A journalist’s account of the conflict in Afghanistan details the cascading failures of the West Farewell Kabul: From Afghanistan to a More Dangerous World By Christina Lamb, William Collins, 640 pages, $25 There is a certain subspecies of journalist who comes to feel more at home in a foreign war zone than in her native land, who gets so plugged in with power brokers and average people […]
The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed for the first time that a combination of text messages and individual counselling sessions to motivate patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) to be more active resulted in improved patient-reported clinical outcomes. This type of behavioural intervention was effective at reducing daily sitting time by an average of more than […]
SAUDI ARABIA. According to a new report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the digital age has ushered in a number of trends that have transformed the media consumption habits of each Saudi generation profoundly – and vastly differently. In parallel, with information and connectivity available at everyone’s fingertips – anywhere, anytime – the Kingdom’s traditional media landscape has, in recent years, been disrupted. The findings presented […]
One of Widad Majid’s brothers had to stay in Turkey for treatment of leukaemia, and her marrow could be the only hope for his survival Along with more than a dozen members of her extended family, Widad Majid spent last summer sleeping in sweltering refugee camps, open fields, train stations and a jail cell as she traversed Europe en route from Syria to Sweden, one small girl […]
Online abuse, harassment and trolling have proven to be stubborn problems for many social networking sites, but Periscope believes users might find help through a jury of their peers. The Twitter-owned video-streaming app announced yesterday that it was introducing a new and “community-led” tool to let users report comments they find spammy or abusive. Following such reports, a random group of viewers will be asked to vote […]
Dubai resident M. N. Vivekanandan with his ‘Share ‘n’ Care Library in his home. Dubai: If you’re a student based in the UAE and looking for books to rent, Dubai resident M. N. Vivekanandan has initiated an easy way to do so. The 16-year-old student has a collection of over 1,000 books in his home’s ‘Share ‘n’ Care Library’. He told […]
In the world of Harry Potter the young wizard undergoes two magical biological transformations: eating Gillyweed to grow gills in order to breathe underwater and drinking Skele-Gro to repair broken bones. Natural Sciences students from the University of Leicester have put these arcane medical practices to the test — and have concluded that a little magic might indeed be required in both situations to make them scientifically […]
SAUDI ARABIA. The recent Ministerial Resolution on the Saudisation of the sale and repair of mobile phones, together with the earlier resolutions on the retail of female clothing, indicate a growing approach by the Ministry of Labour to require the complete Saudisation of certain activities within the retail sector. In this article we examine the existing requirements and also the proposal for a weighted Nitiqat. Sale and […]
INTERNATIONAL. Inadequate data on workforce mobility is placing firms under increasing pressure as they struggle to deploy global human resource strategies, contain costs and comply with the demands of cross-border regulatory obligations. This is according to EY’s 2015-16 Global Mobility Effectiveness Survey, which provides insights from more than 200 professionals across 35 jurisdictions and 13 industry sectors. The report finds that poor data capture and poor analytics […]
A new proposal by House Republicans would effectively put an end to net neutrality while slashing funding for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The legislation would reduce the agency’s funding by more than 17 percent, likely leaving the agency crippled and incapable of enforcing its regulations. The proposal would also explicitly prohibit the agency from making any rules regarding either cable set-top boxes or Net neutrality. “The […]
Sources tell Gulf News media reports have exaggerated the reasons behind the lay-offs Dubai: The Saudi-owned pan-Arab Al Arabiya has fired dozens of employees in a restructuring move. Saudi Akhbaar24 broke the story claiming fifty employees had been let go, among them some well-known and long-serving staffers. A trusted source, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the news to Gulf News but […]
A GoPro Hero 3+ camera is seen at the Nasdaq Market Site before before GoPro Inc’s IPO in New York City, June 26, 2014. Reuters/Mike Segar SAN FRANCISCO Shares of GoPro Inc (GPRO.O) got a lift on Tuesday after the struggling action camera maker said it was partnering with extreme sports sponsor Red Bull in a marketing and promotion deal. Briefly a Wall Street favorite following an […]
A 3D printed Apple logo is seen in front of a displayed cyber code in this illustration taken February 26, 2016. Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration SAN FRANCISCO Apple Inc (AAPL.O), which has resisted pressure from U.S. law enforcement to unlock encrypted iPhones, this month rehired a top expert in practical cryptography to bring more powerful security features to a wide range of consumer products. Jon Callas, who co-founded several […]
Cardiomyopathy, or a deterioration of the ability of the heart muscle to contract, generally leads to progressive heart failure. It is frequently inherited, and, because approximately 40% of children born with it are likely to die within five years of diagnosis, being able to identify its genetic basis is particularly important. Now, an international team of researchers has identified a new disease gene which is implicated in […]
UAE. According to EY’s latest Global Fraud Survey, Corporate misconduct – individual consequences, only 29% of executives in the Middle East recognize cybercrime risk, compared to 47% globally. T he survey found that many respondents maintain the view that fraudulent activity is not their problem, despite recognizing the prevalence of the issue in their own countries. Michael Adlem, EY’s MENA Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services (FIDS) Leader, […]
This is the age of the disgruntled — in domestic politics and foreign affairs alike. Anti-establishment sentiment within countries is somehow echoed by the way the rule book of international relations is being torn up. These dynamics feed on each other. They are at play in America (the rise of Donald Trump), Europe (growing populism) and Asia (nationalism and an arms race). Finding a way to […]
Although the health implications are not certain, dysfunction of the gut microbiome has been associated with several diseases New York: An antimicrobial agent found in many consumer products, from hand soaps to toys and even toothpaste, can rapidly disrupt bacterial communities in the gut, new research shows. Although the health implications are not certain, dysfunction of the gut microbiome has been […]
By DECLAN WALSH, NOUR YOUSSEF and KAREEM FAHIM May 21, 2016 CAIRO — In an eerie coincidence, the EgyptAir jetliner that plunged into the Mediterranean on Thursday was once the target of political vandals who wrote in Arabic on its underside, “We will bring this plane down.” Three EgyptAir security officials said the threatening graffiti, which appeared about two years ago, had been the work of aviation workers at Cairo Airport. Playing […]
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI Apple Inc chief Tim Cook met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, concluding a four-day trip to India that could set the stage for Apple’s expansion plans in one of the world’s fastest growing smartphone markets. Modi and Cook met for an hour in central Delhi and discussed Apple’s plans for its India business, including the possibility of manufacturing and retailing in the country. Apple […]
From David Bowie’s We Are the Dead to Katy Perry’s Firework, art imitates art in this selection of literature-inspired songs Katy Perry performs at the Odyssey Arena, Belfast. Do you know which book inspired her song Firework? Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush is inspired by Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Perhaps the most famous song with literary references, Kate Bush’s […]
The logo of Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market index listed company Microsoft (MSFT) is seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 22, 2016. Reuters/Lucy Nicholson/Files SAN FRANCISCO With the world growing more concerned about attacks by militant groups on civilians, Microsoft Corp on Friday outlined new policies to crack down what it called “terrorist content” on some of its consumer services. In a blog post, […]
At its I/O Developers Conference this week, Google announced a new product that had been an open secret for several months. The Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) is named after the TensorFlow software it uses for its machine learning programs. In announcing the chip, Google referred to the TPU as an accelerator chip, able to speed up a given task, like data analysis or voice translation. When he […]
A new study from Microsoft has found that organizations now rely more on digital infrastructures than they do on physical infrastructures. The findings indicate that cloud deployment models have now overtaken any other type of deployment in the technology sector, according to the company, which asked tech research firm 451 Research to conduct the study. “As organizations prepare for major business and technology changes, they will depend […]
German tech giant SAP said that it will be expanding the enterprise offerings available on its HANA Cloud Platform for Internet of Things (IoT). Making the announcement at the IoT World 2016 conference being held in Santa Clara, Calif., this week, SAP said the new offerings will be focused on helping enterprises provide new customer outcomes. “SAP is helping customers map their journeys through digital transformation, and […]
INTERNATIONAL. /PRNewswire/ — The CFO has never been held more accountable for the company’s success, and the ability of finance teams to extract value from company data is the key to delivering on the chief executive’s expectations. Oracle’s study, Modern Finance: Driving Transformation from Within, found that closer alignment between the CFO and CIO is crucial if finance leaders are to effectively help the business achieve its […]
A man is seen next to a Firefox logo at a Mozilla stand during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 28, 2013. Reuters/Albert Gea Mozilla Corp has asked a federal judge to order the U.S. government to disclose a vulnerability in its Firefox web browser that the company says the FBI exploited to investigate users of a large and secretive child pornography website. Mozilla filed papers […]
Amazon boxes are seen stacked for delivery in the Manhattan borough of New York City, January 29, 2016. Reuters/Mike Segar/File Photo Amazon.com Inc launched a service on Tuesday that allows users to post videos and earn royalties from them, setting up the world’s biggest online retailer to compete directly with Alphabet Inc’s YouTube. The service, called Amazon Video Direct, will make the uploaded videos available to rent […]
We use them every day, and they’re crucially important — yet, far too often we’re lazy and careless about them. Passwords, and the importance of keeping them secure, are once again in the news after word emerged Wednesday of a data breach that put more than 272 million passwords and account credentials at risk. Milwaukee-based cybersecurity firm Hold Security reported that a Russian hacker had offered a […]
UAE. End of Service Gratuity (Gratuity) is a statutory severance pay across most Middle Eastern jurisdictions and one which is conceptually analysed as akin to a retirement savings scheme or pension scheme. This article explores some of the common pitfalls and tricky issues which arise in relation to statutory Gratuity in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under Federal Law No.8 of 1980 Regarding the Organisation of Labour […]
A Toshiba Corp logo displayed on one of its television sets is seen through a vehicle in Tokyo, Japan, November 26, 2015. Reuters/Toru Hanai/Files TOKYO Toshiba Corp, in a hurry to raise cash before closing its books for the business year that ended at the end of last month, was able to structure the sale of its medical equipment business to Canon Inc in an unorthodox way […]
