Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat is trying to explain what he loves most about superhero movies. He talks excitedly about the cape and the mask. The importance of a hero’s “normal” life. “When Superman doesn’t work, it’s because there’s not enough Clark Kent,” he says. And then there’s the romance. “There’s always a good one at their heart – and Clark Kent/Lois Lane is certainly the only […]
A round up of some of 2016’s most significant corporate events and news stories. Smartphone sales © EPA A bright start to the year for Samsung Electronicswent up in smoke, after it took the unprecedented decision to axe its Galaxy Note 7 line, following a spate of safety issues that saw the smartphone banned from aircraft, writes Nic Fildes. The 2016 Galaxy Note iteration won substantial praise […]
The vote for Brexit will change the course of Britain’s history, Philip Hammond announced last month. The UK chancellor may be a strident advocate for a soft departure from the EU but he has also been keen to paint a positive picture of the country’s economy, saying the UK’s fundamental strengths will “ensure our future success”. Financial markets are sceptical. The economy may have confounded doom laden […]
Last-minute trawls round malls or petrol-station flowers aside, it’s probably time to accept that it’s getting a tad late for thoughtful festive presents this year. But for car-idolising types who get the best gift of all this Christmas – cash, obviously – there are plenty of, err, wheely great gifts to splurge on from around the world. Innovative toys A few months ago, we reviewed the impressively […]
On April 7, 14 large blue letters quietly disappeared from the outer walls of an office building in an exclusive neighborhood in northern San Salvador. One by one, the letters came down from the blue and beige stucco walls, leaving behind faint traces of the name of the law firm that had been working there just days before: M-O-S-S-A-C-K-F-O-N-S-E-C-A. Employees of the El Salvador branch of Mossack […]
A hundred years ago, an arms race between the dominant global superpower the (British Empire) and a rising power (Kaiser Wilhelm’s Germany) culminated in the mass slaughter of World War One. The deep mistrust between the United States and the People’s Republic of China has all the potential to spawn a traumatic chapter in international relations. Despite its “pivot” to Asia, the Obama White House was cautious […]
If any global sound is on the verge of blowing up in 2017, it’s the pan-African mélange known as afrobeats. Or, depending on who you ask, afropop, afrofusion or afropolitan – but not to be confused with political Fela Kuti-style afrobeat (singular), nor with any of the traditional music that has tended to find its way into the “world music” section of western music shops. Rather, this […]
LONDON More than 4,000 homeless people in Britain are expected to use temporary shelters set up over Christmas by charity Crisis, which said the number of people sleeping rough was rising sharply. Staffed by an army of around 13,000 volunteers, the charity will provide food, shelter, haircuts, massages and dentistry services at shelters until Dec. 30. According to government statistics from 2015, more than 3,500 people sleep […]
Christmas is almost here (and so is Hanukkah), and so it is time for the Long View to revisit the offices of Hindsight Capital LLC once more. Hindsight Capital, for the uninitiated, is the hedge fund that beats all others year in and year out because it is endowed with 20/20 hindsight; it can see the future. The returns to clairvoyance are potentially infinite, so it has […]
Thousands of men, women and children from Myanmar’s Rohingya minority have fled the country over what the army is calling a crackdown on insurgents. A Wall Street Journal article examines the intensification of a long-simmering conflict between Yangon and the Rohingya Muslims, who are denied citizenship in the predominantly Buddhist Southeast Asian state. Here is a short history of the Rohingya people. 8th Century: The Rohingya, a […]
Filipino beauty pageant winners Parul Shah and Maggie Wilson have emerged victorious on the fifth season of reality-TV programme The Amazing Race Asia. They beat fellow beauty queens Yvonne Lee and Chloe Chen from Malaysia, as well as married couple Eric Tai and Rona Samson, who are also from the Philippines, in the grand finale this week. It was the culmination of 10 legs of competition that […]
How long ago it seems — that post-referendum panic in the UK stock market. The pound plunged and the crowd ran into “safe havens” in the form of government debt, ditching those risky, tricky shares. On July 13, this column pointed out the folly of this strategy. At that moment, buying and holding the UK government’s 10-year bond guaranteed an annual return of just 0.9 per cent. […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for December 23, 2016, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. newslide Abu Dhabi Festive fun Visit Al Maryah Island for the Winter Wonderland, featuring cosy winter cottages hosting activities including bauble-decorating, cracker-making and gingerbread-house-decorating. A skating rink and snow park offer a wintry feel, while […]
Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse have agreed to pay out billions to resolve a probe into the alleged mis-selling of mortgage-backed securities at the height of the US housing bubble, striking deals before the Trump administration takes power. The deals came as federal prosecutors announced they were suing Barclays and two of its executives over the issue of allegedly fraudulent residential mortgage-backed securities. The suit followed the breakdown of talks […]
For Lindsay Lohan, adopting new roles and changing her image seems to have become as much a part of her personal life as it was in her acting career. Following well-documented struggles with addiction, turbulent relationships and a somewhat chequered history as an actress, the 30-year-old is embracing her latest real-life role. She has become a self-proclaimed humanitarian campaigner for Syria and Turkey, in addition to reportedly […]
More than four decades after a sweeping British military withdrawal from bases “east of Suez”, the UK is scaling up its defence engagement in the Gulf and Asia in what analysts regard as a recognition of the region’s growing global importance. Britain is reopening a naval support facility in Bahrain, creating a permanent army presence in Oman and establishing new defence staff centres in Dubai and Singapore. […]
By Lin Taylor LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – British shoppers seeking last-minute Christmas presents may want try their luck at charity stores after a 19th century vase, an original Kermit the Frog puppet and a rare military medal were named among the most unusual gifts donated to good causes. Animals were also popular items, with a sheep’s head, two canaries and a live ferret among many bizarre […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for December 23, 2016, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. newslide Abu Dhabi Festive fun Visit Al Maryah Island for the Winter Wonderland, featuring cosy winter cottages hosting activities including bauble-decorating, cracker-making and gingerbread-house-decorating. A skating rink and snow park offer a wintry feel, while […]
US trade policies under Donald Trump will be key to agricultural commodities next year, as the world continues to grapple with high levels of grain production and inventories, according to a leading forecaster. “The area of concern is whether anything is going to happen that is going to affect our trade with China, which is a big agricultural buyer,” said Don Riffe, senior vice-president for agribusiness intelligence […]
As journalists grapple with the rise of fake news, it’s worth examining what happens when policymakers embrace misinformation instead of evidence when it comes to climate change. In September, YourNewsWire breathlessly told its readers that thousands of scientists had declared climate change “a hoax.” This was big news — at least on Facebook — where the YourNewsWire post was shared more than 550,000 times, making it the […]
It began on September 24, with a three-word plea: “I need peace.” That day, 18 more tweets were sent from a newly opened Twitter account attributed to Bana Alabed, a seven-year-old girl trapped with her family in eastern Aleppo. Within days, the mainstream western media was carrying stories about “the little girl who shames world over Aleppo”, as the UK’s Daily Mail headlined a front-page picture of […]
By Claire Milhench | LONDON LONDON Global investors’ equity holdings rose to six-month highs in December on bets that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s promised fiscal splurge would spur higher growth and inflation, a Reuters monthly poll showed on Thursday. Trump’s plans to cut taxes and boost spending have sent Wall Street .DJI .IXIC to record highs in December as investors pile into everything from banks, to energy […]
ABU DHABI // Choosing to travel to the United States for his post-secondary education was a no-brainer for Saad Hamoodi. Not only would he be following in his father’s footsteps, but having studied in an American private school all his life, Mr Hamoodi was familiar and comfortable with the curriculum. “I graduated with the American system, so I’ve always been closer to that,” said the 26-year-old Emirati. […]
LONDON “My tax return was on my yacht … which caught fire” – just one of the dozens of unusual excuses the British government’s tax collector said it receives each year from customers who fail to complete their returns on time. “A wasp in my car caused me to have an accident and my tax return, which was inside, was destroyed,” was another, while several blamed children, […]
