STOCKHOLM Sweden is to lift identity checks on people entering the country from Denmark imposed at the height of the migration crisis, it said on Tuesday. Sweden introduced border controls after more than 160,000 people sought asylum in 2015. That required an exemption from the EU’s free-movement rules which is due to expire on May 11. Lifting the ID checks will end delays suffered by thousands of […]
While Windows and new Surface hardware were the headliners of today’s Microsoft Education event in New York City, Microsoft also revealed some new Office applications and services. As has been rumored for the last few months, Microsoft is rolling out full-featured versions of a number of its Office desktop applications, which the company has packaged up using its Desktop Bridge (codenamed “Centennial”) to make them available for […]
By Andreas Rinke and Denis Pinchuk | SOCHI, Russia SOCHI, Russia German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on a rare visit to Russia, said that Berlin and Moscow had to keep talking despite their disagreements, but those same differences overshadowed her talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. At a news conference following a meeting in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, diverging positions were aired over […]
A forest with beetle-killed trees as seen from Mt. Fraser, British Columbia. Credit: Themightyquill/Wikimedia Commons The mountain pine beetle has destroyed more than 40 million acres of forest in the western United States. That amounts to an area the size of Washington state that is strewn with conifers left for dead. The beetles introduce a fungus that prevents critical nutrients and water from traveling within a tree. […]
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER VALLETTA (AFP) – Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on Monday called a snap general election for June 3, bowing to pressure over his family being embroiled in the Panama Papers scandal. “Everybody knows about the attacks made in the past few days on me and my family. I have nothing to fear because I am clean,” Muscat told a large crowd in Valletta for […]
This past Saturday marked 100 days since Donald Trump became president, and many news organizations marked the occasion with data-intensive packages that measured his progress and made it really easy for the public to understand what’s happened so far. Some highlights: The Guardian published an interactive making it really easy to analyze the first 100 days by putting the numbers in context. They also published daily briefings […]
LONDON Chemical firm Ineos said an incident had occurred at its Grangemouth site on Tuesday which emergency services described as a suspected gas leak and a local lawmaker advised people to stay indoors. Ineos said that its on-site responders were managing an incident at the oil refinery and petrochemicals site in central Scotland, which processes 200,000 barrels per day. “Ineos can confirm that an incident has occurred […]
Paul Rosen, a former federal prosecutor and Obama-era chief of staff for the Department of Homeland Security, is joining the Los Angeles office of Crowell & Moring as a partner. It’s his first private sector law job after 12 years in government, including stints working for the courts, Congress and the Obama administration. He plans […] (via WSJ)
Pfizer Inc (PFE.N), the largest U.S. drugmaker, reported quarterly revenue that missed estimates as sales of its key drugs fell short of expectations. Sales of breast cancer drug Ibrance, which is expected to face competition from rival Novartis AG’s (NOVN.S) Kisqali, rose more than 58 percent to $679 million, but missed the consensus estimate of $682 million, according to Barclays. “Key franchises came in well below expectations, […]
LONDON In his first day as a newspaper editor, former finance minister George Osborne taunted British leader Theresa May over her snap election strategy and “unrealistic” Brexit stance. Carrying a bundle of newspapers as he arrived at the offices of the Evening Standard, London’s daily metropolitan newspaper, Osborne said his editorship would provide “the straight facts and the informed analysis”. Osborne, 45, was dismissed last year as […]
The Apple Watch launched with much fanfare. But the recent disappearance of some of its apps happened almost unnoticed. Big-name apps such as Google Maps and Amazon have pulled their support for Apple’s wearable Apple Watch as Apple prepares for the launch of Watch Series 3. The wearable fitness tracker has just launched watchOS 3.2 last March, so the absence of some apps may come as a surprise to […]
The Brazilian government is expecting that its first own satellite will finally reach space later this week. A month-long general strike in French Guiana meant it was operationally impossible to launch the Ariane 5 rocket, which will transport the satellite. For nearly a month, dozens of roadblocks controlled strategic intersections to cities including Kouru – home to the Guiana space base, a symbol of economic disparity in […]
May 2, 2017 by: Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran Iran’s hardliners are committed to the nuclear deal with world powers even as they use the accord to attack President Hassan Rouhani ahead of elections this month, a senior hardline politician said. The agreement was a “done deal” and there would be no attempts to sabotage it, said Alireza Zakani, a senior figure in the hardliners’ camp and a […]
(Corrects professor’s name in paragraph 7) SANAA Famine and disease haunt the living, but not even the dead are spared the calamities of Yemen’s two-year-old civil war. Ancient mummies are withering away in a major museum for lack of electricity and preservative chemicals from abroad – a sign that the conflict is harming not only the country’s present and future but also its rich past. The dozen […]
By Wa Lone and Simon Lewis | YANGON YANGON Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has declined an invitation to meet U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Washington this week alongside top diplomats from Southeast Asia, citing other commitments, Myanmar officials said on Tuesday. Nobel laureate Suu Kyi – who serves as Myanmar’s foreign minister while also being de facto head of its civilian government – […]
By Laila Kearney | NEW YORK NEW YORK New York is bracing for President Donald Trump’s first trip back to his hometown since taking office in January in a Thursday visit that is expected to draw protests and snarl traffic in the United States’ most populous city. The trip could mark a repeat of the chaotic 2-1/2 months between the real estate developer’s Nov. 8 election and […]
Citrix had added some new Mac-focused capabilities to its file sync and sharing service ShareFile. The company said the updates are aimed at promoting better collaboration and productivity while protecting company, customer and personal information. First up, Citrix is releasing the new desktop app for Mac, which now offers one-click access to ShareFile without the need to open a web browser. The app also lets users access, […]
Brussels is rushing out proposals to impose EU control on the City of London’s lucrative euro-clearing market, forcing UK operators to either relocate or be policed by European authorities. In a provocative regulatory salvo fired as Brexit talks begin, the European Commission is preparing to issue legislative proposals in June that would heavily restrict London’s ability to host one of its flagship financial businesses. The commission’s power […]
BEIJING China has conditionally approved the proposed merger between the Dow Chemical Co and Dupont, the country’s Commerce Ministry said on Tuesday. The merger was approved by EU antitrust regulators in March on the condition the companies divest assets and research and development facilities. Regulators in the United States, Brazil, Australia and Canada are yet to clear the deal. [nL4N1HZ4KT] (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by […]
Photos of Fitbit‘s first “proper” smartwatch have leaked. The company is currently developing the follow-up to its Blaze Smart Fitness Watch of yesteryear, and it appears that the said device features a more evolved look of Fitbit’s Blaze line. Fitbit Higgs Specs Codenamed “Higgs,” the watch will reportedly feature specs that can hold a candle to the Apple Watch Series 2. As per Yahoo Finance, which nabbed the exclusive […]
GENEVA Some 1.4 million children in drought-hit Somalia are projected to suffer acute malnutrition this year, 50 percent more than estimated in January, the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday. The new figure includes more than 275,000 children potentially facing a life-threatening severe acute form of malnutrition, who are nine times more likely to die of cholera or measles, UNICEF spokeswoman Marixie Mercado said. “The combination […]
Organisers of a music festival in The Bahamas that was billed as a luxury getaway but collapsed in chaos have been hit with a $100 million (Dh367 million) lawsuit alleging fraud. The Fyre Festival was aborted Friday after hundreds of partygoers — with some paying more than $100,000 per person — arrived only to find relief-camp style tents and rudimentary sandwiches rather than the promised lavish experience. […]
Greece has wrapped up a deal with creditors on details of reforms that must be enacted before the country can receive the next disbursement from its €86bn bailout programme. The deal, which covers a wide range of fiscal and structural measures, from fresh cuts in pensions to liberalising Sunday trading, was completed during intensive talks over the past week after months of wrangling between Greek finance ministry […]
PARIS Aides of French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen on Tuesday brushed off criticism of her use of phrases lifted straight from a speech by conservative rival Francois Fillon in her May Day address to supporters. Florian Philippot, deputy leader of Le Pen’s anti-European Union, National Front (FN) party, said the party “completely owned up” to the fact that the speech resembled one by Fillon a […]
