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  Amazon founder’s net worth tumbles to $150.1bn as the e-commerce company’s shares struggle Amazon founder Jeff Bezos slipped to third place in the Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List with his net worth dropping to $150.1 billion driven by a rout in Amazon shares. The billionaire saw $20.5bn of his wealth melt away after the e-commerce company’s results left investors disappointed. This placed Bernard Arnault, chairman of French luxury group LVMH, in second place with a personal fortune of $157.7bn, according to Forbes . In contrast to the Forbes’ list, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index named Mr Bezos the world’s second richest person with a net worth of $148bn. At his peak this year, the Amazon founder enjoyed a net worth of more than $210bn. Amazon shares were down 14 per cent on Friday after it reported its first quarterly loss in seven years and the slowest sales growth since 2001 as the largest online retailer struggles to build off the major gains it made early in the ...

 The new Dh5, Dh10 , and Dh50 banknotes have entered circulation, the UAE Central Bank announced on Saturday. They have been distributed to all banks operating in the country, as well as ATMs to promote public awareness of the new notes and increase their circulation, state news agency Wam reported. The notes are made of durable polymer material and have security features to prevent counterfeiting. Emirates NBD, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Bank of Sharjah are among the national banks that have programmed their ATMs for the new notes. The Dh5 note’s design includes UAE national symbols and landmarks. On the front is Ajman Fort, while on the back is Dhayah Fort in Ras Al Khaimah. The Dh10 note features the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi and the Khor Fakkan amphitheatre in Sharjah. The notes have a transparent window featuring a portrait of the UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. They also feature the UAE brand logo, along w...

 Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 25 (ANI/Hunk Golden and Media): A team of a Industry experts from Technology, Consumer and Retail sector started with a combined vision to launch a Digital Transformation start-up named Nextqore Incorporation. Microsoft’s IoT Signal report released in October 2020 indicated that Covid pandemic has forced 3 in 4 companies to consider increasing or sustaining their IoT related investments in their organisations, despite dramatic cost cuts in all other functions. Nextqore is a US based SaaS company and launched its Technology Development and Customer Support in India in July earlier this year. India is a natural choice for Technology development and to start building the market. The available talent and the major digital drive in the country is synergistic to Nextqore vision. SANJAY BHEL Nextqore SaaS integrates IoT technology Service Platforms and Cloud platforms to build its SaaS product, with a vision help businesses generate value by transit...

 Jaipur, Apr 26 (PTI) BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena on Tuesday demanded a CBI inquiry into the Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) 2018 examination, alleging large-scale corruption in the conduct of the exam. He alleged that Congress leaders were involved in getting candidates selected in the interview by taking money. Meena said he will register a complaint with the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Rajasthan Police on Wednesday so that the guilty can be caught. “Congress leaders took money and got many candidates passed in the interview. CBI inquiry should be ordered in the matter,” he told reporters here. He alleged that the top 200 candidates in the examination have been selected from certain institute centres. Referring to an answer copy obtained under the RTI, he questioned the marking scheme used in the recruitment examination. The final result of the examination was announced in July last year. PTI SDA CK. To Know more: https://theprint.in/india/bjps-kirodi-mee...

 Vietnam launched a new attraction for tourists with a head for heights on Friday, with the opening of a glass-bottomed bridge suspended 150 metres above a lush jungle. The Bach Long pedestrian bridge — its name translating as white dragon — in the north-west Son La province, snakes around dizzying cliff faces before spanning a dramatic valley between two peaks, hitting a total length of 632 metres. The floor of the bridge is made from French-produced tempered glass, making it strong enough to support up to 450 people at a time, while giving them a spectacular view of the greenery in the gorge far below. “When standing on the bridge, travellers will be able to admire the beauty of nature,” Hoang Manh Duy, a representative of the bridge’s operator, said. The company says it is the world’s longest glass-bottomed bridge, surpassing a 526-metre structure in Guangdong, China. Officials from Guinness World Records certified the Guangdong bridge in 2020. They are expected to verify Bach L...

  Since Divya Hagaragi is associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka, the delay in her arrest had triggered allegations from the political opposition about the ruling party trying to protect her Alleged kingpin in the Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) recruitment scam Divya Hagaragi, who had been on the run for over a fortnight, was arrested in Pune, Maharashtra early morning on April 29. Divya Hagaragi runs Gyan Jyoti English Medium School in Kalaburagi in Karnataka where exam answer sheets were allegedly rigged. Her husband Rajesh Hagaragi was arrested two weeks ago and is in judicial custody. However, she was on the run. Since she is associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka, the delay in her arrest had triggered allegations from the political opposition about the ruling party trying to protect her. Home Minister Araga Jnanendra had denied the charge and said she would be arrested soon. On April 29, Mr. Jnanendra told mediapersons that Divya ...

  Patiala Violence: Mobile internet and SMS services, except voice calls, were also suspended in the district from 9:30 am and will remain blocked till 6 pm today. Chandigarh: A day after Patiala witnessed clashes between two groups during an anti-Khalistan march that left four people injured, the Punjab government today took strict action against the state police, removing three top officers from their posts over their failure to control the violence in the district. The clashes in Patiala were political and not communal as reported earlier, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann told NDTV today, saying that Shiv Sena and BJP workers and Shiromani Akali Dal men were behind the clashes. The Inspector General of Police (Patiala Range), the Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police and the Superintendent of Police were transferred from the post following orders from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who is reportedly upset about the police response to the violence, sources told NDTV. A spokespe...

 The Article authorises the governor to decide on disqualifying an elected member of the state Assembly on the poll panel’s opinion. RANCHI: As a war of words between Jharkhand’s ruling JMM and opposition BJP continues over Chief Minister Hemant Soren ’s alleged office of profit case, legal experts claimed that in the light of earlier Supreme Court verdicts, it is unlikely that he will be disqualified as an MLA. The chief minister, who was accused of violating a provision of the Representation of the People Act, is currently not in Jharkhand and speculations are rife that he is consulting lawyers. Governor Ramesh Bais also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi earlier this week but what transpired in those meetings is not known. Following the BJP’s allegation that Soren, while heading the mining department, allotted a stone chips mining lease to himself in 2021 flouting office of profit norms, Bais sent the party’s representation to t...

 NEW DELHI: A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court on Wednesday granted bail to Yes Bank founder Rana kapoor in connection to a fraud case worth over Rs 300 crore. Apart from Kapoor, businessman Gautam Thapar and seven others were also granted bail. The case pertains to allegations in the sale of a property situated on Amrita Shergill Marg in Delhi to a company owned by Rana Kapoor’s wife, Bindu Kapoor, for which a separate FIR had been registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Mumbai last year. Kapoor had moved the bail application before the special court after he was summoned by the court which took cognisance of a charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). In December last year, the ED had registered a money laundering case based on complaint registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Kapoor, his wife Bindu and promoter of Avantha Group Gautam Thapar. It had pegged the loss at Rs 466.51 crore. The FIR claimed...

 A New York judge expressed surprise on Friday that Donald Trump, a man he described as perhaps the world’s most famous real estate developer, was unable to provide any documents sought in a probe of the Trump Organization, his family company. Justice Arthur Engoron in New York state court in Manhattan said at a virtual hearing that he would go on holding the former U.S. president in contempt of court and fine him $10,000 a day despite a request from Trump’s lawyer to lift both orders. “He’s Donald Trump, the most famous real estate developer in the world, arguably,” the judge said. “I am surprised he doesn’t seem to have any documents; they’re all with the organization.” On Monday, Engoron issued the orders over Trump’s failure to comply with New York Attorney General Letitia James’ subpoena for documents. On Wednesday, Trump signed an affidavit saying he did not believe he had any relevant documents and, if there were any documents, the Trump Organization would have them. On Frid...

 The Spanish diplomat Gustavo de Arístegui spoke into the microphones of ‘De cara al mundo’ on Onda Madrid In the latest edition of ‘De Cara al Mundo’, on Onda Madrid, we had the participation of Gustavo de Arístegui , diplomat and international analyst, who spoke about the latest events between Spain and Morocco. Gustavo de Arístegui analysed in the microphones of the programme the gesture that King Mohamed VI made to Pedro Sánchez by inviting him to an iftar in the palace. On the other hand, the Spanish diplomat addressed the question of whether a parallel can be drawn between the situation in the Sahara and Ceuta and Melilla.  Gustavo de Aristegui What is your impression of what has happened in recent days between Spain and Morocco? First of all, I would like to take up something we have talked about on previous occasions, and that is that foreign policy has to be a state policy, a policy of great consensus. I am afraid that, for the last 20 years or so, everyone puts t...

  Ankara has taken several concrete steps to improve ties with Riyadh Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travels to Saudi Arabia on Thursday as the countries seek to re-establish relations after a period of tension and stagnation. “Turkey and Saudi Arabia will seek to develop all aspects of relations between the two countries during the visit and exchange views on regional and international issues,” the Turkish presidency said. Mr Erdogan’s visit is seen as the most tangible step by Turkey as it seeks better relations with several countries in the region, including the UAE, Israel and Egypt. The Turkish president’s last visit to Saudi Arabia was in 2017 during which he met King Salman and performed Umrah. Officials in both countries have been working on a rapprochement for months, with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visiting Saudi Arabia in May last year. Turkey’s ties with Riyadh and a host of Arab countries were strained by Ankara’s support of the Muslim Brot...

 El diplomático español Gustavo de Arístegui pasó por los micrófonos de ‘De cara al mundo’ en Onda Madrid En la última entrega de ‘De Cara al Mundo’, en Onda Madrid, contamos con la participación de Gustavo de Arístegui , diplomático y analista internacional, que habló sobre los últimos acontecimientos sucedidos entre España y Marruecos. Arístegui analizó en los micrófonos del programa el gesto que el rey Mohamed VI tuvo con Pedro Sánchez invitándole a un iftar en palacio. Por otro lado, el diplomático español abordó la cuestión sobre si se puede hacer un paralelismo entre la situación del Sáhara con Ceuta y Melilla. Gustavo de Arístegui ¿Cuál es su impresión sobre lo ocurrido en los últimos días entre España y Marruecos? En primer lugar, me gustaría recuperar algo sobre lo que hemos hablado en anteriores ocasiones y es que la política exterior tiene que ser una política de Estado, una política de grandes consensos. Me temo que, desde hace aproximadamente 20 años, todo el mundo po...

  Net income for the first three months of the year climbed to $1.4bn First Abu Dhabi Bank, the UAE’s largest lender by assets, more than doubled its first-quarter net income to a record high, driven by the sale of its majority stake in its payments business and improved performance of the bank’s core business. Net profit attributable to shareholders for the three months to the end of March surged to Dh5.1 billion ($1.4bn), the lender said in a statement on Thursday to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded. Quarterly income includes a Dh2.8bn net gain from the sale of a majority stake in its payments business Magnati to New York-listed Brookfield Business Partners. The sale announced in February valued Magnati at about $1.15bn. FAB’s first-quarter earnings beat Arqaam Capital’s net profit forecast of Dh3.05bn. EFG Hermes had estimated its quarterly net income at Dh3.1bn. Core underlying operational performance also boosted the bank’s profitability, ...

 Johnny Depp was dropped from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise because of the domestic abuse allegations made by Amber Heard, his former Hollywood agent said on Wednesday, backing up the actor’s claim against his ex-wife. “My opinion is that it was related to the accusations that Amber has made,” Christian Carino, who works for Creative Arts Agency, said in a videotaped deposition in the defamation suit filed by Depp against Heard. Depp filed a defamation case against Heard over a column she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018 in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse”. Heard, 36, never named Depp, 58, but he sued her for implying he was a domestic abuser and is seeking $50 million in damages. Texas-born Heard countersued, asking for $100m, claiming she suffered “rampant physical violence and abuse” at his hands. Depp filed the defamation complaint in the US after losing a separate libel case in London in November 2020 that he ...

  Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of lightning-fast retaliation if countries interfere in Ukraine, while U.S. President Joe Biden was set to comment on Thursday in support of Ukraine’s fight against “Russia’s brutal war”. Russia has told the United States to stop sending arms to Ukraine, saying large Western deliveries of weapons were inflaming the conflict. Addressing lawmakers in St Petersburg on Wednesday, Putin said the West wanted to cut Russia up into different pieces and accused it of pushing Ukraine into conflict with Russia. “If someone intends to intervene in the ongoing events from the outside, and create strategic threats for Russia that are unacceptable to us, they should know that our retaliatory strikes will be lightning-fast,” said Putin, according to video of his address supplied by Russian media. “We have all the tools for this, things no one else can boast of having now. And we will not boast, we will use them if necessary. And I want everyone to know tha...

 Peer pressure might be a good thing for Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) . The $350 billion conglomerate’s 51% rise in quarterly operating profit underscores its dependence on memory chips. Local competitors Hyundai (005380.KS) , SK (034730.KS) and LG (003550.KS) are moving faster to capitalise on new markets. Maybe that’ll be a call to action. Strong demand for high-margin DRAM and NAND chips used in phones, PCs and data centre servers powered another strong quarter at South Korea’s biggest company. Operating profit in Samsung’s semiconductor division, which also houses smaller foundry and microprocessor businesses, surged 150% from a year earlier to $6.7 billion in the three months ending March 31. Chips stand apart at Samsung. Decent sales of its latest flagship Galaxy model weren’t enough to overcome other challenges in the mobile and devices unit, where operating profit tumbled 17% from a year earlier. Concerns about supply-chain snarls, weak memory prices and geopolitical ...

  Biden administration reverses Trump-era decision saying cat population had sufficiently recovered US wildlife officials have agreed to craft a new habitat plan for the snow-loving Canada lynx that could include more land in Colorado and other western states where the rare animals would be protected. A legal agreement made public on Tuesday said that the US Fish and Wildlife Service faces a 2024 deadline to draft the new plan for the wild cats after settling a legal challenge from two environmental groups — Wild Earth Guardians and Wilderness Workshop. US District Judge Dana Christensen issued an order late on Monday approving the settlement. The groups sued to enforce a prior court ruling from Ms Christensen that said federal officials wrongly excluded areas of Colorado, Montana and Idaho when they designated almost 104,000 square kilometres in 2014 as critical for the lynx’s long-term survival. Lynx kittens explore their home in the Bear Wood exhibit at the Wild Place Project ...

 US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday defended the Biden administration’s handling of immigration, amid a surge at the Mexico border that is expected to grow when pandemic limits are dropped. “We inherited a broken and dismantled system that is already under strain,” Mr Mayorkas told the House appropriations homeland security subcommittee. “It is not built to manage the current levels and types of migratory flows.” He urged Congress to pass long-term reforms. His testimony came as the administration locked horns with a federal court in Louisiana that granted a request by Republican-controlled states to temporarily halt their planning to wind down Title 42. The order prevents the government from taking any action before a hearing on May 13 to determine whether Title 42 can be lifted. Mr Mayorkas set out a blueprint to boost border personnel, strike at people smugglers, speed up processing and increase holding capacity, as he warned the worst was yet to come...

  In an exclusive interview, Jihad Azour, director of the fund’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, says rising prices risk social stability in lower-income countries Gathering international co-operation will be necessary to help prevent a food crisis in the Middle East and North Africa this year as the war in Ukraine drives prices higher and risks supply, the IMF ’s regional director said. On Wednesday, the fund released its Middle East and Central Asia Regional Economic Outlook, which shows a divergent picture in 2022 for the region, with oil exporters such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia set to earn higher revenue this year compared with 2021, thanks to higher oil prices. Uncertainty is also increasing with the duration of the war in Ukraine, a significant factor in how the rest of Mena will fare amid rising inflation and growing food insecurity. Jihad Azour, director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the IMF, told the Business Extra podcast that co-operation...