Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings has finally reached his maximum willingness to throw taxpayer dollars at the Dallas Police and Fire Pension (DPFP) system and has pulled is support for a bill that, if it passes, will undoubtedly prove to be yet another futile effort to save the system from insolvency. Despite support for the original legislation introduced by Dan Flynn, chair of the pensions committee in the […]
Under the patronage of Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani, QDB will officially open 2nd Government Procurement & Contracting Conference and Exhibition – Moushtarayat 2017 – to the public from 6 to 8 April 2017 The expo is held in partnership with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) National Procurement Awards to recognize big buyers that have contributed […]
By Robin Emmott and Gabriela Baczynska | BRUSSELS BRUSSELS International donors are set to pledge billions more dollars for Syrian refugees at a two-day conference from Tuesday that the European Union says must also help prepare for an eventual end to more than six years of war in Syria. With millions displaced within Syria and in neighbouring countries, the United Nations has appealed for $8 billion this […]
An American of Iranian descent arrested in Iran in July and sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment on dubious charges has been released on bail after he went on a hunger strike, rights activists reported on Monday. The American, Robin Shahini, who is 46 or 47, was released about two weeks ago, just before the start of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, according to the Center for Human […]
By Michelle Nichols | UNITED NATIONS UNITED NATIONS U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will chair a United Nations Security Council meeting on North Korea on April 28 to discuss how the body can combat Pyongyang’s banned nuclear and missile programs, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said on Monday. North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions aimed at impeding the development of its nuclear and missile programs since […]
A morale crisis at American International Group Inc could prevent the U.S. insurance company from keeping and hiring the talent it needs to propel it through its financial turnaround, UBS said in an analysis on Monday. AIG ranked last through March 21 among 10 insurers rated by their own employees in categories ranging from career opportunities to business outlook, according to a UBS analysis of data from […]
Energy giant Qatar Petroleum is to launch a new project in the world’s biggest gas field, boosting its output by up to 10 percent, it said Monday. The state-owned firm’s chief Saad Al-Kaabi said it was ending a 12-year moratorium on new projects in the North Field, off the Gulf state’s northern coast. “Qatar Petroleum’s technical studies and assessment of the North Field have confirmed the potential […]
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi | AMMAN AMMAN Syrian jets on Monday bombed residential areas in the eastern countryside of Damascus killing and injuring dozens in some of the heaviest bombing raids on the main rebel enclave near the capital in months, residents and activists said. At least 22 people were killed and scores injured after four aerial raids hit a crowded district in the city of Douma, the […]
Tesla, the upstart electric carmaker, surpassed US motor pioneer Ford in market value on Monday, as investors look to a future beyond the internal combustion engine. Shares of Tesla, founded in 2003, rose 7.3 per cent to a market capitalisation of $48.7bn, gliding past the 100-year-old Ford, whose shares fell 1.7 per cent after disappointing March sales results to a market value of $45.3bn. While it is symbolic for […]
That big hug was just what Mr. Sisi’s government sought, said Eric Trager, a scholar on Egypt at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “It wants to see the White House legitimate it, and set it on a new course.” Continue reading the main story The scene provided a powerful counterpoint to Mr. Sisi’s many critics, in Egypt and abroad, for whom he is known as […]
The annual Cesco Week gathering for the global copper industry starts Monday in Santiago. For the first time in five years, attendees arriving in the Chilean capital can reflect on a copper price that is higher than at the previous year’s event. However, optimism that 2017 represents a turning point in the market should be tempered by the realisation that any sustained recovery in the copper price […]
OTTAWA Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces his first real test with voters on Monday, with five by-elections across the country shaping up as a barometer for the strength of his Liberals since being elected to a shock majority in 2015. The regional votes to elect two members of parliament in Calgary and one member each in Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal are considered safe seats – three […]
ZDNet ST. MAARTEN: The cybercriminals allegedly responsible for an attack on Bangladesh’s central bank which left the country’s wallet millions of dollars lighter is showing “no signs of stopping,” according to security experts. The group, dubbed Lazarus, managed to dupe banking staff into transferring $80 million from the Central Bank of Bangladesh’s New York Federal Reserve account after spending several months studying how the financial institutions communicated […]
Bahrain’s King Hamad on Monday approved a constitutional amendment granting military courts the right to try civilians accused of terrorism, state news agency BNA said. The amendment, approved unanimously by the upper house of parliament last month, drops a clause limiting military trials to members of the armed forces or other security branches. It does not specify what constitutes an act of terrorism. The Sunni-ruled kingdom has […]
By Steve Holland | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump moved to reset U.S. relations with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday after the prior Obama administration’s strained ties, giving him firm backing and vowing to work together to fight Islamic militants. “I just want to let everybody know in case there was any doubt that we are very much behind President Sisi. He’s done a […]
AJMAN // Omani students are still enrolling in Ajman University (AU) two years after Oman removed it from its list of approved tertiary institutions. In March 2015, Oman’s ministry of higher education decided to remove AU from the list after a study reported its graduates’ low employment rate. At the time, 749 Omanis were studying at AU, and more than 10,000 Omanis have graduated from the university […]
Investors face a test of nerve as the second quarter beckons. The rally in US stocks and the dollar sparked by the election of Donald Trump is looking stretched, amid doubts about the president’s ability to deliver fiscal stimulus for the economy that can justify lofty equity valuations. The shifting mood has spurred money into emerging markets and European stocks, with EM currencies enjoying a stellar March […]
You need Javascript and either Adobe Flash or Html5 to view this video. You need Javascript and either Adobe Flash or Html5 to view this video. Video: Matthew Mirabelli Konrad Mizzi is refusing to reply to any more questions on his involvement in the Panama Papers, saying that he has now exhausted all questions on the matter. Following a press conference on a new joint venture with […]
By Saad Sayeed | ISLAMABAD ISLAMABAD Pakistan resumed the repatriation of Afghan refugees on Monday, sending nearly 1,200 people back across the heavily guarded northern Torkham border, an official at the United Nation’s refugee body said. Pakistan is home to the world’s second largest refugee population, with a total of 2.5 million Afghans living there. Many have been in Pakistan since the Soviet invasion in 1979. Relations […]
Most are familiar with the idea of “Sell in May and go away.” Should one take this advice and sell a month earlier this year? The chart below is from good friend Ryan Detrick, looking at monthly returns of the S&P 500’s performance, over four different time frames. CLICK ON CHART TO ENLARGE The above chart reflects a couple of things; April has historically been a month that it has […]
Somali pirates have seized an Indian vessel carrying 11 crew members, the ship’s owner said Monday, the third such hijacking in less than a month as piracy resurges in the country. The “Al Kausar” cargo ship was carrying items such as wheat and sugar from Dubai via Yemen to Somalia’s Bossaso port when it came under attack, owner Isaak Them told AFP. “The vessel was hijacked on […]
PARIS French presidential candidate Francois Fillon, an outsider to win after involvement in financial scandal, said on Monday he would order a parliamentary inquiry into allegations President Francois Hollande interfered in the justice system, if elected. Once the frontrunner, the conservative former prime minister’s poll ratings have slumped since allegations surfaced that he paid his wife and sons hundreds of thousands of euros of public money for […]
Hackers have potentially made off with confidential information about athletes. Image: iStock Russian hackers have compromised the servers of the world governing body for athletics and have likely made off with athletes’ medical data. The attack against the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has been attributed to the APR 28 hacking group – also known as Fancy Bear – and took place in February this year. […]
MANILA Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte told school children on Monday he would not hesitate to kill to protect them from the scourge of drugs and encouraged them to enlist in the army to defend the country from its enemies. Speaking during a Boys Scouts’ ceremony at the presidential palace, Duterte did not mince words, saying he would kill dealers “if you touch our children”. Duterte has repeatedly […]
