By THOMAS ERDBRINK May 27, 2016 TEHRAN — More than 30 college students were arrested, interrogated and within 24 hours were each given 99 lashes for attending a graduation party that included men and women, Iran’s judiciary has announced. The punishments, which were believed to be part of a wider crackdown by a judiciary dominated by hard-liners, were meted out in Qazvin, about 90 miles northwest of the capital, […]
By THOMAS ERDBRINK May 27, 2016 TEHRAN — More than 30 college students were arrested, interrogated and within 24 hours were each given 99 lashes for attending a graduation party that included men and women, Iran’s judiciary has announced. The punishments, which were believed to be part of a wider crackdown by a judiciary dominated by hard-liners, were meted out in Qazvin, about 90 miles northwest of the capital, […]
Prescribing certain medications on the basis of a patient’s race has long come under fire from those uneasy with using race as a surrogate for biology when treating disease. But there are multiple challenges to overcome before we can move beyond race-based treatment decisions, writes Duke University geneticist and bioethicist Charmaine Royal in a perspective piece published May 25 in the New England Journal of Medicine. In […]
UAE. Brent crude pushed above key psychological level to trade above $50 for the first time since November 2015. The 85% rally since Brent hit a 12-years low in Jan was supported by multiple factors, mainly oil disruption from major exporters and production cut back by U.S. shale. Meanwhile the double than expected drop in U.S. inventories supported bulls to keep holding their long positions. According to […]
SAUDI ARABIA. The recent Ministerial Resolution on the Saudisation of the sale and repair of mobile phones, together with the earlier resolutions on the retail of female clothing, indicate a growing approach by the Ministry of Labour to require the complete Saudisation of certain activities within the retail sector. In this article we examine the existing requirements and also the proposal for a weighted Nitiqat. Sale and […]
INTERNATIONAL. Inadequate data on workforce mobility is placing firms under increasing pressure as they struggle to deploy global human resource strategies, contain costs and comply with the demands of cross-border regulatory obligations. This is according to EY’s 2015-16 Global Mobility Effectiveness Survey, which provides insights from more than 200 professionals across 35 jurisdictions and 13 industry sectors. The report finds that poor data capture and poor analytics […]
The Molekule air purifier goes beyond the air-scrubbing abilities of a HEPA filter. The technology it uses is called PECO, which stands for photoelectrochemical oxidation that removes allergens and pollutants but also viruses and bacteria from the air. The PECO process breaks these pollutants down to their base molecular level through a filter that captures particles 1000X smaller than HEPA can. Let’s block ads! (Why?) -Werd
Yale physicists have given Schrödinger’s famous cat a second box to play in, and the result may help further the quest for reliable quantum computing. Schrödinger’s cat is a well-known paradox that applies the concept of superposition in quantum physics to objects encountered in everyday life. The idea is that a cat is placed in a sealed box with a radioactive source and a poison that will […]
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan officially confirmed the death of the former Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour for the first time on Thursday, five days after the American drone strike that killed him on Pakistani soil, raising diplomatic tensions. The official announcement came from Sartaj Aziz, the chief foreign affairs adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, at a news conference in Islamabad. “All indicators confirm that the […]
WASHINGTON — American Special Operations forces and the Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters they are advising this week pushed closer to Raqqa, the Islamic State’s de facto capital in northern Syria. Defense Department officials confirmed that photographs taken by an Agence-France Presse photographer in the village of Fatisah that were released on Thursday showed American commandos, dressed in camouflage, assisting fighters with the Syrian Democratic Forces during […]
Online payment service PayPal is abandoning the apps that it created for Microsoft Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Amazon Fire OS. The company announced the move this week on its blog. The news paves the way for PayPal to steer users toward the latest versions of its app for Apple’s IOS and Google’s Android. Those two platforms have come to dominate the mobile payment space. The last day […]
A new proposal by House Republicans would effectively put an end to net neutrality while slashing funding for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The legislation would reduce the agency’s funding by more than 17 percent, likely leaving the agency crippled and incapable of enforcing its regulations. The proposal would also explicitly prohibit the agency from making any rules regarding either cable set-top boxes or Net neutrality. “The […]
SHIRAZ, Iran — For centuries, Iran’s famed carpets have been produced by hand along the nomad trail in this region of high plains around the ancient city of Shiraz. Sheep grazed in high mountain pastures and shorn only once a year produce a thick, long wool ideal for the tough thread used in carpet making. But high-quality production of hand-woven carpets is no longer sustainable on the […]
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, is briefed on the construction phases, design, building technologies and the methods used to transport the ‘artificial island’ from Finland to Dubai. Wam Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, said the project reflected Dubai’s vision to achieve global leadership in innovation and excellence. Wam Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of […]
The SWIFT logo is pictured in this photo illustration taken April 26, 2016. Reuters/Carlo Allegri/Illustration/File Photo DHAKA Bangladesh police are reviewing a nearly forgotten 2013 cyber heist at the nation’s largest commercial bank for connections to February’s $81 million heist at the country’s central bank, a senior law enforcement official said on Wednesday. The unsolved theft of $250,000 at Sonali Bank involved fraudulent transfer requests sent over […]
An Apple store is seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 22, 2016. Reuters/Lucy Nicholson/Files SAN FRANCISCO Apple Inc is investigating how to charge electric cars, talking to charging station companies and hiring engineers with expertise in the area, according to people familiar with the matter and a review of LinkedIn profiles. For more than a year, Silicon Valley has been buzzing about Apple’s plan to […]
A rare institution in this country, the Future Centre for Special Needs in Abu Dhabi has succeeded in integrating 100 special needs pupils into mainstream schools since it opened its doors in 2000. Children begin trickling into Abu Dhabi’s Future Centre for Special Needs at 8am. Early arrivals play or receive some individual attention. Thirty minutes later, they begin the first group session. “Circle time is different […]
Sources tell Gulf News media reports have exaggerated the reasons behind the lay-offs Dubai: The Saudi-owned pan-Arab Al Arabiya has fired dozens of employees in a restructuring move. Saudi Akhbaar24 broke the story claiming fifty employees had been let go, among them some well-known and long-serving staffers. A trusted source, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the news to Gulf News but […]
ABU DHABI // Hundreds of residents are rallying around their feathered friends after managers said ducks would be removed from their community’s lakes because their droppings were a health hazard. The residents at isolated Al Ghadeer, on the border between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, have signed an online petition after receiving an email which said the 30 ducks would be moved because their excrement could spread disease […]
Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Economy on Wednesday said it will ensure there is enough food supply throughout Ramadan to prevent hikes in prices, which are being closely monitored and regulated. The measures include Ramadan discounts by major retailers on 5,000 items, in addition to the ongoing price caps on 4,000 items throughout the year. Moreover, the ministry will carry out […]
A pedestrian walks past an Apple iPhone 6 advertisement at an electronics store in Mumbai, India, July 24, 2015. Reuters/Shailesh Andrade/File Photo NEW DELHI India has said Apple Inc must meet a rule obliging foreign retailers to sell at least 30 percent locally-sourced goods if it wishes to open stores in the country, a senior government official told Reuters. Apple is hoping to expand its retail presence […]
When the 1986 Taurus hit the market, it turned car styling on its head. Gone instantly were straight line creases and wedgie shapes. Curves were now in, and oh yeah, were they! This second generation Pulsar NX followed the trend, and looked so much better with a reskin. It also offered more FUN things like T-Tops and a removable hatch panel that left flying buttresses for strength. […]
AJMAN// Temperatures are expected to drop slightly today as a result of freshening winds keeping the air cooler. Strong north-westerly winds will turn the waters rough in the Sea of Oman and very rough in the Arabian Gulf. Anyone partaking in watersports or heading out to sea is advised to do so with caution. Inland gusts of up to 55 kph will blow dust and sand over […]
Seismologists have created a new algorithm that could one day help give coastal cities early warning of incoming tsunamis. Right now, tsunami warning systems rely on region-specific scenarios based on previous patterns in that area. That’s because scientists use sensors in the ocean, which can detect abnormal movements but can’t make accurate projections of how much water will hit a coast and how hard. But “most likely” […]
