In January of 2016, the Bundesbank announced that three years after commencing the transfer of some of its offshore-held gold from vaults located at the Banque de France in Paris and the NY Fed in New York, it had repatriated a total of 366.3 tonnes, bringing the German central bank’s gold reserves held in Frankfurt to 1,402 tonnes, or 41.5% of Germany’s total gold of 3,381 tonnes, […]
By Andrew Osborn | MOSCOW MOSCOW Russia expanded its search on Monday for the remains of a military plane that crashed into the Black Sea, killing all 92 on board, and said pilot error or a technical fault – but not terrorism – were likely to have caused the tragedy. The plane, a Russian Defence Ministry TU-154, was carrying dozens of Red Army Choir singers and dancers […]
FRANKFURT European Central Bank policymaker Jens Weidmann said plans for a state bailout of Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI) should be weighed carefully as many questions remain to be answered, according to German newspaper Bild. “For the measures planned by the Italian government the bank has to be financially healthy at its core. The money cannot be used to cover losses that are already […]
Despite the warning for Western Australia to brace for a category 1 cyclone Yvette with a wind speed of around 101 miles per hour (164 kilometers per hour), NASA said a vertical wind shear has weakened the wind’s intensity. According to NASA, a visible-light image of tropical cyclone Yvette captured by the agency’s Radiometer Suite on NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP showed bulk clouds pushed north and west of the […]
AJMAN // With unspoilt beaches, majestic mountains and competitive prices, tourists from the UAE and around the world are flocking to the Northern Emirates. The Ajman Tourism Development Department said 552,220 tourists have stayed in hotels this year, compared to 509,658 last year, said Faisal Al Nuaimi, general manager of the department. In Fujairah, more than 760,000 visitors stayed in hotels, a 6 per cent increase from […]
One may assume the life of a member of a Royal Family is easy, right? After all, members receive the “royal treatment” all year long. But the truth is royal families are just like all our families. Their lives can include controversy, scandal and some drama. And this year was no different. Whether it was relationship rumours, links to the Panama Papers scandal, tax fraud trials or […]
It is easy to forget there was a time in the UAE before big concerts such as Coldplay’s New Year’s Eve performance that will rock du Arena on Saturday night. That major shows put on by world-class acts such as The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Rihanna and Justin Timberlake were not always the norm in the UAE. The country has become such a regional entertainment hub in […]
Recently, there has been an increase in anti-Semitic statements at the United Nations. Ambassadors have used its forums to accuse Israel of everything from harvesting the organs of slain terrorists to committing a “final solution” against the Palestinian people. In one case, a United Nations under secretary general has made coded comparisons of Israel’s actions to those of the Nazis during the Holocaust (a common anti-Semitic trope). […]
Saudi Arabia will resist plans to introduce a tax on expat remittances for now, according to Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri, secretary general of the Financial Committee at the Royal Court. Saudi Arabia’s Shura council has discussed plans to impose a 2 to 6 percent tax on expat workers’ remittances, following a proposal submitted by former Shura council member Husam Al Angari. He proposed an initial tax of 6 percent […]
MOSCOW Russian police said on Monday they had not found any explosive devices at three Moscow railway stations that were evacuated earlier in the day after a bomb scare, the TASS news agency reported. TASS earlier said police had evacuated almost 3,000 people from the Kazansky, Leningradsky and Yaroslavsky railway stations after receiving an anonymous bomb threat. All three stations are located on the same square in […]
SANTENY, France A Syrian soapmaker who fled Aleppo after the factory he worked in was bombed has set up shop in a Paris suburb, reviving a tradition he says dates back millennia. Hassan Harastani left Syria in 2012, first for Lebanon and then two years later moving to France at the invitation of Samir Constantini, a Franco-Syrian doctor who was already importing the distinctive Aleppo soap. “In […]
India’s government is making an increasing number of requests for data on Facebook’s users, but the social networking site is blocking less content as a result of fewer requests from authorities in the South Asian nation. According to the social media giant’s most recent report on government requests from January to June 2016, Indian authorities made 6,324 requests for user data from Facebook, 23% more than the […]
SEOUL The detained friend of impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye, at the centre of a corruption scandal engulfing Park’s administration, said she was sorry on Monday when questioned by a special parliamentary committee, an opposition MP said. Choi Soon-sil, whom Park has said she turned to at difficult times, denied key allegations against her, including colluding with Park to pressure big businesses into paying money to […]
ISTANBUL Turkish authorities last week detained 1,682 people for questioning over suspected links to militant organisations and arrested another 516, the interior ministry said on Monday. People suspected of links to the Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara says orchestrated an attempted coup in July, made up the biggest number of both the detained, 1,096, and the arrested, 426. A total of 508 people were detained for […]
MILAN/LONDON On the morning of July 29, former Italian Industry Minister Corrado Passera was traveling in a high-speed train toward the medieval city of Siena, racing to meet the directors of the world’s oldest bank to present them with a rescue plan. Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy’s third-largest lender, was destined to be wound down within months unless it could raise billions of euros and pull […]
The Apple AirPods is available right now for purchase, and many are going out to get a pair for Christmas. However, one should keep in mind that the AirPods are not the best when it comes down to reparability, so taking care of them and not allowing them to break is a must. We say this because the folks at iFixit decided to teardown the AirPods to […]
Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, centre, performs with George Michael, left, and Annie Lennox from Eurythmics during the “Pavarotti & Friends“ concert in Modena June 6, 2000. Stefano Rellandini / Reuters British singers Paul McCartney and George Michael, left, perform at the Live 8 concert in Hyde Park in London, July 2, 2005. Stephen Hird / Reuters In this April 10, 1997, file photo, George Michael, left, and […]
Over the past year, technology and ‘sharing economy’ start-ups have continued their disruption of traditional industries — from Uber and other ride hailers’ shake-up of the taxi market to Airbnb’s myriad alternatives to conventional hotel stays. But which will be the next businesses to be challenged by further digitisation and automation? FT correspondents have looked ahead five to 10 years to identify those industry sectors and companies […]
Fletcher will become the second long snapper in Alabama history to be awarded a full scholarship out of high school. The first, Cole Mazza, who will graduate this year, was also the No. 1-rated snapper when Coach Nick Saban offered him an Alabama scholarship in 2012. Continue reading the main story Put another way: Alabama’s focus on the littlest details of the game even stretches to the […]
Submitted by Michael Jabara Carley via Strategic-Culture.org, Relations between Russian president Vladimir Putin and US president Barack Obama are poisoned and irretrievably damaged. It’s therefore a good thing that Obama is leaving office on 20 January. Bad US-Russian relations are of course nothing new. Since the Anglo-American war against Iraq in 2003, the US-Russian relationship has been headed downhill. For Obama, it appears that everything has gotten […]
ANKARA At least 30 civilians were killed and many others were wounded on Sunday after Islamic State launched an attack in the Syrian town of al-Bab to prevent people from fleeing, the Turkish military said in a statement on Monday. Syrian rebels supported by Turkish troops have laid siege to the Islamic State-held town for weeks under the “Euphrates Shield” operation launched by Turkey nearly four months […]
By David Stanway | SHANGHAI SHANGHAI The heavily polluted northern Chinese province of Hebei said it will learn lessons from the smog that engulfed the region last week and step up its clean-up efforts, while the country’s Supreme Court vowed to crack down harder on polluters. Hebei, which surrounds Beijing and was home to seven of China’s 10 smoggiest cities last year, has been on the front […]
By Emily Stephenson | KANEOHE BAY, HAWAII KANEOHE BAY, HAWAII President Barack Obama said on Sunday it had been the “privilege of my life” to serve as U.S. commander in chief and promised his continued gratitude and commitment to service members and their families during a Christmas Day visit to Marine Corps Base Hawaii. “Although this will be my last time addressing you as president, I want […]
