Throw them into the bay, or throw them into jail? Those were two possible replies to a poll set up by a user on Twitter. He wanted to know how to deal with “treacherous journalists” – the journalists in question were reporters working for the Panamanian daily newspaper La Prensa. The paper’s newsroom lies just 7.2 miles away from the offices of Mossack Fonseca, the law firm […]
By David Brunnstrom | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met Southeast Asian foreign ministers on Thursday to seek their support in pressing North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programs. Tillerson’s first meeting with all members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations will also address another pressing regional issue – China’s assertive pursuit of territory in the South China Sea, […]
The likes of Shoreditch in London and Williamsburg in New York are now so well-known that they’re starting to lose their hipster lustre, but constant change means that even the world’s most famous cities have new areas which make them worth revisiting. Here are several to watch in 2017. Somerville, Boston Technically a separate city, Somerville has gone from blue collar to every coloured collar you care […]
MANILA Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday his telephone conversation this week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to discuss the Korean peninsula crisis was at the behest of his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump. Duterte said he spoke with Xi on Wednesday to convince him to play a bigger role in defusing tension in the Korean peninsula after North Korea test fired another missile early on Saturday. […]
UAE, May 4, 2017 H.E. Awad Bin Saghir Al Ketbi, Undersecretary of the Supportive Services Sector at the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP), recently inaugurated the 8th Travel Road Exhibition at MOHAP’s office in Dubai, in cooperation with Dnata. The exhibition was participated in by a number of international companies from the tourism and travel industries who presented MOHAP employees with the best travel and hotel […]
BEIJING The European Union wants China to help prevent migrants and refugees using Chinese-made inflatable boats to get into the bloc by stopping the boats reaching them, the European Commissioner for Migration said on Thursday. Dimitris Avramopoulos, speaking to reporters in Beijing after meeting Chinese Minister for Public Security Guo Shengkun, said the rubber boats used by people smugglers were made in China. “The rubber boats used […]
By Sumeet Chatterjee | HONG KONG HONG KONG UBS Group AG (UBSG.S) plans to hire about 100 wealth management client advisors over the next two years in Hong Kong, the biggest wealth hub in Asia-Pacific, to grab a bigger share of the fast-growing mid-tier millionaire segment. The Swiss bank’s sharpening focus on the middle of the wealth market comes as some global banks including Standard Chartered (STAN.L) […]
HSBC has beaten analysts’ expectations for its first-quarter results as strong trading conditions, rising interest rates and a weaker dollar lifted earnings, bringing welcome relief from its heavy miss at the end of last year. Pre-tax profits, adjusted for one-offs and currency moves, reached $5.9bn, surpassing consensus forecasts of $5.3bn. Shares opened up 3.4 per cent in London trading, hitting 668.30p. Europe’s biggest bank by assets, which […]
Freight volumes of Middle East carriers increased by more than 16 percent in March on a year-on-year basis, according to new figures released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA said that while capacity increased 2.7 percent, international freight volumes increased 16.4 percent year-on-year in March – the fastest pace since June 2015. Seasonally-adjusted freight volumes maintained their upward trend as the year-on-year growth rate recovered […]
China has rapidly emerged as the leading issuer of green bonds, spurring excitement among the green finance community that they will help the world’s largest emitter reduce its choking pollution. But although the amount raised is carefully tracked, how the money is being spent is less clear. China issued $36bn of green bonds in 2016, up from almost none the year before, and analysts expect it to […]
By Nichola Saminather | SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian stocks retreated on Thursday, taking their cues from a subdued session on Wall Street, while the dollar retained gains made after the Federal Reserve delivered a hawkish policy statement. At the end of its two-day meeting, the Fed kept its benchmark interest rate steady as expected, but downplayed weak first-quarter economic growth and emphasized the strength of the labor market, […]
By Yeganeh Torbati | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday outlined for his staff how an “America First” agenda translates into foreign policy, but did not address the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts, which worry many diplomats. It was the first time Tillerson had addressed all employees since his first day on the job on Feb. 2, when he spoke to hundreds of […]
Sign up to receive FirstFT by email here The Federal Reserve said it believed the recent slowdown in US growth was likely to prove temporary as it stayed on course for a further increase in short-term interest rates as soon as June. The US central bank kept its target range for the federal funds rate at 0.75 per cent to 1 per cent following its latest two-day meeting. In […]
Islamabad: Days after the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered the formation of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the Panama Papers case, involving Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his children, the premier’s daughter took to social media to dismiss the leaks. Maryam Nawaz Sharif provoked a new debate on social media on Wednesday by challenging the authenticity of the Panama Papers and the journalists who exposed […]
Chickens were domesticated from Asian jungle fowl around 6,000 years ago. Since domestication they have acquired a number of traits that are valuable to humans, including those concerning appearance, reduced aggression and faster egg-laying, although it is not known when and why these traits evolved. Now, an international team of scientists has combined DNA data from archaeological chicken bones with statistical modeling to pinpoint when these traits […]
DUBAI // Education systems in the Middle East must improve and the root causes of youth unemployment have to be tackled, experts say. A panel on Wednesday responded to the findings of the Arab Youth Survey saying public schools in the region were not preparing young Arabs for the challenges of the future jobs market. “Curricula are a big problem in this region,” said Roy Haddad, director […]
The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair completed its 27th edition on Tuesday. On the surface the event did what it was designed to do. Thousands of books were sold, literary awards were handed out, a new publishing house was announced, publishing deals were signed and authors’ works were snapped up in languages ranging from Chinese to Turkish. But it is only when you spend a serious amount […]
(Corrects to show plane took a ground test, not a flight test) BEIJING China’s domestically developed AG600, the world’s largest amphibious aircraft, took its maiden ground test on Saturday in the southern city of Zhuhai, according to the official Xinhua news agency. The AG600 was designed to extinguish forest fires and carry out rescue missions at sea, Xinhua said, adding that it could also “be used to […]
Uber had announced in January that it was bringing its food delivery service to India, its fastest-growing market in the world. And finally, it’s here. UberEATS has rolled out in Mumbai and will soon be taken to five other Indian cities. India becomes UberEATS’ fourth Asian market, after it launched in Singapore last May, followed by Tokyo (Japan) and Bangkok (Thailand). Interestingly, Uber’s local rival Ola had […]
CAIRO Islamic State claimed responsibility on Wednesday for an attack on an armoured convoy used by NATO that killed eight people in the Afghan capital Kabul. It said in a statement on its Amaq news agency that a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged car as the convoy passed an area near the U.S. embassy, killing eight American soldiers. Public health officials in Kabul said the eight dead […]
BANGKOK Human Rights Watch on Wednesday urged Thailand’s military government to disclose the whereabouts of a prominent rights lawyer who has been missing since his house was raided at the weekend. Prawet Prapanukul, 57, provided legal assistance to members of Thailand’s political opposition group, the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, and served as legal counsel in a high profile royal insult case. He has been missing […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for May 3, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. Aarti Jhurani rounds up 10 things to do today in the UAE. Want to see your event listed here? Email us with the details and contact information at [email protected] newslide Al Ain Cultural tour Spend […]
Vocus Communications has revised its guidance for the 2017 financial year, with revenue down by AU$100 million, underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) down by between AU$65 million and AU$75 million, and net profit down by AU$45 million to AU$50 million. According to a presentation delivered by Vocus CEO Geoff Horth on Wednesday, underlying EBITDA is now expected to be between AU$365 million and […]
The New Zealand dollar is the best-performing major currency in Asia today in the wake of strong labour market data. The country’s unemployment rate fell to 4.9 per cent in the three months ended March 31 from 5.2 per cent in the December quarter, according to Statistics New Zealand. This was a better result than the 5.1 per cent economists had pencilled in. It was the equal-lowest […]
