By Mehreen Zahra-Malik | LAHORE, Pakistan LAHORE, Pakistan Pakistani real estate giant Rafi Group made a ten-fold profit last year from its sale of hundreds of acres of land in the remote fishing town of Gwadar, acquired soon after the government announced plans for a deep-sea port there. The windfall came after 12 years of waiting patiently for the Gwadar port to emerge as the centrepiece of […]
Vodafone Australia has reported a net loss of AU$241.8 million for the first half of FY17 on total revenue of AU$3.35 billion, an 8.4 percent year-on-year decrease. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) were AU$912.2 million, a 12.2 percent increase from the AU$812.8 million reported for the first half of FY16. Net average revenue per user (ARPU) was AU$37.97, a loss of AU$7.71 from last […]
For the Arab world’s largest country, February 11, 2011, was the moment the 21st-century began. Hosni Mubarak, after decades in power, was finally pushed to step down after millions of people took the streets. Many things were born in Tahrir Square that day. Hope for the future. A new politics led by youth. A revolutionary current, as H A Hellyer puts in his new book A Revolution Undone. […]
Stainless steel is regaining its shine. After falling victim like many other basic industries to the global commodities downturn, companies that specialise in the rustproof metal are enjoying a change in their fortunes. An upwards spiral in share prices, bigger profits and increased payouts to investors is helping to restore the lustre in this niche of the steel market. “It’s very clear we are now in a […]
BAGHDAD U.S.-backed Iraqi security forces closing in on the Islamic State-held western half of Mosul stormed the city’s airport and a nearby military base on Thursday, state television said. Counter-terrorism service (CTS) troops and elite interior ministry units known as Rapid Response descended on the airport early on Thursday and the nearby Ghozlani military complex, CTS spokesman Sabah al-Numan told state TV. “Our forces started a major […]
By Mubashir Bukhari | LAHORE, Pakistan LAHORE, Pakistan A blast at a market in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore killed at least five people on Thursday and wounded 21, a rescue official told Reuters. The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear. Security forces cordoned off the area and people were not being allowed to leave or enter. “Forensic teams have arrived on the scene and […]
A light plane has crashed into the roof of a shopping mall in the Australian city of Melbourne, killing all five people on board. Source link
Qantas has announced it successfully tested its on-board Wi-Fi system and expects to operate its first commercial service with free Wi-Fi in the next few weeks. Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce told shareholders on Thursday that the airline’s Wi-Fi offering will ultimately be rolled out to around 80 domestic aircraft, and later to Qantas’ international and regional fleets, noting that on-board Wi-Fi is the first item on […]
For the past several months we’ve warned that the taxpayers of the City of Dallas, despite all of the tough talk coming out of their elected city council members, would ultimately be forced to bail out the failing Dallas Police and Fire Pension (DPFP) system. And just last night the DPFP board voted 9-0 to approve a plan that would do just that. The plan to save […]
By Brenda Goh | DANDONG, China DANDONG, China As Beijing tightens its grip on trade with North Korea, the economies of Chinese towns along the 1,400-km border the two countries share are floundering. On Saturday, China said it would ban all coal imports from North Korea, the latest move to enforce United Nations sanctions aimed at depriving Pyongyang of hard currency for its nuclear weapons and ballistic […]
Tesla is likely to turn to Wall Street for another big cash infusion as it gears up to launch its first mass-market electric vehicle later this year, chief executive Elon Musk indicated on Wednesday. His comments came as the US electric carmaker disclosed that chief financial officer Jason Wheeler would leave the company after little more than a year. Mr Musk said only that Mr Wheeler was […]
By Gina Cherelus | NEW YORK NEW YORK It cost New York City about $24 million to provide security at Trump Tower, President Donald Trump’s skyscraper home in Manhattan, from Election Day to Inauguration Day, or $308,000 per day, New York’s police commissioner said on Wednesday. The revelation prompted renewed calls for Congress to reimburse the city for the cost of protecting Trump’s private residence on Manhattan’s […]
22 February 2017 Al Maha Arjaan by Rotana is pleased to announce the appointment of Nadim El Zyr as General Manager of the hotel. Born and raised in a legacy of hoteliers, he spans a career of over 15 years in the hospitality industry and brings an assortment of rich experience. In his new role he will provide strategic leadership that ensures effective and efficient management of […]
By Luis Echeverria | GUATEMALA CITY GUATEMALA CITY U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly on Wednesday told Guatemalans not to waste their money trying to get to the United States illegally, detailing how his department was cracking down on undocumented immigrants and would speed up deportations. Speaking after he greeted a plane full of Guatemalans deported back from the United States, Kelly said U.S. authorities were not […]
SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq A few hundred civilians have fled their homes in the outskirts of western Mosul, the first reported displacement since a U.S.-backed offensive on the jihadists’ remaining stronghold there began at the weekend. A Reuters correspondent saw about 200 women and children being transported on buses by federal police on Wednesday to the town of Hammam al-Alil, some 20 km (12 miles) south of […]
Analysts and traders alike were looking forward to today’s “black box” earnings from Tesla as it would be the first consolidated report that combined Tesla Motors operations with those from cash-bleeding monstrocity SolarCity following the pair’s merger, to wit: “with the acquisition of SolarCity, we have created the world’s only integrated sustainable energy company, from generation to storage to transportation.“ And, as usual, Elon Musk managed to […]
Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) posted a smaller quarterly loss and said its mass-market Model 3 sedan was on track for volume production by September. The electric car maker said it expected to deliver 47,000 to 50,000 Model S and Model X vehicles combined in the first half of 2017. The company said it planned to invest between $2 billion and $2.5 billion in capital expenditures ahead of the […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for February 23, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. Ellen Fortini 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 Abu Dhabi Performance Get tickets […]
The shelves of Guillermo Lasso’s office are lined with books that inform his politics: Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations; The Denationalization of Money by Friedrich Hayek; a compendium of cases about free speech from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. “A government cannot regulate freedom of expression,” the Ecuadorean conservative opposition leader told the Financial Times before Sunday’s presidential election, in which he won more than […]
TSURUTA CITY, JAPAN (Reuters) – More than 30 bald men gathered at a hot spring facility in Tsuruta City, Japan, on Wednesday to show off their hairless heads and have fun. (via WSJ)
BERLIN A wrought iron gate with the chilling inscription “Arbeit macht frei” (“Work sets you free”) was returned to Germany’s Dachau concentration camp on Wednesday, more than two years after it was stolen. The theft in 2014 of the symbol of suffering inflicted by Hitler’s Nazis on Jews and others caused outrage around the world. Police in Norway found it in December after an anonymous tipoff. More […]
By Amina Ismail and Arwa Gaballa | Al-GAMALIYA, Egypt Al-GAMALIYA, Egypt Thousands of mourners gathered in a small Egyptian town on Wednesday for the funeral of the Muslim cleric known as “the blind sheikh” who was convicted of conspiracy in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York. Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was also convicted of planning a broader “war of urban terrorism” in the United States, […]
Fitch Ratings-Moscow-22 February 2017 Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) of five UAE banks with Stable Outlook and maintained Rating Watch Positive (RWP) on First Gulf Bank’s (FGB) IDRs. The agency also downgraded the Viability Rating of Union National Bank (UNB) to ‘bbb-‘ from ‘bbb’. A full list of rating actions is at the end of this commentary. KEY RATING DRIVERS IDRs, SUPPORT […]
But one option being considered is for American troops to step up their support of the fighters by firing artillery, shooting mortars, helping with logistics and significantly expanding efforts to advise them, much as the United States is doing for Iraqi forces in the battle for Mosul. Continue reading the main story In late January, President Trump gave the defense secretary, Jim Mattis, 30 days to develop […]
