5942 25 by Shannon K. O’Neil January 26, 2017 Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto (R) gestures as Mexico’s Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong applauds during the XXXVIII Session of the National Council of Public Security at the National Palace in Mexico City, August 21, 2015. A Mexican government auditor on Friday exonerated Pena Nieto and his finance minister from any wrongdoing over purchases of homes from […]
The directive to identify new ways to hasten the demise of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL, has been widely anticipated by military commanders, who have begun drafting classified options to increase the pressure on the militant group, especially in Raqqa and Mosul, the stronghold in Iraq. Continue reading the main story Work on the directive was described by several current and former officials […]
By Muyu Xu and Ryan Woo | BEIJING BEIJING As millions in China head home to celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday with their families, 24-year-old Luoluo is busy answering messages on a mobile app from desperate men looking to hire an instant girlfriend whom they can present to mom and dad. On visits home during the holiday, which kicks off on Friday, single people are often […]
|By Matein Khalid| The election of a Manhattan property developer and (failed) casino owner as President of the United State has not been positive for most American real estate investment trusts (REIT’s). The sharp rise in US interest rates since the election and the Federal Reserve’s vigilance against inflation risk hits this classic “bond proxy” sector, with its reliance on leverage to boost investor returns. In addition, […]
For Wideman, who spent much of his working life in places like Wyoming and Western Massachusetts and rural Maine, this solitude has been further compounded by cold mathematics. Not only is mainstream publishing overwhelmingly white, it is also nearly bereft of black writers like him: American men of letters descended from Southern slaves, who position themselves as part of a grand and omnivorous intellectual and artistic tradition. […]
By Manuel Mogato | MANILA MANILA The Philippines has received intelligence that shows closer links between domestic militants and Islamic State, its defence minister said on Thursday, adding weight to worries that Middle East extremists are building a network in Southeast Asia. Intelligence from allies showed a leader of the Abu Sayyaf militant group, which has gained notoriety for piracy and kidnapping in the southern Philippines, was […]
Filipino-American chef Sheldon Simeon has made it as one of the final seven contestants competing on Top Chef, the American reality-television cooking show. Simeon previously appeared on the programme’s 10th season in 2012, finishing in third place among 18 chefs and winning the “Fan Favourite” audience award. The current 14th season features eight returning contestants from previous editions competing against eight new chefs. Raised in Hawaii by […]
Communications giant Edelman on Wednesday announced the appointment of a former senior executive of the UK Prime Minister’s Office to a key role in the Middle East, based in Dubai. Robin Gordon-Farleigh has been hired as regional director for government strategies for the Middle East and will take up the role in March. Most recently he was the news planner in the UK Prime Minister’s Office where […]
JAKARTA Indonesia’s anti-corruption agency has detained a Constitutional Court judge in connection with a graft investigation, the court’s chief justice said on Thursday. Chief Justice Arief Hidayat said the judge, Patrialis Akbar, would be suspended from duty and possibly sacked if found to have violated the law. “We will request permission from the president to suspend the judge first and permanently relieve him of his duties if […]
By Elaine Lies and Kwiyeon Ha | TOKYO TOKYO A Japanese hotel chain at the centre of a furore over books its president wrote denying the Nanjing Massacre in wartime China is prepared to consider removing the books from at least some hotels if it receives a formal written request to do so. Tokyo-based hotel and real estate developer APA Group came under fire last week for […]
January 26, 2017 by: Peter Wells in Hong Kong Thursday 05.15 GMT Overview Market spirits are buoyant in Asia after the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above 20,000 points for the first time. Hot topic The Dow Jones on Wednesday traded and closed above 20,000 points for the first time. A generally supportive earnings season has allowed Wall Street to continue its “Trump trade”, which began in […]
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines wants U.S. President Donald Trump to remove the exiled leader of Philippine communists from a U.S. terrorist list to enable him to come home for peace talks, government negotiators said on Wednesday. Maoist-led rebels have waged an insurgency against Philippine governments for nearly five decades and at least 40,000 people have been killed. But talks on ending the war have been revived […]
Agreement exchanged in presence of HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and India’s PM Narendra Modi Abu Dhabi, UAE – January 25, 2016 In the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves […]
India signed a deal with the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday that allows the Gulf OPEC country to fill half of an underground crude oil storage facility at Mangalore that is part of New Delhi’s strategic reserve system. New Delhi announced a series of pacts with the UAE ranging from defence, trade, maritime cooperation to energy after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abu Dhabi’s […]
China is progressing well and stands on the same starting point as other economic powers in the quantum computing arena, but local organisations still fall behind their western counterparts in research experience. China in recent years had begun investing in quantum technology, initiating several national projects in quantum communications and computation. And it seemed likely to continue its investment in future, said Andrew Yao, a Turing Award […]
By David Brunnstrom | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday nominated Philip Bilden, a former military intelligence officer and private equity executive with broad experience of Asia, particularly China, as the civilian head of the U.S. Navy. Trump has vowed to build up the U.S. Navy to 350 ships from the current 290, a move aides say is aimed at countering China’s rapid rise as […]
Dubai, January 25, 2017 SAMENA Telecommunications Council, the tri-regional, non-profit telecommunications industry association that embodies a community of South Asian, Middle Eastern, and North African telecoms operators, manufacturers, and specialist ICT firms, moderated a regulatory roundtable on spectrum management at the 3rd Annual MENA Spectrum Management Conference held in Dubai on 24 – 25 January. The conference, which was hosted by Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in […]
Wednesday 14:35 GMT Overview Major global stock markets are rallying as the Dow Jones Industrial Average breaches 20,000 amid revived hopes for faster US growth. Benchmark sovereign bonds yields are rising, but oil and gold prices are moving lower despite a weaker dollar. Hot topic The “Trump trade” is back on and it has the Dow through 20,000 for the first time? The average, though a price-weighted […]
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday rose above 20,000 points for the first time marking a milestone for Wall Street’s venerable equity barometer as the Trump trade that stalled at the onset of 2017 resumes. The gauge of blue-chip companies climbed 0.5 per cent to 20,014 in opening trading, as US equities extended their record-setting rally that began after the presidential election in November. Investors have […]
Jan 25, 2017 10:59 am IST Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted Wednesday that he had a “warm” conversation with America’s new president, Donald Trump, Tuesday while the White House said the U.S. leader told Mr. Modi his country considers India a “true friend.” The pair spoke on the phone Tuesday as Mr. Trump dials around the world in the first days of his new job. He […]
Bloomberg has gone where MSCI feared to tread, becoming only the second major index provider to include China’s onshore markets in widely-followed benchmark indices in a move that could prompt rivals to follow suit. China is home to the world’s second-largest stock market and the third-largest bond markets, but its tight control of onshore activity has made its inclusion in flagship indices contentious, with many investors arguing […]
Wednesday 05:05 GMT Overview Major stock markets across Asia were mostly positive, buoyed by a record high for the S&P 500 in the US and by stronger prices for base metals supporting materials stocks. Hot topic The Australian dollar was the big loser among Asian currencies, down 0.5 per cent at $0.7541 against its US counterpart after inflation data for the December quarter fell short of economists’ […]
By Tetsushi Kajimoto | TOKYO TOKYO Japan’s exports rose for the first time in 15 months in December on strong sales of electronics and car parts, a positive sign for the export-reliant economy even as U.S. protectionism threatens to hurt trade across the region and dent external demand. Ministry of Finance data showed on Wednesday that exports rose 5.4 percent year-on-year in December, compared with a 1.2 […]
WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump’s defense secretary plans to visit Japan and South Korea next week, choosing the two close U.S. allies for his debut trip abroad as Pentagon chief, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. James Mattis, a retired Marine general, was sworn into the Pentagon’s top job shortly after Trump’s inauguration on Friday. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Tom […]
