DETROIT Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) pleaded guilty on Friday to three felony counts as part of a $4.3 billion plea agreement reached with the Justice Department in January over the automaker’s massive diesel emissions scandal. VW general counsel Manfred Doess made the plea on the company’s behalf after he said at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Detroit that he was authorized by the board of directors […]
By James Pearson and Ju-min Park | SEOUL SEOUL Many South Koreans ate chicken on Friday to celebrate the removal of President Park Geun-hye in a satirical nod to a derogatory nickname for the former leader. South Korea’s Constitutional Court forced Park from office over an influence-peddling involving one of her close friends and the country’s powerful “chaebol” conglomerates. Even before the scandal, Park’s opponents called her […]
KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia’s police chief confirmed on Friday that the man murdered at Kuala Lumpur International Airport last month was Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. It was the first time the police had officially confirmed the identity of the man who was carrying a passport under the name of Kim Chol. Police Chief Khalid Abu Bakar did not give […]
The UAE leads the Middle Eastern wellness tourism market, with an average of 1.7 million wellness trips generating $2.7 billion annually, according to new research. The country accounts for 14 percent of the MENA spa market, said Colliers Experiential Travel Series in a report which added that Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan were also prominent players in the regional market. It said wellness trips in the UAE have […]
DUBAI // The Middle East needs more people like Dr Ismahane Elouafi. In fact, much of the world does. An expert in food and water security, she has a crucial role to play at a time when farmers across the region are increasingly struggling to grow crops in what is clearly a harsh climate. But the director general of the Dubai-based International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture relishes […]
By Thomas Wilson and Minami Funakoshi | TOKYO TOKYO “Radiation! Bang bang!” Gesturing as if with guns, two boys in Tokyo repeatedly taunted a girl whose family fled to Japan’s capital to escape radioactivity unleashed by the Fukushima nuclear crisis of 2011. Tormented by headaches and weight loss, the girl began to skip classes, and switched schools to escape the bullies, her mother told Reuters. But the […]
By Shinichi Saoshiro | TOKYO TOKYO Asian stocks edged up and the dollar rose to 1-1/2-month highs versus the yen on Friday, ahead of the closely-watched U.S. non-farm payrolls report due later in the day. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.2 percent, taking cues from a modest bounce in Wall Street overnight. Japan’s Nikkei climbed more than 1 percent on the back of […]
RBC is the first Canadian bank to publicly confirm it has severed ties with customers identified in the Panama Papers leak. (Randy Risling / Toronto Star) | Order this photo The Royal Bank of Canada has closed dozens of accounts linked to the Panama Papers, becoming the first Canadian bank to publicly confirm it has severed ties with customers identified in the leak. The admission came some 10 […]
Report launched in the Middle East in partnership with the Government of Dubai Media Office HE Mona Al Marri: “Report will contribute to the international dialogue at the Forum and guide government communication professionals and decision makers in finding new opportunities for optimising their strategic approach, in addition to understanding the challenges that need to be overcome in a rapidly changing environment.” WPP Leaders’ Report […]
Account takeover (ATO) is the downstream effect of a worrying rise in massive data breaches and phishing attacks. Criminals have easy access to billions of credentials, which they systematically test on sites and apps until they find a match. With 48 percent of online businesses experiencing a rise in ATO attempts in 2016, are you doing enough to prevent your users’ accounts from being hacked? ATO is […]
KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Thursday that ties with North Korea will not be cut, after tensions over an investigation into the murder of the estranged half-brother of the North’s leader in Kuala Lumpur led to tit-for-tat travel bans. “Diplomatic relations between Malaysia and North Korea will not be severed, as we need to continue communicating with them to find a solution,” Najib […]
SEOUL The head of South Korea’s Samsung Group, Jay Y. Lee, denies all charges against him, his lawyer said on Thursday, at the start of what the special prosecutor said could be the “trial of the century” amid a political scandal that has rocked the country. Lee has been charged with bribery, embezzlement and other offences in a corruption scandal that has already led to the impeachment […]
By Adam Jourdan and Eric Walsh | SHANGHAI/WASHINGTON SHANGHAI/WASHINGTON China has granted preliminary approval for 38 trademarks linked to Donald Trump, documents on China’s state trademark office show, giving the U.S. President and his family protection were they to develop the “Trump” brand in the market. The trademarks – which in theory cover a wide sweep of businesses from hotels to mobile libraries and escorts – underline […]
By Susan Cornwell and Yasmeen Abutaleb | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Republicans pushed ahead on Thursday with their plan for a massive overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system backed by President Donald Trump, despite Democratic concern that the cost of the bill and its impact on the budget remain unknown. Two House of Representatives committees debated the draft legislation late into the night on Wednesday in marathon sessions, two […]
Dubai-based online portal ServiceMarket analysed customer data on its car insurance comparison portal. Using a sample of 7,000 clients that have used ServiceMarket in 2017 to receive car insurance quotations and buy policies online, the startup identified five interesting car and insurance trends in the UAE: 1. Women Emiratis drive the most expensive cars: When looking at average car values the data shows that Emirati drivers own […]
For the teaser video of Age of Triumph, the last update to Destiny before developer Bungie focuses on its sequel, it was hinted that players will be returning to the Vault of Glass. The Vault of Glass was the very first raid for the massively popular space shooter, with many players considering it as the best raid ever released for Destiny. However, as Bungie released all the details for […]
“You can’t cut your way to prosperity,” holds a favorite truism about the news business. But when Tronc inc. recently reported improved financial results for the fourth quarter of 2016, cost controls were the big driver. The company went from operating at break-even in the fourth quarter of 2015 to posting a $19.4 million profit in the last three months of 2016. Expenses were down 14.2 percent […]
The Ivanka Trump boycott appears to have backfired. One month after several brand name retailers announced they would no longer carry the 35-year-old’s clothing and accessories, Ivanka Trump’s women’s fashion line has seen record February sales. The collection said they had some of the highest performing weeks since the brand was launched last month. “Since the beginning of February, they were some of the best performing weeks […]
DUBAI // The UAE has cracked the top 20 list of countries with the most billionaires for the first time. The Emirates is home to 21 ultra-rich individuals, giving it a ranking of 19, according to the China-based Hurun Global Rich List 2017. “The world today has 5,000 dollar billionaires, assuming that for every one we have found we have missed at least one,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, […]
MOSUL, Iraq Iraqi forces saw off a nighttime Islamic State counter-attack near Mosul’s main government building hours after recapturing it, a military official said on Wednesday, as troops sought to push the militants further back. The Islamic State fighters had used several car bombs in the assault, Major General Ali Kadhem al-Lami of the Federal Police’s Fifth Division told a Reuters correspondent near the site. “Today we’re […]
US-based Hyperloop One on Tuesday put the cost of traffic congestion between Dubai and Abu Dhabi at almost $800 million in lost working hours. Nearly 4,000 vehicles travel on the Dubai-Abu Dhabi highway every day as majority of the people, who work in the UAE capital, reside in Dubai which offers cheaper housing options. “Reducing this commute to 12 minutes opens a whole new realm of options,” […]
A government watchdog group, Public Citizen, said on Wednesday it will ask lawmakers to investigate whether billionaire investor Carl Icahn should have been subject to lobbying disclosure laws when he advised President Donald Trump to overhaul the U.S. biofuels program. Icahn, an unpaid adviser to Trump on regulation, submitted a proposal to Trump last month to change the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard by shifting the burden of […]
By Rozanna Latiff and Liz Lee | KUALA LUMPUR KUALA LUMPUR Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak struck a softer tone with North Korea on Wednesday, a day after accusing it of treating Malaysians as “hostages” amid a diplomatic meltdown over the murder of the estranged half-brother of the North’s leader. Malaysian police have identified eight North Koreans wanted for questioning in connection with the killing of Kim […]
SEOUL A man claiming to be the son of the slain, estranged half brother of North Korea’s leader said he was lying low with his mother and sister, in a video posted online by a group that said it helped rescue them following the murder a month ago. The governments of Netherlands, China, the United States, and a fourth unnamed country provided emergency humanitarian assistance to protect […]
