TOKYO Asian shares rose on Thursday as investors were encouraged by President Donald Trump’s measured tone in his first speech to Congress, which sent Wall Street stocks sharply higher, while growing bets on a U.S. rate hike this month buoyed the dollar. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.2 percent, led by rebound in Australian shares . Japan’s Nikkei .N225 rose 1.3 percent […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for March 2, 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 Al Ain Cultural event As […]
Cheung Kong Infrastructure and Fosun International are among several Asian groups that have submitted bids for Q-Park, one of Europe’s largest parking lot operators, in a deal that could fetch more than $2.4bn. China Oceanwide, a Beijing-based conglomerate owned by a billionaire banking magnate, and Shougang Group, a state-owned Chinese steel company, also joined the first round of bidding on the Netherlands-based parking group, two people familiar […]
In 2011, the Kabul foreign press corps numbered 85, by the reckoning of Dominic Medley, who has worked here for many years as a press officer for NATO, the American military and the United Nations. The American military was surging, reaching more than 100,000 troops by 2012. The press surged as well, with regular visitors in addition to the resident press corps, plus dozens of reporters going […]
T Rowe Price’s flagship small companies fund has revealed annualised returns of nearly 35 per cent from its private investments, rebutting critics who argue that mutual funds should eschew riskier, unlisted companies. With more companies delaying stock exchange listings due to the abundance of venture capital and onerous requirements of being a public company, asset managers have begun to invest more aggressively in private groups such as Uber and […]
SEOUL South Korea and the United States agreed on Thursday to strengthen cooperation on financial sanctions against North Korea, the finance ministry in Seoul said, after Pyongyang’s latest ballistic missile test last month. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and South Korea Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho expressed “great concern” over North Korea’s Feb. 12 ballistic missile test and promised to follow through with United Nations sanctions, as well […]
WASHINGTON Senior U.S. administration officials have lobbied President Donald Trump to remove Iraq from a list of seven Muslim-majority nations included in an initial travel ban, and two sources said they were confident the country would not appear on a new executive order expected soon. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security chief John Kelly all made […]
Superloop has expanded its high-speed intercapital colocation network with a new point of presence (PoP) at NextDC’s C1 datacentre in Canberra. The addition of C1 connectivity sees the Asia-Pacific fibre infrastructure company complete its national footprint through NextDC, with connections already at the latter’s datacentres in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth. According to Superloop, the nationwide deployment of capital city infrastructure gives the company the ability to […]
By Hamid Shalizi and Saud Mehsud | KABUL/DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan KABUL/DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan An Islamic State offshoot based near the Afghan-Pakistan border is expanding to new areas, recruiting fighters and widening the reach of attacks in the region, members of the movement and Afghan officials said. Some members of the so-called “Khorasan Province” of Islamic State claimed responsibility for the recent attack on a Sufi […]
By Lisa Fernandez | OAKLAND, Calif. OAKLAND, Calif. A judge cleared the way on Wednesday for the widow of the gunman who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, to be released from jail and also appeared to throw doubt on the strength of the government’s case against her. Noor Salman, 30, was arrested in California in January on federal charges she knew before […]
BOSTON An investor committee that advises the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will next week review if Snap Inc’s decision to deny shareholders voting rights might also reduce the social media company’s public disclosures on executive pay and other governance matters, the head of that committee told Reuters on Wednesday. Snap, the parent of the popular messaging app Snapchat, priced its eagerly awaited initial public offering at […]
Sundance Now announced its lineup of new titles being added to its platform on Wednesday, revealing lots of movies and TV series worth streaming. This streaming service features a library of films handpicked by experts and cultural icons, with new themed collections monthly. March brings with it “The Originals” collection with movies like 1958’s Weddings & Babies and 2013’s Little Feet, along with the “DCEFF 25th Anniversary […]
Constant innovation. It’s a well-known motto of the pizza industry. Oh wait. It’s not. But with the recent influx of pizza news, it kind of feels like it is. And now Pizza Hut has up and changed the game completely. Introducing the sneakers that double as pizza-ordering devices. Before we give you more information on this wonder-shoe, we want to first assure you that these shoes are […]
Address Hotels + Resorts, the premium luxury hotel brand of Emaar Hospitality Group, on Wednesday unveiled its new city lifestyle resort, Address Boulevard. Address Boulevard has 196 rooms including 116 deluxe rooms, 44 deluxe club Rooms, 28 one-bedroom suites, seven two-bedroom suites and a luxurious Presidential Suite. In addition, there are 532 serviced apartments including duplexes and two penthouses, with short-term guests at the residences also guaranteed […]
Curled up by the fireplace in a fashionable London hotel, Jared Leto speaks slowly and thoughtfully. “I think that Alessandro does something very special,” he says of Gucci’s creative director, Alessandro Michele. “He puts so much love, care and joy into his work that when you wear Gucci, you’re not just wearing something that’s beautiful or pretty, you’re actually – you’re feeling the same thing that he […]
The Trump administration is preparing to ignore any rulings by the World Trade Organisation that it sees as an affront to US sovereignty, according to a leaked report prepared by officials. The move would be a departure from US practice and a blow to the international watchdog’s credibility. The hard-hitting report, which was sent to Congress on Wednesday and obtained by the Financial Times, marks the first time the […]
Its account of the convoy attack went much further than findings of a United Nations inquiry set up by then-Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, which concluded in December that the convoy had been bombed from the air but did not identify the attackers. Continue reading the main story The 31-truck convoy organized by the United Nations and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent had been carrying food, medicine, children’s […]
A storming start for risk assets has defined the first two months of 2017, with heightened optimism on Wall Street pushing the FTSE All-World equity index into record territory. Whether the rally can be sustained in March depends on the outcome of several key events. Here is a rundown of what looms for investors during the month. US jobs data and the Federal Reserve The bullish sentiment […]
By Francesco Guarascio and Alastair Macdonald | BRUSSELS BRUSSELS European Union leaders have been told to be ready for a Brexit summit at the end of the first week of April, EU sources said on Wednesday, although the final date will depend on British Prime Minister Theresa May. A summit of the other 27 national leaders to respond to May’s formal notification of Britain’s departure appears in […]
Just to clarify – Trump said nothing new at all – and added no detail, another major US retailer blew up, ‘hard data’ disappointed (soft surveys gained), Fed speakers were the most hawkish since Volcker, and The Dow soars 350 points to top 21,100… makes perfect sense… Hawkish FedSpeak sent March rate-hike odds soaring over 80%… But the probability of a rate hike is rising […]
By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The top U.S. commander in Iraq on Wednesday downplayed the chances that the United States would deploy a large number of additional coalition forces to battle Islamic State, even as President Donald Trump weighs options to speed the campaign. Army Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend also appeared to deliver a robust defence of Kurdish fighters that have been America’s […]
PARIS French artist Abraham Poincheval was freed from a block of stone in a Paris museum on Wednesday after spending seven days enclosed in it. He entombed himself in a body-shaped slot carved in a limestone boulder on Feb 22 at Paris’ Palais de Tokyo contemporary art museum. Poincheval, 44, ate stewed fruit and purees while breathing through an air vent. He had some personal items such […]
By Will Dunham | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Microfossils up to almost 4.3 billion years old found in Canada of microbes are similar to the bacteria that thrive today around sea floor hydrothermal vents and may represent the oldest-known evidence of life on Earth, scientists said on Wednesday. The fossils from the Hudson Bay shoreline in northern Quebec near the Nastapoka Islands lend credence to the hypothesis that hydrothermal […]
By Thomas Escritt | AMSTERDAM AMSTERDAM Hit by sliding poll numbers, Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders said he would resume his campaign this weekend after revelations of leaks from his police protection prompted him to halt all public appearances ahead this month’s election. Wednesday’s announcement follows the Dutch government’s decision to give a different squad the task of protecting the outspoken opponent of Islam, who has lived under […]
