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Saudi Arabia will adhere strictly to its commitment to cut output under the global agreement among oil producers, its energy minister said on Monday, expressing confidence that OPEC’s plan to prop up prices would work. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, speaking at an industry event in Abu Dhabi, also said he was encouraged by signs of commitments by other participants in the deal since it took effect […]

Workers likely to be impacted first by automation include those in manufacturing and retail trade. Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto Today’s technology could be used to automate half of all work activities by 2055 but it could end up taking far longer than that, according to a report from McKinsey Global Institute. It’s likely that one day your skills could be made obsolete by technology aided by advances in […]

The family of an 18-year-old woman is fighting in court for access to a new tuberculosis drug that doctors say may be her only hope of survival, in a case that is being closely watched by TB experts and health workers in India and around the world. The family of the young woman, whose name her lawyer asked to keep confidential, filed a petition in Delhi’s High […]

By Noah Barkin | DAVOS, Switzerland DAVOS, Switzerland A trade war between the United States and China and a strengthening dollar are among the biggest threats to a brightening global economic outlook, according to leading economists at the World Economic Forum in Davos. As political leaders, businessmen and bankers converge on the resort in the Swiss Alps this week, they can draw hope from a more benign […]

The clock was dwindling, and a charging Cowboys lineman was just feet away as Rodgers, throwing in the opposite direction of his momentum, lofted a pass roughly 40 yards in the air toward Cook. Continue reading the main story “At that time, the quarterback’s best friend is muscle memory,” Rodgers later said. “You’re gauging your speed, the receiver’s path, the trajectory of the throw — all these […]

By Stephen Kalin | MOSUL, Iraq MOSUL, Iraq When four rockets crashed into his east Mosul home in November, Abu Abdel Malik’s 60-year-old step-mother was killed instantly. But she wasn’t properly buried for more than a month. Fighting in Zuhur district and surrounding areas was too intense during that period to transport the body to the main cemetery in the suburb of Gogjali, just 5 km (3 […]

By Ben Hirschler | DAVOS, Switzerland DAVOS, Switzerland Trust in governments, companies and the media plunged last year as ballots from the United States to Britain to the Philippines rocked political establishments and scandals hit business. The majority of people now believe the economic and political system is failing them, according to the annual Edelman Trust Barometer, released on Monday ahead of the Jan. 17-20 World Economic […]

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Not helping matters for the Chiefs has been yet another dominant effort by Bud Dupree, Pittsburgh’s standout linebacker. The second-year player started the season on injured reserve, and did not play a snap until Week 11, but he has turned into a major disrupter on defense. He delivered a huge hit to Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith that resulted in an interception and also got into the backfield […]

By Richard Balmforth | PARIS PARIS Former Prime Minister Manuel Valls, long tipped to win the left-wing ticket for France’s presidential election this spring, trailed his rivals after a debate on Sunday where his immigration policies came under fire. In the televised debate, Valls faced six other contenders ahead of a Socialist primary starting on Jan. 22 to pick a candidate who can keep next May’s presidential […]

DAVOS, Switzerland – The global economy is in better shape than it’s been in years. Stock markets are booming, oil prices are on the rise again and the risks of a rapid economic slowdown in China, a major source of concern a year ago, have eased. And yet, as political leaders, CEOs and top bankers make their annual trek up the Swiss Alps to the World Economic […]

BAGHDAD Iraqi special forces swept the campus of Mosul University on Sunday to clear it of any remaining Islamic State militants after taking full control of the area, a spokesman said. Counter-terrorism service (CTS) troops drove the jihadists back inside the strategically located university complex and seized clusters of buildings including colleges on Saturday, an important gain towards retaking the entire eastern half of the city. “The […]

BANGKOK Thailand faces more hardship from unseasonable floods that have killed 40 people in its south, with more rain expected in the major rubber-producing and tourist region in coming days, a top disaster agency official said on Sunday. Persistent heavy rain well into what should be the dry season has triggered floods across the south, cutting road and rail links, threatening crops and affecting about 1.6 million […]

Photo Tom Brady threw two interceptions against the Texans, equaling his regular-season total, but led the Patriots to their sixth consecutive A.F.C. championship game. Credit Charles Krupa/Associated Press FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots have accomplished so much under Coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, but they found something new to achieve on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium. In outlasting the Houston Texans, 34-16, the […]

SpaceX put its first rocket back into space on Saturday since a spectacular launch pad explosion halted operations more than four months ago at the private US space company founded by billionaire Elon Musk. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force base on the southern California coast, taking 10 one-ton satellites into space for communications company Iridium. Investigators were left scratching their heads for […]

By Timothy Gardner | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump began a long holiday weekend that honors slain black civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. by blasting another African-American activist and politician who said he doesn’t see Trump as a “legitimate president”. Democratic Representative John Lewis, of Georgia, had said on a segment of “Meet the Press” released by NBC on Friday he thought hacking by Russians […]

|By Saifur Rahman|Dubai added 26,707 new companies last year to the existing 107,043 trade licenses, reflecting strong investor confidence in the emirate, the Department of Economic Development, Dubai’s trade licensing authority, said in a statement. “The number of licenses renewed in 2016 was 107,043 while 20,873 initial approvals were issued and 38,918 trade names were reserved,” the statement said. This means Dubai now has 133,750 companies active […]

There is no guarantee that all will go according to plan, of course. Israel struggled for years to develop regulations to manage its newfound wealth. The international energy firms that Israel is now courting have other options in an evolving global market. And the politics of a new era, as President-elect Donald J. Trump encourages assertive Israeli action in Jerusalem and the West Bank, could kindle fresh […]

DUBAI Saudi Arabia’s top religious authority has called cinemas and singing concerts harmful and corrupting, in a move that could complicate government efforts to introduce cultural reforms to the conservative kingdom. The comments by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh, published on his website, said cinemas and round-the-clock entertainment could open the door to “atheistic or rotten” foreign films and encourage the mixing of the sexes. Cinemas […]

Wells Fargo has laid down plans to close at least 400 branches over the next two years as part of a push to cut costs as the US bank tries to recover from the scandal over sham accounts. The San Francisco-based lender, which operates more than 6,000 branches across the country, is accelerating closures as it aims to reduce about $2bn in expenses by the end of […]

That would be a significant bump from James’s recent releases, which have not been embraced by collectors. The LeBron 13, released in September 2015, has been especially disappointing to hard-core sneaker enthusiasts, with some deadstock models — unworn shoes in the original box and packaging — selling for less than the original $200 retail price on secondary markets. Continue reading the main story Whether the special release […]

By David Brunnstrom and Matt Spetalnick | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The incoming U.S. administration’s tough talk against China has set the stage for showdowns on everything from security to trade and cyberspace, but contradictory signals are sowing uncertainty over how far President-elect Donald Trump is prepared to go in confronting Beijing. Highlighting the contested South China Sea as a potential flashpoint, Trump’s Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson […]

HAVANA The head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce met with Cuban President Raul Castro and in separate meetings with members of Castro’s economic cabinet on Friday, as they prepare for the advent of a more hostile Trump administration next week. The chamber has been urging the Cuban government to sign a number of agreements with major companies such as General Electric, negotiated over the last 18 […]

“We open a new hotel every 36 hours,” Sébastien Bazin remarks, after outlining the impressive portfolio of French hospitality chain AccorHotels, with 4,100 hotels spread across 95 countries and employing 240,000 people. The significant sum includes properties gained through the recent acquisition of FRHI, a hotel management company formerly owned by Qatar Investment Authority, billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s private investment arm Kingdom Holding and Oxford […]

There is a reason Rolls-Royce Motors appointed its youngest-ever chief executive in 2010. “I don’t want to say the brand would die, but the brand would never have had the success it has had over the last couple of years if we hadn’t rejuvenated it,” CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös boasts. He is probably right. Until a couple of years ago, the English automobile brand was predominantly known as […]

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