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Why I Pre-Ordered a Nintendo Switch

Pre-orders, the video game industry's nasty push to coax you into exchanging money for products before they're released, are awful offerings. Busted launches, abusive DRM, and general industry shenanigans have made it a foolish endeavor to give publishers money before hardware or software is thoroughly analyzed by journalists, influencers, or hardcore fan communities. Yet, I pre-ordered a Nintendo Switch without hesitation. I recognize my hypocrisy and [...]

Cars racing to become 'mobile phones on wheels'

Cars are on their way to becoming 'mobile phones on wheels' The car of the future will let you pay for petrol or parking directly from your vehicle and receive traffic alerts and restaurant recommendations from your onboard digital assistant. Connected cars—or "mobile phones on wheels"—will be able to do those things and more, including communicate with each other on the road and with the infrastructure around [...]

Panama Papers: Mossack Fonseca founders arrested over bribery scandal – The Guardian

The founders of Mossack Fonseca, the law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers scandal, were arrested in Panama City on Thursday as the country’s attorney general launched a probe into their alleged connections with Brazil’s sprawling Lava Jato corruption scandal. Juergen Mossack and his colleague Ramon Fonseca, a former adviser to Panama’s president Juan Carlos Varela, were taken into custody and transferred to police cells [...]

Continental CEO eyes new business from Opel-Peugeot deal

BERLIN Continental (CONG.DE) expects a possible tie-up between PSA Peugeot Citroen (PEUP.PA) and General Motors' (GM.N) Opel division would boost its business, its chief executive said."Opportunities emerge because platforms will be standardized and higher and more interesting volumes will arise" for suppliers, CEO Elmar Degenhart said during a conference call after the automotive supplier published results on Thursday.Separately, Continental said it planned to raise prices for summer [...]

China accuses rights activist of 'fake news' fabricating torture

By Christian Shepherd | BEIJING BEIJING Chinese state media said on Thursday that a prominent Chinese rights activist had made up "fake news" of torture to grab international headlines, but his defenders said the accusations were a coordinated attempt to smear his name. State media said disbarred lawyer Jiang Tianyong, 46, was behind news reports of police torturing another detained rights activist, Xie Yang, and that Jiang [...]

Eyewitness to America’s Longest War, After Others Have Gone

In 2011, the Kabul foreign press corps numbered 85, by the reckoning of Dominic Medley, who has worked here for many years as a press officer for NATO, the American military and the United Nations. The American military was surging, reaching more than 100,000 troops by 2012. The press surged as well, with regular visitors in addition to the resident press corps, plus dozens of reporters going [...]

Middle East Film and Comic Con 2017 'will be biggest ever'

Organisers of the Middle East Film and Comic Con (MEFCC) say the sixth edition to be held in Dubai in April will be its biggest ever. The pop culture convention is returning at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from April 6-8 with a showcase of the best regional and international talent, celebrity guests, pop culture exhibitors and activities, a statement said.  Over the past five years, [...]

Safety zones set for deep South – Bangkok Post

A security officer wraps the recovered bodies of a couple who were brutally murdered by separatists in Songkhla to get their pickup truck and rig it as a car bomb. (Photo by Assawin Pakkawan) A network of Buddhists in the far South has called for a relaxation of special security laws in the insurgency-plagued region following an agreement between the government and insurgent groups to create safety [...]

'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' Releases New Trailer, Reveals Star-Lord’s Dad

The galaxy needs saving again. Good thing the Guardians are back. Again. Marvel Studios has released the latest trailer for the much-anticipated movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. True to its form, the trailer featured action scenes of galactic proportions. There are giant tentacle monsters, swarm of spaceships, a golden villainess, a new cast of misfits (Mantis, Nebula), and lots of explosions. And oh, Star-Lord's dad. Guardians [...]

Drone Strike Kills Senior Al Qaeda Leader

Mr. Masri was “jihadi royalty, meaning his death will almost certainly necessitate some form of response, whether from Syria or elsewhere in the world,” Mr. Lister said. Continue reading the main story The killing of the Qaeda leader was previously reported by CNN and The Guardian. It was confirmed by an American official who declined to be identified because he was discussing classified intelligence reportsPhotographs of the [...]

Local Edition: Here’s why journalists stay in the business

This was originally published in our weekly newsletter, Local Edition, which is a product of the Knight-Lenfest Newsroom Initiative. Subscribe here. Have you ever had a party and looked around the room at some point and thought, Wow, there are a lot of cool people here? Well, that’s how my inbox felt this week. Thanks to everyone who contributed last week by answering our first question in [...]

Uber’s CEO Travis Kalanick Caught On Video In A Heated Exchange With Driver

As if Uber's woes couldn't get any more taxing than it currently is. The company is dealing with extremely controversial sexual harassment allegations, being sued by Google over allegedly stolen designs, and now it has to deal with another controversy altogether, this time of its CEO, Travis Kalanick, arguing — with harsh words, no less — with an Uber driver in a video caught by the car's dashcam. Travis [...]

Calls to upgrade specialist schools in the UAE

ABU DHABI // Schools for children with learning difficulties are not fit for purpose as they do not have the expertise or resources required, a specialist teacher has said.Abu Dhabi Education Council schools have introduced resource centres for children with difficulties, but parents have complained that they "lump together" special needs pupils with those with learning difficulties."This is a global misconception that children with learning problems are [...]

Emirates Lit Fest 2017: Yasmina Khadra tackles issues of identity and conflict

A critic once described ­Yasmina Khadra as "a writer who can ­understand man ­wherever he is."This came after it had become public knowledge, in 2011, that Yasmina Khadra is actually the pen name of Algerian author ­Mohammed Moulessehoul. Speaking to The National from his home in France, ­Moulessehoul said the revelation about his true identity – a former career military man and counterterrorism officer in the Algerian [...]

Iraqi officers find Islamic State members hidden among refugees fleeing Mosul

By Stephen Kalin | SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq A few hundred men who had scurried across front lines in a refugee exodus from Mosul sat on the ground in neat rows before an Iraqi intelligence officer who scanned the crowd for hidden militants.The officer pulled a teenager onto a raised platform and asked the group if he belonged to Islamic State (IS). Muffled [...]

Digital transformation in the insurance industry

Image by Arafat Uddin (Creative Commons) The financial services industry is undergoing digital disruption and change. Insurance, as part of that industry, also faces new opportunities and challenges. To explore these issues, I spoke with the CIO for Information at Swiss reinsurance giant, Swiss Re. Rainer Baumann handles the data and tools that experts inside the company use to understand and evaluate a broad range of insurance [...]

Xbox Game Pass vs. PlayStation Now: Which Is The Better Gaming Subscription Service?

Microsoft is finally following in the footsteps of Sony to offer gamers a subscription service for video games for its console. Microsoft announced on Tuesday the upcoming launch of Xbox Game Pass, its subscription service that allows gamers to play unlimited titles for the monthly fee of $9.99. While this is exciting for those with Xbox One, many gamers have both Microsoft's gaming console as well as [...]

WTF Chart Of The Day: American Consumer Confidence Soars To 16 Year Highs As Real Wages Plunge

Continuing the trend of 'soft' survey data strong performance and expectation beats, The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence surged above the highest analyst's expectation to 114.8 - the best print since July 2001.   Consumers’ assessment of current conditions held relatively steady in February. Those saying business conditions are “good” declined slightly from 29.0 percent to 28.7 percent, while those saying business conditions are “bad” also decreased, from [...]

Panama Papers case: Bilawal doubts SC will rule against Sharifs – The Express Tribune

Courts usuall­y do not give verdic­ts agains­t the family, says PPP chairm­an KARACHI: The nation is waiting with bated breath for a Supreme Court verdict in the Panamagate case. Imran Khan’s PTI, the main petitioner in the case, has high hopes, but the PPP chairman believes the judgment might not be unsettling for the ruling Sharif family. On Thursday, a five-judge larger bench of the apex court reserved [...]

Amazon Working On Alexa Voice Recognition Technology That Can Tell Different Voices Apart

Alexa is smart, feature-rich, and pretty innovative, but it has trouble spots, particularly with differentiating different voices to respond to. That may change soon. Amazon is reportedly developing an advanced voice-recognition feature that will allow Alexa to tell different voices apart, according to sources familiar with Amazon's Alexa strategy. Will Alexa Be Able To Tell Voices Apart Soon? The report comes from Time. Alexa, like many virtual assistant, [...]

ADM ups strategic partners' satisfaction to 83%, signs 15 MoU last year

28 February 2017Abu Dhabi City Municipality - THE Abu Dhabi City Municipality has made a remarkable increase in strategic partners’ satisfaction about the existing agreements thanks to the improvements carried out by the Municipality aimed to bolster cooperation with partners, leverage the scale of municipal services to measure up with partner’s aspirations and meet the requirements of sustainable development in Abu Dhabi. The achievement reflects the Municipality’s [...]

Government to continue Census name and address collection

The Australian government has told the Senate Economics References Committee that the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will subject its forthcoming policy and procedural changes to an independent Privacy Impact Assessment and "broad consultation" before implementing them in response to the 2016 Census debacle. One such change, however, will not include allowing citizens to omit their names from Census forms, with the government holding firm that it [...]

Light beam replaces blood test during heart surgery

Light introduced through an optical fiber can determine whether a patient's blood is coagulating by measuring the vibration of red blood cells. Credit: Andrii Pshenychnyi A University of Central Florida professor has invented a way to use light to continuously monitor a surgical patient's blood, for the first time providing a real-time status during life-and-death operations. The technology developed by UCF scientist Aristide Dogariu uses an optical [...]

Donald Trump’s media ban inspires Cambodian attack on press freedom – The Guardian

And so it has happened. Less than 100 days into his presidency, Donald Trump is being cited by a corrupt and despotic regime to justify new restrictions on rights and freedoms. On Saturday, Cambodia’s council of ministers spokesman Phay Siphan vowed to “crush” media entities that endanger the “peace and security” of the kingdom, calling on all “foreign agents” to self-censor or be shut down. He justified [...]