Florence Foster Jenkins was a real-life American socialite who billed herself as being a great opera star – but is seemingly the only person who does not realise she is a horrible singer. Nonetheless, she never let small details like the lack of tone and having no descernable musical talent stop her from performing, and became a prominent cult figure in the New York musical scene of […]
But Trump has also ventured beyond mere name-calling, turning the 2016 election into a competition between knowledge systems: the tell-it-like-it-is “people” versus the know-it-all “elites.” His campaign insisted for months that pollsters and technocrats and media would be proven wrong by his electoral success. The fact that he did win dealt a blow to an entire worldview, one in which empirical inquiry and truth-telling were supposed to […]
LONDON Upbeat data from China helped lift global markets as 2017 trading started in earnest on Tuesday, with the dollar notching its biggest gain in three weeks, oil on a tear and European stocks setting a one-year high. Base metal prices and bond yields also advanced, as the better-than-expected factory growth in China dovetailed with higher inflation data in Europe to give investors a solid start to […]
He was released on his recognizance, but arrested 10 days later. He was accused of acting as an undercover liaison between Fatah, the dominant faction within the Palestine Liberation Organization, and guerrilla cells in the West Bank. Continue reading the main story The authorities also said he had smuggled gold, whiskey and television sets across the border. In addition, investigators said the archbishop had been involved in […]
Run the Jewels 3 Run the Jewels (Mass Appeal) Four-and-a-half stars The dismembered fists – one clinched, the other with fingers pointed like a gun – return for a third time on the cover of Run the Jewels 3, completing a trilogy that started in 2013. The fists are no longer bandaged. The right one typically holds a gold chain, but that is gone, too. This time, […]
Tuesday 05:05 GMT Overview Asian markets were in an upbeat mood in the first session for 2017, after a middling performance over the Christmas to New Year period during which Wall Street continued its retreat from recent record highs. Hot topic At the start of a new year, investors were wondering what the next 12 months would hold. Over the near term, one of the big issues […]
In a time of great change; upheaval of norms and establishment status quo dissolution, there is one steadfast member of the elite that the world can rely on to never change – no matter how the facts around him do. Nobel-prize-winner Paul Krugman has begun the year as he ended the last, with a New York Times’ op-ed exclaiming that “America has become a ‘Stan’.” In 2015 […]
Some analysts believe the rise in Bitcoin is due to some investors treating it as a safe-haven, like gold, at a time of global uncertainty The value of Bitcoin surged above $1,000 on Monday as the digital unit continues a dizzying rise that made it the best-performing currency of 2016. Its value has more than doubled in the last year and it was trading at around $1,024 […]
The first wedding season of the new year is under way, running from now until March. The bridal gowns, floral decorations and catering for impending winter weddings will be influenced by the flora and fauna of the season. The same will be true of 2017’s second major wedding period, between July and the end of September. Last month in Dubai, concierge company Quintessentially launched a one-stop-shop wedding […]
The mega-extravaganza of the tech world in Las Vegas is showcasing an array of new devices that get smarts from computer chips, sensors and artificial intelligence, but go further by opening doors to augmented or virtual realities. The Consumer Electronics Show, which begins with a series of media events Tuesday will offer trade professionals a look at new robotics, connected cars and a dizzying assortment of gizmos […]
By Christine Kim | SEOUL SEOUL Danish police have arrested the daughter of a woman at the centre of a South Korean influence-peddling scandal that has engulfed President Park Geun-hye, police and prosecutors said on Monday. The scandal has led to Park’s impeachment by parliament on December 9, paralysed the government and drawn hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets of the capital, Seoul, for weekly […]
The Dell XPS 13 is a fan favorite laptop for a variety of reasons, including its performance and eye-catching, almost bezel-less display. As proof of the laptop’s popularity, instead of releasing a successor, Dell instead decided to roll out an updated version of the XPS 13 last year that featured Intel’s seventh-generation Kaby Lake processors, improved the device’s battery life, and added a rose gold option. A leaked […]
Authored by Eric Zuesse via Strategic-Culture.org, I’m a former lifelong Democrat, stating here a clear and incontestable fact: Barack Obama is a failed President. It’s true not just because of the sad realities such as that «Top Ex-White House Economist Admits 94 % Of All New Jobs Under Obama Were Part-Time» — or, as the economists Alan Krueger and Lawrence Katz wrote in the original of that study: «94 percent of the […]
Photo Alabama running back Bo Scarbrough after scoring on a 68-yard fourth-quarter run against Washington in the Peach Bowl. Scarbrough finished with 180 yards and two touchdowns. Credit Dale Zanine/USA Today Sports, via Reuters ATLANTA — Alabama running back Bo Scarbrough sure is going to miss the Georgia Dome. Four weeks after his two-touchdown performance here in a win over Florida in the Southeastern Conference championship came, […]
Alison Shan Price, the CEO and founder of the One World Actors Centre (OWAC) in Kuwait has been awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours list. Having been involved in theatre since she was five, Price has been in Kuwait for years, running OWAC with her daughter Eleni Rebecca, the managing director and chief choreographer, alongside a large team of artists. The British Government said Price […]
Social media firm Snap Inc may be the highest profile tech IPO planned for 2017, with the potential to raise billions. But more than a dozen expected stock offerings of relatively obscure software firms targeting business customers – little-known names such as Apttus, Tintri and Okta – could be just as important in thawing a long-frozen IPO market, according to investment bankers and advisers who work on […]
The search for extra-terrestrial life is one of the most mysterious subject areas one can study. The vastness of the universe is much too unfathomable for some, but even with the theory of its never-ending expansion, scientists are not perturbed and are continuing in their search for alien life. SETI Signals The name SETI stands for “search for extraterrestrial intelligence,” which is exactly what many scientists are doing. […]
China’s government this week waded into a feud between the film industry and review websites that have panned some of the country’s biggest budget movies, censuring critiques and saying the sites are “malicious and irresponsible”. Topping off a year of lacklustre films and slow ticket sales, the intervention was meant to bolster confidence in China’s ability to generate blockbusters. China’s goal is to catch up to the […]
Hindsight Capital beats the market, and all competition, every year. But how would it do over a decade? For the uninitiated, Hindsight Capital is an imaginary hedge fund that is blessed with perfect foresight, which features at this time of year in the Long View column. As real fund managers deploying real money have to hedge their bets, it always does far better than any of them […]
Financial markets in 2016 endured an escalation of negative interest rates, the collapse and subsequent rebound in commodity prices and fluctuating stock market valuations. The test for investors began in week one, as fears of a China slowdown roiled stock indices weeks after the Federal Reserve began to normalise policy. Over the ensuing months, the Brexit vote and US election would prove significant mile markers, shift thinking […]
Swimming upstream Even before Trump, reform advocates like the Chamber were up against a rising tide of skepticism regarding reform. Congress grew cold after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and conservative talk radio and TV programs began a drumbeat of attacks against legalizing immigrants; TV personalities such as Lou Dobbs spread outlandish claims about Mexican plots to “take over” the American Southwest. Ironically, Mexican President Vicente Fox — […]
The Singapore government has invested significant resources and efforts in building up a thriving startup environment, but its inhabitants must now take risks and look beyond local shores. Jeffrey Paine, general partner at Golden Gate Ventures, believed Singapore’s startup scene had progressed well over the last six to eight years. He said a number of successful startups had grown and executed well in the region, as well […]
ABU DHABI // Camels owned by Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed, the President’s Representative, have won top prizes in the camel ‘mazayna’ beauty contest at this year’s Al Dhafra Festival. Sheikh Sultan’s camels won the Aayel category for the golden-red camel breed, originally from Oman. Camels belonging to Khamis Al Mazrouie scooped the Majahim category, the black camels of Saudi Arabia. Held in Madinat Zayed in Al Gharbia […]
Diagnosing illnesses can sometimes take a lot of time and money. Some medical procedures that go beyond mere prodding can also be very painful. However, thanks to a new device developed by researchers in Israel, doctors could soon determine a person’s illness simply by getting a quick read of their breath. Just one puff is all it takes. Prof. Hossam Haick and his colleagues at the Technion-Israel […]
