LUXEMBOURG - Monday, February 8th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SES S.A. (NYSE Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG) announced today that it is targeting a 24 February 2016 launch date (with a backup date of the 25th) for its new satellite, SES-9. This date was mutually set by SES and the launch operator for SES-9, SpaceX, the Hawthorne, California based company that designs, manufactures and launches the Falcon 9 rocket and other spacecraft. SpaceX is currently completing an extended series of testing and pre-flight validation in advance of the SES-9 launch, which will take place at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

In order to minimise the impact of moving the launch from late last year, SpaceX is supporting a mission modification. The changed mission will reduce the time needed for SES-9 to reach its orbital slot, keeping the Operational Service Date (OSD) in the third quarter of 2016, as previously foreseen.

SES-9 will be positioned at 108.2 degrees Eas ... Read more »

SAINT PREX, Switzerland - Tuesday, February 9th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ferring Pharmaceuticals announced today the commencement of the Phase 3b PRONOUNCE Trial. The trial will compare the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in patients with prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD), receiving the GnRH receptor antagonist, degarelix, to patients receiving a GnRH receptor agonist, leuprolide.

Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer in men worldwide with 1.1 million cases diagnosed and over 300,000 deaths in 2012.1 Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is considered the gold-standard treatment for patients with advanced prostate cancer.2 However, ADT has shown to be associated with increased risk for CVD. This increase in risk is particularly apparent within the first year of treatment initiation.3,4,5

A retrospective analysis of pooled data from six Phase 3 clinical trials suggests that there may be a dif ... Read more »

Strategic Round to Help Fuel Fintech Growth in Asia and Europe

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Monday, February 8th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Xignite, the leading provider of market data cloud solutions for financial institutions and financial technology companies, today announced that it has raised $20.5 million in a Series C funding round led by Tokyo-based QUICK Corporation, part of the Nikkei Group and Japan’s largest financial information provider. StarVest Partners, Altos Ventures, and Startup Capital Ventures, Xignite’s current investors, also participated. This new round brings Xignite’s total funding to $37 million.

In connection with the capital raise, Xignite and QUICK will be partnering to deliver Xignite’s cloud-based data solutions in the Asian market as well as QUICK’s proprietary financial data and information through Xignite’s market leading APIs. Xignite brings an elastic cloud infrastructure solution that ... Read more »

Covering trailers, camper trailers and semi-trailers

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Thursday, February 4th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) will begin to apply the Ministerial Resolution No. 12 of 2015 related to the UAE Control System for trailers, camper trailers and semi- trailers starting the first of April. The resolution stipulates that none of the above vehicles may be certified without the prior issuance of a certificate of conformity according to the provisions of this resolution.

The ministry invited owners and drivers of certified and uncertified trailers, camper trailers and semi-trailers that are used in the country to abide by the resolution and regularize their status before the resolution comes into effect, at which time uncertified trailers will be prevented from circulating in the country.

Brigadier Ghaith Hassan Al Zaabi, Director General of the Traffic Coordination Directorate General at the Ministry of Interior ... Read more »

LONDON - Monday, February 8th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

Lancet Oncology reports Phase Ib study (study 006) of combined PD-L1 and CTLA-4 checkpoint inhibitors in locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC

Early results support AstraZeneca’s combination strategy in immuno-oncology with potential combination efficacy for patients with PD-L1 negative NSCLC

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AstraZeneca and MedImmune, its global biologics research and development arm, today announced publication in The Lancet Oncology of a Phase Ib study (study 006), showing antitumour activity of combination treatment with durvalumab and tremelimumab, in patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), irrespective of PD-L1 status.1

In a cohort of 26 patients treated with durvalumab 10-20 mg/kg plus tremelimumab 1 mg/kg, and followed for ≥24 weeks, the confirmed objective response rate (ORR) was 23% (95% confidence interval 9-44%).1 Comparable ORRs were seen in ... Read more »

• Addition follows on 2015 sweetener expansion in Eastern Europe, represents continued execution of plan to grow global capabilities

CHICAGO - Tuesday, February 9th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today announced that it has agreed to acquire from Tate & Lyle (LON: TATE.L) a Casablanca, Morocco-based corn wet mill that produces glucose and native starch.

“The Morocco plant, which serves both global and regional customers in the food, feed, paper and corrugated board industries, is a great addition to our global sweeteners and starches footprint,” said Chris Cuddy, president of ADM’s Corn Processing business unit. “The facility is the leading sweetener and starch supplier in a country that should see substantial demand growth in the coming years. It is well-positioned to serve Moroccan customers as well as Mediterranean export markets. This also represents an opportunity to help i ... Read more »

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Thursday, February 4th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

The Ministry of Interior, represented by the Law Respect Culture Bureau at the General Directorate of the Community Protection and Crime Prevention at the General Secretariat of the Office of H.H Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, will be organizing 257 events as part of the bureau’s plan for 2016.  

The plan will include 131 social-oriented events, which include awareness lectures for school students in the different educational stages, awareness programs for juveniles, awareness councils and programs for athletes, in addition to workshops, competitions, and awareness councils.

The Law Respect Culture Bureau will also organize 126 policing and legal events, including awareness lectures and workshops that target the MoI’s staff members, recruits, and trainees outside the UAE, and other events for the Women Police.

Colonel Dr. Salah Obeid Al Ghoul, ... Read more »

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Sunday, February 7th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, attended the final rehearsal of the graduation ceremony for the 26th batch of police cadets and university degree holders, and the 10th batch of female university degrees holders, which was held this morning at the training field of the Police College in Abu Dhabi.​

His Highness Sheikh Saif closely reviewed the final preparations and arrangements of the graduation ceremony. He reviewed the graduates queue, encouraging the cadets to exert more effort and concentration to reach the best level for the graduation ceremony, and wished them good luck and success.

In a gentle fatherly gesture, His Highness Sheikh Saif sat with a group of school students from Al Nahda National School, Darwish bin Karam School, and Al Suqoor School, and exchanged spontaneous and caring conversations with them. His Hig ... Read more »

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Thursday, February 4th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

The Khalifa Student Empowerment Program “Aqdar”‎ discussed ways to enhance cooperation and support the partnership with the Marriage Fund to achieve its objectives of promoting institutional integration. This cooperation aims to consolidate efforts targeting students at all schools nationwide, and serves as a major gateway through which all the programs and activities organized by the various ministries and entities can reach schools and students.

These comments were made during the meeting held between Her Excellency Dr. Maitha Salem Al Shamsi, Minister of State and Chairwoman of the Marriage Fund and Major General Dr. Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, Secretary General of the Office of HH Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Higher Committee for Khalifa Student Empowerment Program “Aqdar”.

Her Excellency Dr. Al Shamsi reviewed a p ... Read more »

Under the Slogan “Observe the Right of Way”

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Wednesday, February 3rd 2016 [ME NewsWire]

The Traffic and Patrols Directorate at Umm Al Quwain General Headquarters has launched its first campaign this year under the slogan “Observe the right of way.” The campaign is part of the2016 operational plan developed for the traffic sector at the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and Umm Al Quwain(UAQ) Police, and will last until the end of March.

Lt. Colonel Saeed Obaid bin Aran, Director of Traffic and Patrols Department of the UAQ Police, said that the campaign embodies the MoI’s and UAQ GHQ’s strategy. It also falls in line with the initiative to further implement traffic awareness programs in order to maintain road security and ensure traffic safety for all. He pointed out that the traffic awareness campaigns contribute to instilling the concept of traffic awareness in the spirit of drivers and road user ... Read more »

For Winning Asia’s Gold Medal in Shooting

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Wednesday, February 3rd 2016 [ME NewsWire]

Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, honored yesterday (Tuesday), First Warrant Officer Khalid Saeed Salem Alkaabi, from the ICT Department at Abu Dhabi Police, by awarding him the Community Service Medal. This honor was bestowed on First Warrant Officer Alkaabi for winning the Double Trap Men Gold medal at the Asian Olympic Shooting Qualifying Tournament, which was held recently in India. By winning the tournament, Alkaabi claimed a quota place for the upcoming Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

HH Sheikh Saif congratulated Alkaabi on achieving this accomplishment after a short period of training. He also stressed keenness for our country to remain a model for modernity, development and excellence, and urged the police staff members to pursue excellence in all fields, to heighten the achi ... Read more »

Dubai United Arab Emirates - Sunday, February 7th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

In June 2014, the long anticipated announcement came from the UAE Ministry of Finance about its plans to establish a corporate tax and VAT regime as part of its efforts to ‘[ensure] the sustainability of the federal government’s financial resources.’ (Ministry of Finance, 2014 annual report). The draft legislation has not yet been published and is yet to go through legislative process, and no implementation date has been set. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Finance’s intentions have been clearly set out in its 2014 annual report, indicating that the days of tax-free living in the UAE are coming to an end.

Against this backdrop, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and aafaq Islamic Finance recently hosted a panel to discuss about the impact of Value-Added Tax (VAT) on businesses in the UAE.

ACCA’s global head of taxation, Chas Roy Chowdhury&nb ... Read more »

LONDON - Monday, February 8th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In ten days, on February 18th Uganda’s General Elections will take place. The Electoral Commission of Uganda is partnering with Smartmatic, the world’s leading electronic voting technology company, to use a biometric voter authentication technology solution that validates the identity of voters prior to ballot casting.

Smartmatic has developed a central system to store and manage the biographic and biometric information of all registered voters. This system, which will be synchronized with Uganda’s National ID database, will perform quality control and integrity checks, and convert all the data into a format that can be used to process votes with accuracy and speed on Election Day.

“Voter identity management is a critical task in any election. Thanks to this partnership we will provide our field operators with the technology, services and know-how necessary to guarantee ... Read more »