UAE hopeful of Greece economic recovery

Dubai Business News —  Athens, Jan 11 (IANS/WAM) The UAE is optimistic that despite difficult economic circumstances prevailing in the world economy, there is hope for recovery and Greece, driven by its rich historic and civilisational legacy, will weather the storm.

The views were expressed by visiting UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan as he, along with his host, Greek Vice President Theodore Pangalos inaugurated the UAE-Greece Economic Forum Wednesday.

He also said prospects for further expansion in bilateral relations were possible under the political will of the two governments.

Reports from En-Maktoob.New.Yahoo.com.

Success for US as Japan offers Iran oil cut

Dubai Business News —  Japan said Thursday it will cut imports of Iranian oil, but a report said the move was a bid to exempt its banks from US sanctions aimed at squeezing Tehran into giving up its nuclear programme.

The pledge came during a visit by US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who came to Tokyo after receiving short shrift from Beijing for Washington's campaign to smother Iran's vital oil exports and so head off its atomic drive.

"In the past five years, we have reduced... the amount of oil imported (from Iran)," Finance Minister Jun Azumi said during a joint news conference with Geithner. "We wish to take planned and concrete steps to further reduce this share, which now stands at 10 percent," Azumi said.

Geithner came away empty handed from Beijing after unsuccessfully asking China to add its economic might to the campaign to pressure Iran. Azumi, whose resource-poor country is heavily dependent on Middle East oil and has maintained relations with Iran in the face of pressure to ostracise the country, said the atomic issue needed to be dealt with.

"The nuclear problem is a problem that the world cannot ignore," he said. "In this respect, we fully understand actions taken by the United States." Geithner expressed his appreciation for the gesture.

"We are working very closely with Europe and Japan and allies around the world to substantially increase the amount of pressure we bring on Iran. We are exploring ways to cut off the central bank from the international financial system, and to reduce the earnings Iran derives from its oil exports."

He said Washington was at the early stages of consulting with allies on how best to isolate Iran. "We very much appreciate the support Japan has provided standing with us and the international community in support of this very important strategic objective."

The mass circulation Yomiuri Shimbun reported Thursday that Tokyo's move was an effort to persuade the US to exempt Japanese banks from sanctions for dealing with the Iranian central bank. The paper did not offer any figures on the reduction, but said in exchange for telling oil importers to change suppliers, Tokyo will ask the United States to allow Japanese banks to continue dealing with Iranian authorities.

Under Washington's measures, foreign firms will have to choose between doing business with the Islamic republic or the United States. Japanese megabanks would be badly hurt if they are hit with sanctions. The Japanese government believes it would be difficult to impose a total ban on Iranian oil imports, the Yomiuri said.

Reports from En-Maktoob.News.Yahoo.com. 

Al Jazeera to be beamed to 11.7 million homes in India

Dubai Business News — Al Jazeera's English-language news channel is to be beamed to 11.7 million homes in India through a deal with the local broadcaster Dish TV.

More than 48 million consumers will have access to Al Jazeera English, according to a statement issued by the Qatar-based network.

"India is an emerging leader in today's globalised world, and a critical country for Al Jazeera English to broadcast across," said Al Anstey, Managing Director of Al Jazeera English.

The channel already broadcasts to over 250 million households in 130 countries, it said. Despite gaining distribution deals across the world, Al Jazeera has only recently made significant inroads in the US.

In August, Al Jazeera English hit the airwaves in New York City, and said it was engaged in talks over distribution in other parts of the US.

Reports from TheNational.ae.

Disney comes to YouTube

Dubai Business News — Disney films were available for rent on YouTube on Wednesday in the latest bid by the Google-owned website to transform into an online stage for the gamut of digital video content.

The first of hundreds of films from Disney studios including Pixar and DreamWorks joined the array of Hollywood titles that can be viewed as streaming rentals at youtube.com/movies.

Movies available for rent include "Alice in Wonderland" and all four films in the blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean" series, according to YouTube movies and television marketing manager Minjae Ormes.

"Even more of the great Disney classics and new releases will be added in weeks to come, including our YouTube Movie Extras with behind-the-scenes clips, interviews, and more," Ormes promised in a blog post.

Earlier this month, YouTube and The Walt Disney Co. said they were teaming up to produce an original video series and feature "family-friendly" Disney programming on the popular video-sharing site.

Disney Interactive and YouTube said the programming will be available on Disney.com and on YouTube and the "complementary online video destinations" will launch in early 2012.

"Disney Interactive will produce and program the co-branded video destinations for both Disney.com and YouTube, providing a family-friendly experience for viewers across both platforms," Disney and YouTube said.

The programming will include original video from Disney, Disney Interactive original series, some Disney Channel programming and content created by Disney users.

The first project will launch in February and will be an original video series based on Disney's mobile game "Where's My Water?"

YouTube, which Google bought for $1.65 billion in 2006, has been gradually adding professional content in an effort to generate revenue and announced last month that it is adding about 100 channels of original programming.

YouTube remains the top online destination for amateur video, but it faces stiff competition when it comes to professional content from services such as Apple's iTunes, Hulu and Netflix.

Reports from Emirates247.com.

Samsung in last-stage talks to launch Google TV

Dubai Business News — Samsung Electronics , the world's top TV maker, is in last-stage talks with Google to roll out Google TV, the head of Samsung's TV division told reporters on Tuesday.

Yoon Boo-keun, president of Samsung's TV division, said the company planned to unveil its Google TV at an event next year, but not the Consumer Electronics Show in January. He added that Samsung's Google TV offering would differ from those of competitors.

Google TV which currently comes built-in on certain Sony Corp television models and on Logitech International set-top boxes allows consumers to access online videos and websites on their TVs, as well as specialised apps such as video games.

Reports from Emirates247.com.

Google to double staff in Mena

Dubai Business News — Google, which has been fast expanding its Middle East team, aims to double it to staff to 100 next year in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, said a senior company official.

The most-used search engine on the World Wide Web aims to hire staff for marketing, sales and other technical support at both senior and junior levels for its Dubai and Cairo offices, said Carlo D’Asaro Biondo, President, Southern and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, at a press briefing in Dubai on Wednesday.

Biondo also revealed that the company is investing in Google+, Maps, Translation and other Arabic contents in the region.

The web giant, which has two offices in the Mena region, is also considering opening office in Saudi Arabia where it’s been quite active of late. The firm, Biondo said, is currently in the process of creating a platform for interaction between the Saudi citizens and the Minister of Education where Saudi residents can ask questions to the minister relevant to his department. It will also look into offering a similar platform to other Gulf regional countries. Google has recently broadcast Hajj through YouTube.

“The growth that has been seen in the Mena region and the UAE over the last few years have encouraged us to invest more here,” Biondo said.

The Mena region, according to Biondo, contributes less than five per cent of Google’s advertising revenues. However, Google searches have increased by nearly 30 per cent and advertising revenues have grown by 118 per cent this year.

Mohamad Mourad, Google’s Manager for the Gulf region, said the UAE has played a distinct role in the development of online advertising in the region and it represents 67 per cent of $180 million regional online advertising spending.

Reports from Emirates247.com.