Brussels: European Union members and parliament on Tuesday reached a provisional agreement to simplify sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements to boost EU competitiveness. The agreement simplifies directives on corporate sustainability reporting (CSRD) and corporate sustainability due diligence (CS3D) by reducing the reporting burden and limiting the trickle-down effect of obligations on smaller companies. According to Emirates News Agency, the informal agreement mandates social and environmental reporting only for EU companies with over 1,000 employees and a net annual turnover exceeding £450 million. For non-EU companies, the net turnover threshold has been set at £450 million generated within the EU

Seoul: The Korean Finance Ministry announced its decision to frontload 75 percent of the budget for the first half of 2026 to stimulate innovation and support economic recovery. This strategic move aims to address pressing economic challenges and promote growth. According to Emirates News Agency,the Cabinet has approved a plan to allocate 468.3 trillion won (US$318.26 billion) from the total 624.8 trillion won annual budget for spending in the January-June period. This expenditure will cover both general and special accounts, excluding government funds. The Finance Ministry emphasized that the spending will target key areas such as supporting a technology-driven ultra-innovation

Brussels: This year is anticipated to be the world’s second or third warmest on record, with only the heat of 2024 potentially surpassing it, as reported by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) on Tuesday. According to Emirates News Agency, C3S highlighted that 2025 is expected to conclude a sequence of three years where the global average temperature has exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above the levels of the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period. This era marks the beginning of large-scale fossil fuel combustion by humans. Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at C3S, remarked that these temperature milestones are indicative

New york: United Nations Secretary-General Ant³nio Guterres has announced the appointment of Claudio Cordone of Italy as his new Deputy Special Envoy for Syria. According to Emirates News Agency, Claudio Cordone, who will start as Deputy Special Envoy on 1st January 2026, succeeds Najat Rochdi of Morocco, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedication, hard work, and leadership during pivotal moments of the United Nations efforts to support a political transition process in Syria. Cordone brings 40 years of experience in international relations, international human rights, and humanitarian law. He has been serving as Deputy Special Representative for

Abu dhabi: A UAE National Taxi company specialising in autonomous mobility, Lumo, announced the launch of a premium autonomous robotaxi fleet for Abu Dhabi in partnership with Mercedes-Benz and Momenta, a world pioneer in autonomous driving AI. Powered by Momenta’s L4 autonomous driving system and built on the all-new Mercedes-Benz S-Class, this collaboration introduces the industry’s first scalable premium robotaxi model based on a mass-production luxury platform. Commercial operations are planned to begin in Abu Dhabi next year, with future deployment into additional international markets. According to Emirates News Agency, this strategic collaboration brings together three distinguished mobility innovators, united

Abu dhabi: The UAE continues to strengthen its international presence within the global maritime system through a consistent track record of initiatives, positions, and draft resolutions it has proposed and championed within the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) over the past years. According to Emirates News Agency, these efforts have resulted in the adoption of several historic decisions that have supported the development of global maritime operations and solidified the UAE’s position as a leading and influential nation in shaping the future of the maritime transport industry. The UAE’s continued role has resulted in winning a seat on the IMO Council

Abu dhabi: IROS, an Abu Dhabi-based contract research organisation and part of the M42 Group, and BioSapien, a pioneering biotech company, have partnered to conduct a landmark oncology clinical trial in Abu Dhabi. The six-month interventional trial is set to begin in Q1 2026, with IROS serving as the primary service provider. The partnership will focus on treating lower gastrointestinal (GI) cancers using BioSapien’s revolutionary MediChip platform. According to Emirates News Agency, this localised treatment approach is designed to reduce the systemic side effects of chemotherapy by up to 50 percent in preclinical models while enhancing overall patient outcomes. As

Abu dhabi: The UAE Government has issued a Federal Decree-Law that amends certain provisions of Federal Law No. (22) of 2000 concerning the UAE Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry. According to Emirates News Agency, the legislative change aims to modernize the legal framework governing the Federation, enhance its role in supporting the commercial and industrial sectors, and boost its contribution to the national economy in line with the UAE’s strategic directions. The Federal Decree-Law includes a change to the official name of the Union, now called the ‘Emirates Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.’ This change reaffirms