By Heather Somerville | SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Ride services company Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] has been thrust deeper into turmoil with the departure of company president Jeff Jones, a marketing expert hired to help soften its often abrasive image. Jones quit less than seven months after joining the San Francisco company, an Uber spokesman said on Sunday. In a statement to Reuters, Jones said he could […]
It’s in facials, on cappuccinos and most recently on the award-winning Burg Khalifa. But what is gold leaf like to work with when it comes to more permanent projects? We speak to a variety of artists about this tricky material. newslide Gold-leaf gilder All that glitters is gold at Emirates Palace. Most of the ceiling and many of its walls, totalling a one-kilometre surface, are covered in […]
Uber has lost another top executive amid a series of scandals at the ride-hailing company, with president of ridesharing Jeff Jones quitting after just six months. Mr Jones joined Uber in September last year from retailer Target, where he was chief marketing officer. He was charged with improving Uber’s brand and reputation, encompassing broad responsibility for operations, marketing and customer support. That period has seen a string […]
SEOUL South Korea said on Monday North Korea’s latest rocket-engine test showed “meaningful” advancement in engine function. “Through this test, it is found that engine function has made meaningful progress but further analysis is needed for exact thrust and possible uses,” Lee Jin-woo, deputy spokesman for the South Korean defence ministry, told a regular briefing. North Korea had conducted a test of a new high-thrust engine at […]
By Mike Stone | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump says he wants to build dozens of new warships in one of the biggest peace-time expansions of the U.S. Navy. But interviews with ship-builders, unions and a review of public and internal documents show major obstacles to that plan. The initiative could cost nearly $700 billion in government funding, take 30 years to complete and require hiring […]
Tim Byrnes is an unlikely symbol of China’s bid to become the world’s high-tech superpower. For a start he is Australian. Yet the 39-year-old quantum physicist’s decision to swap a research post in New York for Shanghai goes some way to explaining the lengths to which Beijing is going in its efforts to upend the world order. “Quantum physics is very strong in China,” says Mr Byrnes. […]
It has been almost five years to the day since Mahmood Hashim Al Kooheji took over as head of Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat, restructuring several investment interests and making other changes to whip the fund into shape after years of losses. It followed a term at Gulf Air in which he managed the national carrier’s controversial restructure that saw 15 percent of its staff, around 600 […]
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Biniam Alemeneh’s father was a construction worker, but the 16-year-old Ethiopian student dreamed of becoming an engineer, inspired by his country’s booming economy and the tall glass buildings mushrooming around his home city of Addis Ababa. -Reuters
One day after Rex Tillerson warned that the US is contemplating a pre-emptive military attack on North Korea, the isolated nation announced it has conducted a ground test of a new type of high-thrust rocket engine that leader Kim Jong Un is calling a “revolutionary breakthrough” for the country’s space program, the North’s state media said Sunday. Kim attended Saturday’s test at the Sohae launch site, according […]
Yas Marina Circuit has announced a brand-new, limited edition driving experience featuring the race-prepared Ferrari 458 GT through the circuit’s regular DriveYAS activity days. An experience previously only available to professional drivers or gentlemen racers, the Circuit is now offering members of the public the unique chance to drive a race-prepared Ferrari 458 GT on the world famous track at the home of the Formula 1 Etihad […]
SEOUL North Korea has conducted a test of a new high-thrust engine at its Tongchang-ri rocket launch station and leader Kim Jong Un said the successful test was “a new birth” of its rocket industry, the reclusive North’s official media said on Sunday. The engine would help North Korea achieve world-class satellite launch capability, KCNA said, indicating the test was of a new type of rocket engine […]
BEIJING U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday that President Donald Trump looks forward to enhancing understanding with China and the opportunity for a visit in the future. Xi said he was glad to see good progress from Tillerson’s meetings in China so far and that he and Trump expect a new stage of constructive development in bilateral relations. Tillerson said […]
18 March 2017 Beirut – Beirut Traders Association and Bankmed released the results of “Beirut Traders Association – Bankmed Investment Index,” for the fourth quarter of 2016. The index, which is backed by the technical support of the Central Administration of Statistics in Lebanon, aims at assessing the reality of the wholesale sector in Lebanon. The index reflects the investment climate in Lebanon, shedding light on the […]
Next-generation steel and metal alloys are a step closer to reality, thanks to an international research project. The work could overcome the problem of hydrogen alloy embrittlement that has led to catastrophic failures in major engineering and building projects. (via WSJ)
Via Stratfor, In his joint address to Congress, U.S. President Donald Trump touted a $1 trillion infrastructure investment plan as a means to stimulate the economy while constructing, if not rebuilding outright, crucial projects around the country. Trump later met with U.S. business leaders on March 8 seeking support from the private sector for the plan. It is key to implementing the administration’s infrastructure goals, primarily as a way […]
Scientists have synthesized the first transparent sample of a popular industrial ceramic. The result is a super-hard window made of cubic silicon nitride that can potentially be used under extreme conditions like in engines. Cubic silicon nitride (c-Si3N4) forms under high pressure and is the second hardest transparent nanoceramic after diamond but can withstand substantially higher temperatures. (via WSJ)
For Diana Sugg, writing a big story is a little bit like eating a slice of pizza. Don’t try to bite off more than you can chew at the beginning, said Sugg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editor at The Baltimore Sun. Start with the small end. The slice — and the story — gets wider the farther in you go. At the beginning, find something appetizing and easy to “swallow” […]
At 38 years and counting, the clock is ticking against the famed environmental artist for his proposal to create the world’s largest sculpture in the UAE desert. Even though many of Christo’s memories may be cherished, not every anniversary is a cause for celebration. “I am not a masochist, I don’t like to spend 38 years working on this project,” says the white-haired artist who wrapped the […]
ANKARA Iran’s hardline judiciary has sentenced the daughter of late Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to jail for “anti-state propaganda, spreading lies against the judiciary and the Revolutionary Guards Corps”, the opposition website Kalemeh reported on Friday. The Islamic Republic has piled pressure on the pro-reform opposition ahead of a presidential election on May 19, when hardline rivals of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani hope to regain control […]
As part of sweeping efforts to reduce regulation and boost business, President Trump this week announced plans to relax fuel economy standards. The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, which were implemented decades ago but accelerated under President Obama, call for automakers to reach a fleetwide average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. In typical deal-maker fashion, Trump went to Detroit to announce the easing […]
For Indian IT, the world has changed seemingly overnight. The biggest existential threat seems to be US President Donald Trump’s proposed immigration reform that could put substantial barriers to Indian IT being able to corner the market on skilled H-1B visas, thereby threatening the lucrative $75 billion or so that it collects in revenue from the US alone. Equally serious is the fact that the traditional outsourcing […]
RCI Trajectory for entry into the cochlea at the preplanned angle. Yellow: Facial Nerve, Orange: Chorda Tympani, Light Blue: Cochlea, Dark Blue: Posterior Wall of the External Auditory Canal, Purple: Ossicles, Green: Planned Trajectory, Grey: Robot Drill Bit. Credit: ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, University of Bern A team of surgeons and engineers of Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and the ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, […]
Last month, it was revealed that Sega was planning a panel for this year’s SXSW 2017 featuring everyone’s favorite blue hedgehog Sonic and his two upcoming games, the classic collection Sonic Mania and the yet-untitled Project Sonic 2017. Sega followed through on its promise and was present at SXSW 2017. However, the announcements that it made elicited mixed reactions from attendees. ‘Sonic Mania’ Delayed The first announcement that Sega […]
Katherine Pace, CEO of children’s lifestyle tech startup Elanation, believes that while children are born “digital natives”, the more they are handed iPads, computers, mobile phones, wearables, and smart garments, the more cases of childhood obesity and digital depression or addiction emerge. In response, Pace and her co-founder Aimee Atkins decided to build a suite of technology products for kids, with a health-focused twist on the usual […]
