The biggest issue facing the world of social media influencers is transparency. Should the person with 100,000 followers on Instagram (or 5.4 million followers as the keynote speaker, Joelle Mardinian, can boast) announce that she is being paid to promote a product? The inevitable tangents to the four hours of conversations tried to answer the question: what constitutes an influencer (or a content generator as one panellist […]
Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, has been convulsed by civil strife for more than two years. In the west, Houthi rebels ousted the government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the United States’ main counterterrorism partner in the country, and have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition of mostly Sunni Arab countries that back Mr. Hadi. Continue reading the main story In the […]
Ismail, a 20-year-old Emirati, has rarely ever stepped into a bank branch. “You won’t believe I haven’t visited my branch for over a year. All my transactions are done online,” he says, as he clicks an app on his phone to make a payment. “I just paid my bill and that’s how it works for me. All the services are at my fingertips and I save immense […]
Image: Cobalt This week Cobalt came out of stealth mode and introduced a mobile security robot. Just like a real security guard, the robot’s main job is to patrol a building to watch for any unusual activity and report anything suspicious to the appropriate authorities. “A fleet of Cobalt robots is comparable to an extremely competent guard with superhuman capabilities and omnipresent situational awareness across an entire […]
YEMEN: US fighter jets pounded Al-Qaeda targets in Yemen for a second straight day on Friday, security and tribal sources said, as Washington steps up its air war against the jihadists.The Pentagon said it had carried out more than 20 strikes on Thursday targeting Al-Qaeda positions in the southern provinces of Shabwa and Abyan and the central province of Baida.Yemeni officials said at least 12 suspected militants […]
DUBAI // What was once a wide, empty terrace at Ranches Primary School has been transformed into a peaceful outdoor garden where children as young as five can meditate and grow fruits and vegetables. Early years pupils visit the Rooftop Mindful Garden at least twice a day to calm their minds and nurture plants as part of a health awareness education programme the school is piloting with […]
Wikimedia Commons Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has revealed aspirations to create a stable, frequent delivery service to the moon over four decades since a man last walked on the surface. Bezos, who also owns private aerospace firm Blue Origin and The Washington Post, told the publication in an interview that in order to maintain a stable colony on the moon, a reliable delivery service is of paramount […]
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) appeared on Fox’s First 100 Days Thursday evening after a closed door briefing earlier in the day by FBI director James Comey concerning the agency’s investigation into claims of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The interview begins with host Martha MacCallum mentioning that Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), who attended the same meeting, was “rattled” over the lack of information Comey gave concerning Russian involvement in the election. Gowdy, on the other […]
The National Australia Bank (NAB) faced the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics’ review of the performance of Australia’s banking and financial system on Friday, with CEO Andrew Thorburn probed again on the idea of opening up the bank’s application programming interfaces (API) to external parties. By 2018, banks in the United Kingdom will be required to effectively open up APIs to enable consumer data to […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for March 3, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. Ellen Fortini rounds up 10 things to do today in the UAE. Want to see your event listed here? Email us with the details and contact information at [email protected] newslide Abu Dhabi Yoga class Start […]
Branden Spikes says he has led a charmed life. Boasting an IT career that started in Silicon Valley when the web was born, Spikes was in the midst of the “awesome craziness” that occurred as a result of the dotcom boom — not to mention “the craziness” that he said followed. “The invention of the web was happening right in my backyard at a time when I […]
One of Dubai’s biggest shopping malls has installed nine electric car charging stations, following the official launch of Tesla in the UAE last month. Located at the Fashion Dome Valet Parking and on the first and second floors at Mall of the Emirates, the Tesla charging stations can add up to 100km of range to the battery per hour of charge. “Majid Al Futtaim is proud to […]
Oman’s government has given itself breathing space from the pressure of financing a large budget deficit by selling $5 billion of international bonds, almost completing its entire foreign borrowing plan for 2017 in a single issue. Wednesday’s bond sale, in tranches of five, 10 and 30 years, was about double the size that most investors had expected and a huge amount for a country which returned to […]
Photo King Salman of Saudi Arabia, center, arriving at the presidential palace in Bogor, Indonesia, on Wednesday. Credit Achmad Ibrahim/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images LONDON — You could call it bling diplomacy. As part of a monthlong tour in Asia to promote economic ties, King Salman of Saudi Arabia arrived in Indonesia on Wednesday to great fanfare, accompanied, the news media said, by a retinue with a […]
Superloop has expanded its high-speed intercapital colocation network with a new point of presence (PoP) at NextDC’s C1 datacentre in Canberra. The addition of C1 connectivity sees the Asia-Pacific fibre infrastructure company complete its national footprint through NextDC, with connections already at the latter’s datacentres in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth. According to Superloop, the nationwide deployment of capital city infrastructure gives the company the ability to […]
Address Hotels + Resorts, the premium luxury hotel brand of Emaar Hospitality Group, on Wednesday unveiled its new city lifestyle resort, Address Boulevard. Address Boulevard has 196 rooms including 116 deluxe rooms, 44 deluxe club Rooms, 28 one-bedroom suites, seven two-bedroom suites and a luxurious Presidential Suite. In addition, there are 532 serviced apartments including duplexes and two penthouses, with short-term guests at the residences also guaranteed […]
A security officer wraps the recovered bodies of a couple who were brutally murdered by separatists in Songkhla to get their pickup truck and rig it as a car bomb. (Photo by Assawin Pakkawan) A network of Buddhists in the far South has called for a relaxation of special security laws in the insurgency-plagued region following an agreement between the government and insurgent groups to create safety […]
The high profile event will showcase a wide range of real estate opportunities with Al Bandary Real Estate and Ezdan Real Estate amongst the top local companies exhibiting Doha, Qatar: March 01, 2017 Cityscape Qatar 2017, the largest real estate development and investment exhibition in the State of Qatar, welcomes this year a large number of leading local and international exhibitors to participate in its sixth edition, […]
The galaxy needs saving again. Good thing the Guardians are back. Again. Marvel Studios has released the latest trailer for the much-anticipated movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. True to its form, the trailer featured action scenes of galactic proportions. There are giant tentacle monsters, swarm of spaceships, a golden villainess, a new cast of misfits (Mantis, Nebula), and lots of explosions. And oh, Star-Lord’s dad. Guardians […]
The Gemini PDA is an Android-Linux clamshell with a physical QWERTY keyboard. Image: Planet Computers There may still be a market for the PDAs, or personal digital assistants, which were largely made extinct by the iPhone’s arrival in 2007. But UK mobile startup Planet Computers will be testing just how big that market is with the Gemini PDA, an Android-Linux clamshell smartphone with a physical QWERTY keyboard. […]
This was originally published in our weekly newsletter, Local Edition, which is a product of the Knight-Lenfest Newsroom Initiative. Subscribe here. Have you ever had a party and looked around the room at some point and thought, Wow, there are a lot of cool people here? Well, that’s how my inbox felt this week. Thanks to everyone who contributed last week by answering our first question in […]
YouTube is trying to carve a space in the broad spectrum of video streaming services currently occupied by formidables Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services offering on-demand programming. It’s launching a $35-a-month TV service that could possibly further disrupt traditional cable providers. YouTube TV Takes On Cable Services YouTube officially unveiled YouTube TV on Feb. 28, its response to similar setups by Dish’s SlingTV, AT&T’s DirecTV Now, and even Sony’s […]
Sama Eyewear Fascinating history and timeless appeal aside, aviator sunglasses are arguably the most popular shape when it comes to classic or contemporary eyewear design. Additions to California-based Sama Eyewear’s spring/summer 2017 Combustion collection reinterpret the typical aviator to give it a decidedly feminine twist. This includes frames with larger lenses, jewelled finishes and an innovative butterfly-shaped lens with a raised temple. The laser-cut patterned temples in […]
Researchers have developed a method to quantify ecosystem services of street trees. Using nearly 100,000 images from Google Street View, the study helps further understanding on how green spaces contribute to urban sustainability. (via WSJ)
