an attractive investment for Multiply Group”, said Samia Bouazza, chief executive and managing director at Multiply Group. “Furthermore, as regional capital markets continue to perform favourably, we believe that our investment into Dewa will generate su...

  a look at the biggest moves involving UK players He was England’s captain and arguably the most high-profile player in world football. David Beckham’s move away from Manchester United had been the source of intense speculation for months, but now it was official: the 28-year-old midfielder was joining Real Madrid. On July 2, 2003, Beckham was unveiled as the La Liga champions’ newest signing. He as handed the Real No 23 shirt also worn by club legend Alfredo di Stefano. Beckham would be joining a squad filled with the world’s finest talent — Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos and Raul — a “dream” move. “I have always loved football,” he said. “Of course I love my family. I have a wonderful life, but football is everything to me and joining Real Madrid is a dream come true. “I would like to say thank you to everyone coming and joining me in my arrival. Gracias — hala Madrid!” Beckham had become the second most expensive British player of all-time, with only R...

  Member countries aim to ‘radically’ reduce Russian oil and gas imports through various measures and policies The International Energy Agency said its members are ready to release more oil into the market “if needed” to tackle soaring prices in the wake of Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine. Members including the US and its allies are discussing a further co-ordinated release of oil from storage to tackle rising prices, the IEA said in a press conference with US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm in Paris. IEA member countries committed to releasing 61.7 million barrels of oil reserves as of March 4, exceeding the 60 million barrels of oil that they had pledged to release from emergency stocks to bring stability to energy markets. The US will provide 30 million barrels followed by Japan with 7.5 million, South Korea with 4.4 million, Germany with 3.2 million and the UK with 2.2 million. “Our member countries and secretariat are closely monitoring the markets and in additi...

Mr. Anurag Batra is the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of BW Business-world “How many of you are on WhatsApp? 95 to 98% people. so today I’m going to talk to you about something called introduction capital”, says Anurag Batra. The reason he talks about WhatsApp is because the old saying was a family that prays together stays together but the new saying is a family that’s on WhatsApp together stays together. He feels the old saying was those who help themselves God helps them, and he thinks the new saying is people who help others, God helps them. 20 years back, Anurag Batra was in a Business School with his friend Amit Kapoor. Anurag grew up in a middle-class family in Gurgaon. His parents had recognition and then he went to engineering school and to a Business School. When he was in the Business School add very limited ambition. His ambition was to join an IT services company in marketing. He almost did that from campus and got through. He was supposed to join it till he met a friend ...

  Some approaches used by Spacs include offering bonus stock to investors who choose not to redeem shares Special purpose acquisition companies (Spacs) are turning to costly new tactics to keep investors from jumping ship as market confidence wanes in the once red-hot alternative to IPOs. Blank-cheque acquisition firms and the companies they acquire are having to hand over bigger stakes in the ventures to investors in some cases, often at big discounts. Deal managers are also seeking backstop financing from investment companies and ploughing in more of their own cash. Less than three months into 2022, 13 mergers involving Spacs have already fallen through in the US, according to data from industry tracker Spac Research. That compares with a total of 18 in the whole of 2021. In money terms, almost $9.5 billion worth of mergers have been canned this year, according to Dealogic data. The main cause of deals being abandoned, market players say, is the risk of redemptions — where i...

  Liverpool paired with Benfica while Bayern Munich travel to Villarreal for quarter-final first leg Manchester City have been drawn against Atletico Madrid while fellow title-holders Chelsea will face Real Madrid following Friday’s Champions League quarter-final draw. Spain’s third representative, Villarreal, meet German giants Bayern Munich while Benfica host Liverpool in their first-leg. The first team drawn in each fixture play their home match first with the first legs on April 5 and 6 before the second legs on April 12 and 13 The semi-finals will have the first legs on April 26 and 27 and the second legs on May 3 and 4 . The Stade de France in Paris will host the final on Saturday, 28 May after it was moved from St Petersburg after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Quarter-finals Chelsea v Real Madrid Manchester City v Atletico Madrid Villarreal v Bayern Munich Benfica v Liverpool Semi-finals Man City/Atletico v Chelsea/Real Madrid Benfica/Liverpool v Villarreal v...

  Negotiations between the two sides are ongoing, three weeks after Putin invaded his neighbour Britain’s armed forces minister says Ukraine should not be pressured into making territorial concessions to Russia as part of any peace deal to end the war. James Heappey said the West may have a role to play in brokering an agreement between Kyiv and Moscow, but insisted it would be up to the Ukrainians to decide what terms they could accept. “This can’t go on indefinitely,” he told Sky News. “If the West has a role to play alongside others beyond the region in brokering that peace and offering something the Ukrainians and the Russians can live with, that’s fine.   “What I absolutely don’t think we should do — and I have heard some around the West suggest this — is somehow Ukraine should be pressured to give up the Donbas or to give up its claim on Crimea. “Those are decisions entirely for President Zelenskyy and his government. It is not for the West to trade away Ukrainian sover...