Author: Editorial team

The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits increased slightly last week, while layoffs dropped to a two-year low in July, consistent with a stable labor market.Other data on Thursday showed worker productivity grew faster than expected in the second quarter, curbing gains in labor costs. The lack of labor market stress and contained wage pressures gave the Federal Reserve room to focus on the inflation fallout from the Middle East conflict, economists said. They said there were some signs that the adoption of artificial intelligence by businesses was raising productivity.Still, economists said the U.S. central bank could raise…

After spending more than two decades building the world of Pandora, Oscar winning filmmaker James Cameron says he is finally ready to look beyond the Avatar franchise and explore new creative territory.Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published this week, Cameron admitted he no longer wants to devote years at a time exclusively to the blockbuster series that has dominated his career since the original Avatar debuted in 2009.“I’ve got other stories to tell, and I’ve got other stories to tell within Avatar. What won’t happen is, I won’t go down the rabbit hole of exclusively making only…

Gianni Infantino will hold a crisis meeting with top Fifa officials in Morocco on Wednesday as he looks to shore up his position in the wake of the collapse of his gambit to sell off commercial rights to the World Cup.The Fifa president has been the subject of a torrent of criticism, and no small amount of personal abuse, since he floated the idea of the new commercial rights body to Fifa’s 211 member associations last week.The proposed sale of 20% of the body to private investment to raise $4.2 billion, and the involvement of a company with family links…

Authorities say shipments are being monitored and inspected, while food safety checks continue in coordination with health and regulatory bodies Working alongside the relevant regulatory authorities, the ministry said it is also verifying the safety of food products available in UAE markets and taking preventive measures to ensure the highest food safety standards. Photo used for illustrative purposes only. Photo credit: Michael Burrows/Pexels Dubai: The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment has confirmed that UAE markets are free of lettuce products linked to the cyclosporiasis outbreak. In a statement, the ministry said it remains in regular coordination with health…

Entertainment giant reports 28% rise in earnings, expands share buybacks and signs landmark content partnership with TikTokLos Angeles: Walt Disney Co. reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings as the blockbuster success of ‘Toy Story 5′ drove growth across its entertainment, streaming, merchandise and theme park businesses.The company said revenue for the quarter ended June reached $25.2 billion, up 7% from a year earlier, while adjusted earnings per share rose 28% to $2.06, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $1.86 per share.Disney’s shares climbed 4.6% in premarket trading following the results announcement.Chief Executive Officer Josh D’Amaro, who took over in March, highlighted the company’s strategy…

BRUSSELS, 8th August, 2026 (WAM) — In May 2026, compared with April 2026, seasonally adjusted services production increased by 0.8 percent in both the euro area and the EU, according to first estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In April 2026, services production grew by 0.7% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU. In May 2026, compared with May 2025, services production increased by 2.4% in both the euro area and the EU. Among Member States for which data are available, the highest monthly increases were recorded in Greece (+4.5%), Latvia (+3.8%) and…

Dubai’s real estate market remains on track to post an all-time high for rental contracts registered in a single year, with fresh data showing sustained momentum through July.A market analysis released by fäm Properties showed 38,197 rental contracts were registered last month, comprising 18,431 new agreements and 19,766 renewals.That brings the total number of rental contracts recorded in the first seven months of 2026 to 214,445, a 1.9 per cent rise on the same period last year, which went on to close with a record 377,660 registered contracts.Firas Al Msaddi, chief executive officer of fäm Properties, said the level of…

Actor and television host Mini Mathur has emerged as the winner of the reality show ‘Alliance’, lifting the trophy and taking home the cash prize of Rs 50 lakh.Mini defeated fellow finalists Aly Goni and Ruhee Dosani in the final showdown, with Aly finishing as the first runner-up and Ruhee securing the second runner-up position.Reacting to her victory, Mini Mathur said in a statement, “Winning ‘Alliance’ feels absolutely surreal. This journey challenged me in every possible way, emotionally, mentally and strategically, and every single day inside the headquarters pushed me to become stronger.”She added, “There were moments of doubt, moments…

Carlos Alcaraz has pulled out of the Cincinnati Open due to an ongoing wrist injury, organisers said on Tuesday, casting fresh doubts over the Spaniard’s fitness ahead of his US Open title defence this month.The seven-times Grand Slam champion has been sidelined since withdrawing from the Barcelona Open second round in April but had been set to return at the August 13-23 ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, which he won last year.Alcaraz was unable to defend his French Open title and missed Wimbledon as he continued his recovery, though the 23-year-old signalled he was close to a return after…

ABU DHABI, 7th August, 2026 (WAM) — Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) and the Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) have entered a new phase of collaboration under the Abu Dhabi Waste Management Strategy, focusing on delivering a programme of environmental clean-up activities that combine structured field operations with systematic data analysis, reflecting a shared commitment to supporting Abu Dhabi’s environmental protection and sustainability agenda. This collaboration forms part of a broader vision to unify government efforts and transform clean-up operations into strategic tools for environmental monitoring. To date, four clean-up campaigns have been carried out at selected sites,…