From an architecture pioneer to legends of screens, music and stage , the Arab world has lost its share of icons and stars in 2016. Here are some of those who we bid farewell to. Zaha Hadid October 31 1950 – March 31 2016 Born in Baghdad, Iraq, the award winning Iraqi-British architect pushed architectural boundaries with her designs and broke new grounds for female architects in […]
Jamillah Ali, daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, visited Qatar on Monday for a private tour of an exhibition dedicated to the champion’s life and career. Ali, who is one of the boxer’s nine children, visited the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha where the exhibition, Muhammad Ali: Tribute to a Legend, is being staged. The exhibition, which was launched in July, displays 22 artefacts, including signed […]
On the other were Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Trump, firing back at what they deemed a hypocritical betrayal of America’s closest friend in the Middle East. Continue reading the main story If Mr. Obama and Mr. Kerry were playing for history, Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Trump were playing for time. The departing administration intended for the speech to lay out a path to peace that they had […]
MANILA Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened corrupt government officials with the prospect of being thrown out of a helicopter mid-air, warning he has done it himself before and had no qualms about doing it again. The fiery-tempered former prosecutor said he once hurled a Chinese man suspected of rape and murder out of a helicopter. “If you are corrupt, I will fetch you using a helicopter […]
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella says there are no indications that would prompt the declaration of martial law. KING RODRIGUEZ/ Presidential Photo The recent bombings in Leyte and North Cotabato are not “indicators” for a possible declaration of martial law, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said on Thursday. Abella said the separate bombings Wednesday night in Hilongos, Leyte, and Aleosan, Cotabato, were “areas of concern” but were not cause […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for December 29, 2016, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. newslide Abu Dhabi Fitness event Take part in the vertical training at TrainZSC, presented by Daman Activelife, and run the 884 stairs of the National Stadium for a fun cardio workout. Or take advantage of […]
Noise originating from the coherent nature of laser light is the scourge of digital holography, always causing holographic images to be of lower quality than conventional photographs. Now scientists have practically eliminated this noise by using a two-stage algorithm. The output obtained exhibited both qualitative and quantitative improvement over recently developed de-noising techniques. In particular, the algorithm reduced noise in background regions by 98 percent and in […]
By Andrew Osborn and Orhan Coskun | MOSCOW/ANKARA MOSCOW/ANKARA Syria would be divided into informal zones of regional power influence and Bashar al-Assad would remain president for at least a few years under an outline deal between Russia, Turkey and Iran, sources say. Such a deal, which would allow regional autonomy within a federal structure controlled by Assad’s Alawite sect, is in its infancy, subject to change […]
ABU DHABI // A private philanthropic fund set up to support Emiratis in education, their careers, and encourage entrepreneurship has raised hundreds of millions of dirhams in its first year. Initiated in April by a group of Emirati businessmen, Sandooq Al Watan, or National Fund, aims to develop the economy by supporting social entrepreneurship, providing Emiratis with career guidance, identifying and developing talent and funding research and […]
Submitted by Mike Krieger via Lberty Blitzkrieg blog, Today’s piece should be seen as a bit of a followup to yesterday’s post, India’s Demonetization Debacle Highlights the Dangers of Monetary Monopoly. While yesterday’s piece was more philosophical/strategic in nature, today’s zeroes in on some of the devastating real world impacts of Narendra Modi’s insane and inhumane cash ban. It’s hard to overstate the damage this policy has done to […]
After a two-year experiment with free markets, the pain of low oil prices forced the world’s biggest producers to join forces in 2016 and tackle a global supply glut. Saudi Arabia-led Opec and non-member countries, primarily Russia, agreed after months of discussion and back channel diplomacy to cut production for the first time since the global financial crisis. Prices look set to end the year in the […]
Dec. 27, 2016 6:57 p.m. ET The conviction rate for blasphemy in Indonesia is 100%, and that’s bad news for Basuki Tjahaja Purnama. The talented Jakarta Governor faces up to five years in prison after a court decided Tuesday that prosecutors have a credible case against him for making lighthearted comments about the Quran. A conviction will deprive Jakarta of an able administrator and reformer, but the […]
Gazprom has submitted proposals to Brussels in an effort to bring to an end a five-year long antitrust probe into the company, it said on Tuesday. The Russian state-controlled energy giant, which did not disclose details of its offer, said that the plan sought to address the European Commission’s concerns “to the extent it is reasonable and possible”. “We hope that the commission — and ultimately the […]
By Steve Gorman | LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES Carrie Fisher, who rose to fame as Princess Leia in the “Star Wars” films and later endured drug addiction and stormy romances with show business heavyweights, died on Tuesday aged 60, her daughter said through a family spokesman. “It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 […]
M-Station is largest power plant in the UAE with total cost reaching AED 11.62 billion and will produce 2,760MW on completion Dubai, UAE, 27 December 2016 Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has announced that it has completed 53% of the M-Station expansion project. The M-Station is the newest and largest power production and water desalination plant in the UAE. DEWA completed 3.9 million safe man-hours without […]
Since achieving global fame in 2000, Coldplay have elicited devotion and derision in equal measure. The question, then, is whether the British four-piece are one of the best bands of their generation – or the most overrated? Rob Garratt and Saeed Saeed state their cases. They are overrated Coldplay produce quintessentially mundane muzak for the masses. They are utterly innocuous, bitterly anodyne and completely forgettable audio dishwater, […]
In 2016 it was all about Panamagate. But by retaining Konrad Mizzi in his executive and Keith Schembri besides him in Castille, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat stubbornly failed to recognise the extent of the public outrage at these revelations Jurgen Balzan 27 December 2016, 7:20am Joseph Muscat stood by his men and by his own admission, he evidently considers himself unable to complete the energy plans without […]
George Michael, the British pop superstar who reached early fame with WHAM! and went on to a solo career lined with controversies and chart-topping hits that blended soul and dance music with social commentary, has died, his publicist said Sunday. He was 53. Michael passed away at his home in Goring, England. According to a statement to Billboard magazine, manager Michael Lippman said he died of “heart […]
By Jeffrey Heller | JERUSALEM JERUSALEM Benjamin Netanyahu has been unrelenting in his criticism of the Obama administration over what he condemned as its “shameful” decision not to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a halt to Israeli settlement-building. But with the clock ticking down on Barack Obama’s presidency, a possibly more amenable Republican Donald Trump waiting in the wings and a $38 billion U.S. […]
British pop singer and songwriter George Michael, who rose to fame in the 1980s as the frontman of Wham! before pursuing a successful solo career, has died “peacefully” at his home in England at the age of 53. Michael, born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, first made his name on the UK pop scene in the early 80s as one half of Wham!, with chart-topping hits such as “Wake […]
It is easy to forget there was a time in the UAE before big concerts such as Coldplay’s New Year’s Eve performance that will rock du Arena on Saturday night. That major shows put on by world-class acts such as The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Rihanna and Justin Timberlake were not always the norm in the UAE. The country has become such a regional entertainment hub in […]
MILAN/LONDON On the morning of July 29, former Italian Industry Minister Corrado Passera was traveling in a high-speed train toward the medieval city of Siena, racing to meet the directors of the world’s oldest bank to present them with a rescue plan. Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy’s third-largest lender, was destined to be wound down within months unless it could raise billions of euros and pull […]
26 December 2016 Dubai – The internet of things (IoT) is rapidly gaining momentum within the healthcare industry of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. According to IDC Health Insights, there has been a steady rise in IoT initiatives over recent years, and in some usage scenarios, IoT services are maturing rapidly toward mainstream deployment. The firm projects IoT spending by healthcare providers across the Middle East […]
2016 was chock-full of surprises, both in markets and in politics. As Goldman’s Allison Nathan explains, the year began with a perfect storm of worries that had become all too familiar already in 2015. Oil prices plunged and fears of faltering growth and a sharp depreciation of China’s currency escalated, driving disruptive sell-offs in credit and other risk assets. Confidence in global growth faltered, particularly after an […]
