British Prime Minister Theresa May arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday hoping to tap the oil-rich kingdom’s “immense potential” as she looks to secure post-Brexit investment and trade. May landed at a military airport in the Saudi capital, state news agency SPA said, coming from Jordan. Facing criticism at home and calls to raise rights issues with Saudi leaders, May insisted she had no problem talking about […]
RIYADH British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday she would raise “hard issues” with Saudi Arabia’s leaders during her visit, as critics urged her to pressure Riyadh over its war in Yemen and human rights record. May was expected to explore ways of boosting trade ties with the kingdom during her two-day visit, her second to a Gulf Arab state since Britain decided to leave the […]
While Republican lawmakers in Congress gear up for a drive to cut regulation on the financial sector, bankers and lobbyists have their eyes on another institution in the US capital — the Federal Reserve. On Wednesday Daniel Tarullo, the Fed governor who has been supervising US banks, leaves the institution after eight years during which he assumed a hardline reputation overseeing the rebuilding of US finance from the […]
Photo Rifaat al-Assad in Paris in 2011. A Spanish judge ordered the seizure of numerous properties associated with him or his family. Credit Michel Euler/Associated Press LONDON — Rifaat al-Assad, an uncle of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, was named on Tuesday in a European money laundering investigation. A Spanish judge, José de la Mata Amaya, ordered the seizure of properties in Spain that are controlled by […]
The ‘Panama Papers‘ scandal was one of the biggest data leaks in history. But a year on from the exposé by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), it appears to be simply ‘business as usual’; as few governments have meaningfully tackled the issues of tax avoidance and evasion. Unparalleled leaks The leak was huge. It contained 11.5 million documents, and named more than 200,000 companies, 14,153 clients in […]
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico A Mexican newspaper in the border city of Ciudad Juarez is shutting down due to the risk of violence after a string of killings of reporters around the country, the paper’s owner said on Monday. “Norte” ran a headline that said “Adios” on the front page of its Sunday edition and its owner, Oscar Cantu, explained in a letter he was shutting the newspaper […]
HealthEngine announced on Tuesday that it has raised AU$26.6 million in a Series C round led by Sequoia India, who is joining existing investors Telstra Ventures and Seven West Media on the company’s board. Alium Capital and some high net worth family offices participated in the round, as did existing investors including Go Capital, Lux Group managing director Adam Schwab, and founder of Carsales Greg Roebuck. The […]
When we first wrote about Chowbotics, their salad-making robot, which was then just a prototype, stirred a bit of controversy. The company promises to bring nutritious dining options to offices that don’t have a big cafeteria and budget to employ full-time chefs. But, like other food automation technologies, their robot, Sally, threatens to put a number of people out of work if it replaces prep cooks in restaurants. […]
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi | AMMAN AMMAN Syrian jets on Monday bombed residential areas in the eastern countryside of Damascus killing and injuring dozens in some of the heaviest bombing raids on the main rebel enclave near the capital in months, residents and activists said. At least 22 people were killed and scores injured after four aerial raids hit a crowded district in the city of Douma, the […]
Tesla, the upstart electric carmaker, surpassed US motor pioneer Ford in market value on Monday, as investors look to a future beyond the internal combustion engine. Shares of Tesla, founded in 2003, rose 7.3 per cent to a market capitalisation of $48.7bn, gliding past the 100-year-old Ford, whose shares fell 1.7 per cent after disappointing March sales results to a market value of $45.3bn. While it is symbolic for […]
The annual Cesco Week gathering for the global copper industry starts Monday in Santiago. For the first time in five years, attendees arriving in the Chilean capital can reflect on a copper price that is higher than at the previous year’s event. However, optimism that 2017 represents a turning point in the market should be tempered by the realisation that any sustained recovery in the copper price […]
Investors face a test of nerve as the second quarter beckons. The rally in US stocks and the dollar sparked by the election of Donald Trump is looking stretched, amid doubts about the president’s ability to deliver fiscal stimulus for the economy that can justify lofty equity valuations. The shifting mood has spurred money into emerging markets and European stocks, with EM currencies enjoying a stellar March […]
By Clement Uwiringiyimana | KIGALI KIGALI Inmates protesting living conditions at Gasabo prison in the Rwandan capital of Kigali hurled stones over the prison’s walls on Monday, damaging nearby houses and disrupting traffic, residents and officials said. Rioting began on Friday when the prison, which houses at least 5,000 inmates, caught fire, according to residents living near the prison. Police used tear gas to stop the protest. […]
By Yashaswini Swamynathan U.S. stocks were flat on Monday, with investors awaiting the earnings season to justify high valuations, and, more immediately, the implications of President Donald Trump’s “very difficult” meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump said in a tweet last Thursday that the meeting over the coming Thursday and Friday would be “a very difficult one” as the United States could not risk massive trade […]
The merger between First Gulf Bank (FGB) and National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) formally completed on Sunday, as the board of directors unveiled a new name for the bank. In a statement, the board of directors announced that the merged entity would be named First Abu Dhabi Bank, subject to regulatory approvals and following a General Assembly Meeting to be held “at a later stage” to […]
Australia’s house prices are rising at their fastest pace in seven years, igniting fears of an emerging property bubble and prompting regulators to crack down on risky bank lending. New figures on Monday show residential property prices have increased 12.9 per cent in the past 12 months, with prices in Sydney surging 18.9 per cent — the fastest rate of growth in almost 15 years. “Four of […]
BEIJING China’s smoggiest cities have pledged to ramp up the battle on pollution after air quality deteriorated in the first few months of this year, the China Daily reported on Monday, as smog blanketed the capital, Beijing, and the surrounding region. Top officials from seven districts in Beijing, Tianjin and cities in Hebei and Shanxi provinces were scolded at the weekend by the environmental watchdog for lax […]
By Alexandra Ulmer and Alexandra Valencia | QUITO QUITO Leftist government candidate Lenin Moreno claimed victory in Ecuador’s presidential vote on Sunday, bucking a shift to the right in South America, but the conservative challenger asked for a recount as his supporters took to the streets in protest. A Moreno win would come as a relief for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange after Guillermo Lasso vowed to remove […]
DUBAI // Retailers are bracing for a rush on big-ticket items including cars, electronics and jewellery before the value-added tax is brought in next year. Shoppers are expected to make major purchases earlier to beat the 5 per cent goods and services tax that will be introduced across the GCC next January. At a car show room on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai, Abu Razak, 44, a […]
China’s Huishan Dairy raised millions of dollars by selling shadow bank products labelled as “low risk” to the public last year, only months before missed loan payments sent creditors scrambling to protect themselves, according to exchange listings in north-east China. Huishan’s share price plunged 85 per cent in Hong Kong on March 24 amid reports — which the company denies — that chairman and controlling shareholder Yang Kai embezzled Rmb3bn […]
Authored by Giulio Meotti via The Gatestone Institute, British multiculturalists are feeding Islamic fundamentalism. Muslims do not need to become the majority in the UK; they just need gradually to Islamize the most important cities. The change is already taking place. British personalities keep opening the door to introducing Islamic sharia law. One of the leading British judges, Sir James Munby, said that Christianity no longer influences […]
Dubai, UAE, 2 April 2017 The inaugural edition of AIM Startup, organised in conjunction with AIM 2017, commenced today on Sunday, April 2nd in Dubai World Trade Centre. The new initiative witnessed a prolific gathering of visitors, investors and officials. AIM Startup 2017 aims to extend support to the small projects, which in turn can be the core for larger projects in the future, representing a significant […]
When visiting the Dubai home of British artist Sacha Jafri – whose work can be found in the collections of Barack Obama, Bill Gates and George Clooney, among many others – it is hard to tell where his personal space ends and the public-viewing gallery begins. His living room, which opens into exhibition rooms, is like a child’s playhouse. There are heart-shaped rugs on the floor, colourful […]
By Hasmik Mkrtchyan | YEREVAN YEREVAN Armenians voted for a new parliament on Sunday in a closely fought race between the ruling party and a former coalition partner that heralds the start of a parliamentary system of government. Under constitutional changes critics say were designed to prolong the political life of President Serzh Sarksyan, parliament, not voters, will elect the president for the first time. That role […]
