In 2014, a landmark Center investigation detailing controversial denials of black lung benefits to coal miners — “Breathless and Burdened: Dying from Black Lung, Buried by Law and Medicine” — won in the category of investigative reporting. The year-long investigation illuminated how doctors and lawyers working at the behest of the coal industry helped defeat benefit claims of coal miners who were sick and dying of black […]
Just when US trade partners thought it was safe to come out from their hiding places, along comes President Donald Trump to slap a punitive duty on Canada, America’s long-time ally and neighbour — imposing tariffs of up to 24 per cent on imports on its softwood lumber. The new president seemed to have gone quiet on his protectionist instincts, pulling back from a trade confrontation with […]
KUWAIT A prominent Kuwaiti opposition politician and government critic has called for political reforms in the Gulf state in his first public comments since he was freed from prison last week. An outspoken former parliament deputy, Musallam al-Barrak was freed on Friday after serving a two-year prison sentence for insulting the country’s ruler, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. He has in the past argued for broader electoral laws, […]
The Nasdaq Composite breached the 6,000 level for the first time on Tuesday and extended its double -digit gain for the year as investors focus on owning companies with strong growth prospects. The tech-heavy benchmark climbed as much as 0.7 per cent to 6,022 early in the day after closing at a record high in the previous session. Renewed appetite for technology stocks and a rally in […]
TOKYO The Japanese cabinet minister overseeing reconstruction of areas devastated by the 2011 earthquake and Fukushima nuclear disaster intends to resign after saying it was better that the disaster struck the northeast instead of Tokyo, national broadcaster NHK said. Masahiro Imamura made the comments when talking about the economic costs of the disaster at a party for ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers earlier on Tuesday. The remarks […]
Tuesday 12:30 BST What you need to know ● Stock markets extend rally on French election relief● Euro adds to gains as Paris’ bond yields steady ● Havens attract sellers, pushing down gold, the yen and Bund prices● Traders eye Nasdaq 6,000 as company earnings slip into fast gear● Brent crude prices higher as base metals firm——————- Hot topic The relief over the French election, which boosted […]
The Navy has since 2014 been testing a 30-kilowatt laser on one of its warships, the USS Ponce A sci-fi staple for decades, laser weapons are finally becoming reality in the US military, albeit with capabilities a little less dramatic than at the movies. Lightsabers—the favored weapon of the Jedi in “Star Wars” films—will remain in the fictional realm for now, but after decades of development, laser […]
Scientists have clarified through theory and simulation research that turbulence in a plasma confined in the magnetic field is suppressed and the heat and particle losses are reduced in cases with larger ion mass. This research provides a novel understanding for clarifying the ‘ion mass effect’ which has been a riddle since the beginning of fusion and plasma research. (via WSJ)
Spotify, the music streaming service that reached 50 million premium subscribers last month, is apparently looking to get into the hardware business. The company’s ambition to get into hardware, possibly through a wearable or a smart home device, was shown through a posted job listing that was spotted by blogger Dave Zatz. Job Listing Shows Spotify’s Hardware Ambitions According to Zatz, a trusted source indicated that Spotify will soon […]
After yesterday’s violent gap up in stocks across the globe in response to the “expected” outcome from the French election, today the risk on sentiment has continued if to a lesser extent, with stocks in Europe, Asia all rising while S&P futures point to a higher open. Yen, gold decline, while the euro traded as high as 1.09 this morning before fading some gains; oil is up […]
By Ahmed Aboulenein | MOSUL, Iraq, MOSUL, Iraq, Iraqi forces are using siege and stealth tactics to drive Islamic State militants out of Mosul’s Old City, an Iraqi general said, as his forces sought to minimise casualties among hundreds of thousands of people trapped in the cramped, historic neighbourhood. Explosions from two car bombs could be heard nearby as Lieutenant General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi spoke to Reuters […]
By Linda Sieg and Tetsushi Kajimoto | TOKYO TOKYO The secretary-general of Japan’s ruling party said on Tuesday he will attend China’s New Silk Road summit in May, a sign Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to improve ties with Beijing amid tensions over North Korea’s missile and nuclear programmes. But an adviser to Abe said Tokyo remained cautious about the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), created […]
Viktor Medvedchuk has an unusually powerful godfather to his daughter: Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. The Ukrainian is also under US sanctions for “threatening the peace, security, stability, sovereignty or territorial integrity” of his country. So why is Mr Medvedchuk involved in negotiations over the future of separatist-held east Ukraine — on Kiev’s side? Mr Medvedchuk, 62, has long been one of Ukraine’s most divisive and enigmatic […]
By Nichola Saminather | SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian equities advanced on Tuesday as the return of risk appetite following a centrist victory in the first round of the French presidential election lifted several regional markets to multi-year highs, while the euro retained most of its overnight gains. Safe-haven assets, including the yen and gold remained under pressure, while the Canadian dollar fell after the U.S. announced new duties […]
The Home Office is trying to discourage EU nationals from applying for permanent residence in the UK to avoid being deluged by applications after the triggering of the Article 50 Brexit clause. According to new guidance released this month, EU citizens are instead advised to sign up for emailed news alerts that will tell them if and when they need to take action over their UK residence. […]
By Dustin Volz | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The Senate’s main investigation into allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election is equipped with a much smaller staff than previous high-profile intelligence and scandal probes in Congress, which could potentially affect its progress, according to sources and a Reuters review of public records. With only seven staff members initially assigned to the Senate Intelligence Committee’s three-month-old investigation, […]
Saudi Arabia is about to cast off its oil-dependence, build brand-new industries and open its economy to foreign investment, according to the government. That might make it a good time to buy into a Saudi bank. And substantial stakes in two of them are up for sale. But in both cases, it’s international lenders who are seeking to get out – and there are no big-name global […]
The finalized prototype of Google self-driving car. First, it was just a dream. Then it became a quirky research project undertaken by a handful of the nerdiest engineers in the robotics industry. Now self-driving cars are on the brink of transforming transportation. The industry creating the technology for autonomous vehicles has morphed from a collaborative space of free-flowing ideas into a high-speed road race where the winners […]
By Chris Kenning | CHICAGO CHICAGO Barack Obama, making his first major appearance since leaving the White House, made no mention on Monday of his successor, Donald Trump, but urged young people to get more involved in their communities at a time of stark political divides. “What’s been going on since I’ve been gone?” joked the former Democratic president as he moderated an event at the University […]
The leader of a 2004 coup that toppled Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide pleaded guilty on Monday to a money laundering charge related to an international drug trafficking scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Guy Philippe, 49, admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering stemming from his receipt of cash payments tied to narcotics sales in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Justice […]
By Brian Ellsworth and Carlos Garcia Rawlins | CARACAS CARACAS Venezuelans erected barricades with garbage and even bathtubs on Monday and snarled traffic with mass “sit-ins” along major thoroughfares to press their demand for early elections as anti-government protests entered a fourth week. Ten people have been killed during near daily clashes this month between security forces armed with rubber bullets and tear gas and protesters sometimes […]
ABU DHABI // Pope Francis will join hundreds of religious and political leaders, including the UAE’s Muslim Council of Elders, this week for a peace conference in Egypt. Among the topics to be addressed at Al Azhar’s International Peace Conference, starting in Cairo on Thursday, are misinterpretation of religious text and the culture of peace in religion. Global peace and how poverty, illness and exploitation affect it […]
The US Treasury has responded to this month’s gas attack in Syria by launching one of its biggest one-off rounds of sanctions, targeting employees of a Syrian agency it accuses of developing non-conventional weapons. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced that 271 employees of Syria’s Scientific Studies and Research Center were being sanctioned, more than doubling the number of individuals and entities targeted by previous […]
Masterson: It’s something election officials hear about all the time. I can tell you my experience in Ohio. When we dug into that. It was virtually non-existent. But to the extent that election officials could, they looked at their processes, looked at ways they could both educate the public on the process to serve voters. It is my opinion, in the vast majority of jurisdictions today in […]
