The Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested a Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) executive on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, the New York Times reported on Monday. Oliver Schmidt, who headed the company’s regulatory compliance office in the U.S. from 2014 to March 2015, was arrested on Saturday by federal investigators in Florida, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter. nyti.ms/2iTA73S VW admitted in […]
By Ju-min Park | SEOUL SEOUL South Korean special prosecutors team have filed fresh charges including bribery against a close friend of impeached President Park Geun-hye, the central figure in a political scandal that has engulfed the country, the team said on Monday. Choi Soon-sil, in jail since late October and on trial since last month, already faces charges of abuse of power and attempted fraud. On […]
BEIRUT Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said his government is ready to negotiate on “everything” in proposed peace talks in Kazakhstan but said it was not yet clear who would represent the opposition and no date had been set. Assad also said a ceasefire brokered by Turkey and Russia, his most powerful ally, ahead of the talks was being violated and the army’s role was to recapture an […]
BEIJING Chinese police shot dead three “violent terror” suspects in the western Xinjiang region, the government said on Monday, the latest clash with Islamist militants who the government says want to break the region away from China. The government says separatists in Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur minority, aim to form their own state called East Turkestan, and have links with militants abroad, including in Asia […]
Mayfield Robotics chief executive Michael Beebe unveils the Kuri robot at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, on January 6, 2017 Professor Einstein rolls his eyes, sticks out his tongue, and can give a simple explanation of the theory of relativity. With his lifelike rubbery “skin” and bushy mustache, he can almost make you forget he’s a robot. The Einstein robot is among dozens roaming the […]
By Joseph Ax | NEW YORK NEW YORK In the weeks since Hillary Clinton’s shock election defeat to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, a rumor has taken hold among New York City’s political chattering class: could she challenge Mayor Bill de Blasio’s reelection bid this year? Discussion of a possible Clinton campaign intensified last week when conservative news website Newsmax reported that Democrats unhappy with de Blasio were […]
By Bernie Woodall and David Shepardson | DETROIT DETROIT Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCHA.MI) (FCAU.N) on Sunday said it will invest $1 billion to modernize two plants in the U.S. Midwest and create 2,000 jobs, upping the ante as automakers respond to threats from President-elect Donald Trump to slap new taxes on imported vehicles. FCA’s announcement that it would retool factories in Ohio and Michigan to build new […]
Mere weeks after Waymo became a company independent from Google’s X, it has already released an updated version of its automated driving system. The technology, which was announced Jan. 8 at the on-going North American International Auto Show, will hit the roads onboard a fleet of Chrysler Pacifica minivans. Latest Waymo Improvements The new development came from John Krafcik, Waymo’s CEO and involves two important points. The first is […]
Entrepreneurs in the country are using some old-fashioned handiwork to help create products for mass production at a fraction of the today’s costs. Whether this will be a manufacturing revolution or evolution, 3D printing is here to stay. For a man working at the frontier of a technological revolution, there is a surprising amount of handicraft to Ahmad Mackieh’s approach to 3-D printing that shows in the […]
As we browse the perfume counters, spritzing our wrists with the latest creations, what is it, we may ponder, about the power of fragrance that unlocks our imaginations and captivates our senses? Why is it that certain smells connect to the parts of the brain that govern emotion and memory, like remembering the perfume one’s mother wore? Some of these olfactory mysteries are unravelled in Paris, the […]
BAGHDAD: Suicide bombs at two marketplaces in Baghdad, one of them claimed by Daesh, killed at least 23 people on Sunday, police and medics said, the latest in a spate of militant attacks in the Iraqi capital that have left dozens dead.“A soldier at the gate of Jamila market opened fire on a suicide car bomb after noticing a suspect vehicle but the terrorist blew up his […]
Hugh Laurie wasn’t afraid to throw some shade at the Golden Globes. During his acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actor in a TV Miniseries or Movie on Sunday, the actor joked this may be the last Golden Globes. “I don’t mean to be gloomy but it has the words ‘Hollywood,’ ‘foreign’ and ‘press’ in it,” he said, referencing the coming Donald Trump administration. That was the first […]
Image: ZDNet Anniversaries are opportunities to reflect on what has come before, and to imagine what may transpire in the future. For some, an anniversary is a time for reconfirmation and reaffirmation of beliefs; for others, it is an opportunity to acknowledge the past and to move on. This weekend, industry analysts and volume buyers are returning from CES in Las Vegas, having just seen the multitude […]
This is the first piece I have published since my official retirement from Poynter on New Year’s Eve. I have lots of work ahead of me, but it has been fun and instructive to look back. If you reach your destination in decent shape, it’s easy to forget the bumps in the road behind you. Better to look at the odometer and celebrate the distance you’ve traveled. […]
By Mehreen Zahra-Malik | ISLAMABAD ISLAMABAD Pakistan’s recently retired army chief Raheel Sharif has been appointed to lead a new Saudi-military alliance to fight terrorism, Pakistani media have reported. Government officials in Saudi Arabia could not be reached on Sunday to confirm the appointment to head the coalition, the founding of which Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced at a sudden midnight press conference […]
A robot developed by Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute plays chess at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 8, 2017 A robot developed by engineers in Taiwan can pour coffee and move chess pieces on a board against an opponent, but he’s looking for a real job. The robot developed by Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute, which spent the week playing games against […]
A week after a gunman killed 39 people in an Istanbul nightclub, the suspected assailant remains at large and secular Turks are feeling under attack. ISIS claimed the shooting, calling it an assault on what it called “a pagan holiday.” The government’s pledge to defend all lifestyles hasn’t kept an atmosphere of fear from descending on some of Istanbul’s secular neighborhoods. By way of contrast, some Turks […]
By Henning Gloystein | SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Oil prices fell early on Monday as Iran increased exports undermining efforts by other oil producers to curb a global fuel supply overhang and as U.S. drillers increased activity for a 10th week. Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at $56.97 per barrel at 0019 GMT, down 13 cents from their last close. U.S. West […]
If Paris is the capital of modern perfume then the Middle East, notably Mesopotamia and Egypt, were the hub in ancient times, stretching back 5,000 years. Le Grand Musée du Parfum in Paris charts some of that period with maps showing the sources and routes of myrrh, olibanum (frankincense), cinnamon, saffron and Indian spices to the ancient capitals of Alexandria, Babylon and Samarkand. Olibanum is an aromatic […]
“This is part of the same pattern inspired by Islamic State, by ISIS, that we saw first in France, then in Germany and now in Jerusalem. This is part of the same ongoing battle against this global scourge of the new terrorism,” he added. Continue reading the main story Mr. Netanyahu has often made the comparison between local attacks against Israelis and those in the rest of […]
Banks have flooded the market with debt in the first days of the new year, propelling a record pace of bond sales as companies seek to lock in borrowing costs before interest rates rise further. The sales have been met with ample investor appetite ahead of the fourth-quarter earnings season, when the majority of US banks are expected to report improved profitability. Banks have sold $42bn of the […]
Two senior Republican senators urged President-elect Donald Trump to punish Russia in response to U.S. intelligence agencies’ conclusion that President Vladimir Putin personally directed efforts aimed at influencing the outcome of the November election. In a joint appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain said evidence was conclusive that Putin sought to influence the election – a point that […]
By Stephen Kalin and Ahmed Rasheed | MOSUL, Iraq/BAGHDAD MOSUL, Iraq/BAGHDAD Iraqi special forces battling Islamic State reached the eastern bank of the Tigris river in Mosul on Sunday for the first time in a three-month, U.S-backed offensive to capture the city from the militants, who still control its entire western half. The group also claimed one of two attacks at two Baghdad markets in which 20 […]
More tourists from the Philippines, Pakistan and China visited Dubai in the first 10 months of 2016 compared to the same period last year, official figures from Dubai Tourism reveal. The Philippines reported a 19 percent increase in visitor numbers, growing from 262,000 to 311,000. They were closely followed by Pakistanis which registered 16 percent jump to 489,000 from 421,000. The third on the list were Chinese […]
