Twitter reflects the good, the bad and just plain ugly reality of social media these days. For academics, journalists and voters, there’s never been a more crucial time to talk about the impact these social media platforms have on factual journalism and being watchdogs of the powerful. It’s in vogue to attack the messenger for the message. We are called liars. We are called “nasty people.” We […]
March 23, 2017 by: Peter Wells in Hong Kong Thursday 02.15 GMT Overview Asian markets were in a more subdued mood and making a tentative recovery from a midweek sell-off in which many global stock markets suffered their worst session since the US presidential election. A terror attack in London on Wednesday also kept investors in a cautious mood. Hot topic A jolt to global financial markets […]
On Monday night, travelers flying to the US from eight Muslim-majority countries started receiving warnings that they’d need to pack all electronics larger than cell phones into checked luggage; that means no laptops, no tablets, and no cameras (among other things). By Tuesday, Britain followed suit with a similar (but more forgiving) policy. Included on the do-not-fly-with-gadgets list are passengers heading directly to the US from Abu […]
Google has finally released the first developer preview for Android O, the next major version of its mobile operating system. The first Android O developer preview, however, is being rolled out differently compared to the first developer preview for Android N, which later turned out to be Android Nougat. While the Android Nougat developer preview was immediately released into the Android Beta channel, the Android O developer preview […]
Britain’s Houses of Parliament came under attack on Wednesday from a knife-wielding assailant who ploughed a vehicle through throngs of people on Westminster Bridge before fatally stabbing a police officer. In the largest-scale terrorist incident in London since suicide bombers killed 52 people in July 2005, at least five people died, including the attacker. A further 40 were injured, according to police. The attack paralysed the heart […]
The euro came close to its highest level against the dollar in almost four months on Wednesday, as investors waited nervously ahead of Donald Trump’s first key legislative test over the repeal of Obamacare. This week the euro has gained 0.8 per cent against the US currency, taking its rise this month to 2.6 per cent and leaving it worth $1.0825 late on Wednesday. Euro strength is, […]
By Chine Labbé and Adrian Croft | PARIS PARIS Militants are increasingly turning to vehicle-ramming attacks, like the one staged near Britain’s parliament on Wednesday, because they are cheap, easy to organise and hard to prevent. Experts say the tactic of mowing people down avoids the need to obtain any explosives or weapons and can be carried out by a “lone-wolf” attacker without using a network of […]
Korea Electric Power Corp has ruled out buying Toshiba’s controlling stake in Westinghouse, but confirmed it is interested in joining the NuGen consortium that is planning to build a new UK nuclear plant. The decision by the South Korean state-run utility is a blow to Toshiba’s efforts to find a buyer for its troubled US nuclear subsidiary as the Japanese conglomerate grapples with the worst financial crisis […]
Brent crude oil fell below $50 a barrel for the first time this year after US crude inventories climbed to a fresh record, raising fears that Opec’s attempts to tighten the market are falling short. US crude inventories rose by 5m barrels in the week ended March 17, the US Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday, triggering an immediate bout of selling that pushed Brent below $50 […]
False promises abound in Silicon Valley, especially when it comes to free products going paid. But what can you do? Nothing really, and that’s a problem. Silicon Valley works well with false promises. But what happens when those false promises cover free products that eventually require payment? In other words, who gets hurt? You might recall that in 2014, Microsoft […]
If you have some cash to spare, then Mass Effect: Andromeda can offer you some nice perks. When the space shooter releases, people will find out that they can buy in-game items using real-world money. Very much like in other AAA multiplayer games like Overwatch and For Honor, microtransactions will appear in Andromeda to give players some quick boosts in multiplayer mode. Mass Effect: Andromeda is coming out March 21 on Xbox […]
New revelations reported Wednesday further intensify the spotlight on Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chair and a longtime friend, who allegedly worked for years to advance the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine and elsewhere. An Associated Press report says Manafort forged closer ties to the Kremlin and the formerly pro-Russian government in Ukraine than he had previously disclosed, casting another cloud over the […]
Rex Tillerson says he did not seek to be US secretary of state but was persuaded to take the job by his wife, who told him “God’s not through with you”. “I was supposed to retire in March, this month. I was going to go to the ranch to be with my grandkids,” the 64-year-old former oil executive told the Independent Journal Review in his first full-length […]
Markets now and again behave in ways least expected, none more so than the resilience of emerging market currencies against the US dollar. Two of the main factors underpinning EM foreign exchange flows — globalisation and oil — are going the wrong way. Globalisation looks more vulnerable than ever following the G20 finance ministers’ meeting that pointedly failed to include the need to fight protectionism in its […]
By Goran Tomasevic | LOIYANGALANI, Kenya LOIYANGALANI, Kenya Villagers in northern Kenya have begun to burn piles of animal carcases, hoping to head off an outbreak of disease as their livestock starve to death in the region’s worst drought in five years. The smell of death hangs heavily over Lake Turkana and dried animal corpses dot the cracked mud where the lake has receded, leaving boats stranded […]
Alibaba has kicked off its grand plan for global trade without frontiers, signing a bilateral deal designed to ease the passage of goods shipped by smaller businesses between China and Malaysia. The pact, established as a public-private partnership in Malaysia’s digital free trade zone, is focused on infrastructure, including a fulfilment centre and co-operating on electronic payments and financing. Daniel Zhang, chief executive of the Chinese ecommerce […]
A technical problem at NYSE Arca, the Big Board’s listing venue for exchange traded funds, stymied the end of the trading day on Monday, hindering the closing auction for 341 securities, NYSE said on Tuesday. In a letter to clients on Tuesday, NYSE attributed the problem to a new version of software. Trading on the exchange has recommenced normally. “I am contacting you personally to emphasise that […]
Iona Craig, who reported on the aftermath of the botched Navy SEAL raid in Yemen for The Intercept from Yeman, did so with the help of the Pulitzer Center. Iona Craig. Grants from the Pulitzer Center go a long way for international journalists who eke out a difficult existence covering tough stories from dangerous places. The details of her recent Yemen experience should give pause to most […]
Wednesday 02:35 GMT Overview Asian equities sank in the wake of the S&P 500’s biggest fall in more than five months as investors fretted that US President Donald Trump’s pro-growth policies could take longer than expected to come to fruition. Hot topic The S&P 500 closed down 1.2 per cent on Tuesday, dragged lower by financial stocks. It was the first time since October 11 that the […]
SKOPJE Macedonia needs to rise above political feuding and form a government as soon as possible to unblock the Balkan country’s path to European Union membership, the EU said on Tuesday. An EU summit earlier this month placed the Balkans high on its agenda to show that despite lingering ethnic tensions and the scars from wars fought in the 1990s, the region is a priority for the […]
US banks recorded their steepest slide since the wake of the June Brexit vote as the Treasury yield curve flattened and investors remained concerned that Donald Trump’s policy initiatives might take longer to pass than previously thought. The S&P 500 banks index dropped 3.9 per cent, marking its steepest fall since June 27, according to Bloomberg data. America’s largest lenders were under pressure as Bank of America […]
ABU DHABI // Businessmen, parents and frequent travellers from the UAE to the US spoke of their frustration about travelling on long-haul flights without their electronic devices. They said fear of theft or damage to their devices and being unable to access important data were major concerns. The new restriction means passengers travelling on direct flights to the US, which can last up to 18 hours, will […]
Top executives from two of the world’s biggest investment banks have warned about the perils of Brexit, saying they have begun to firm up plans to uproot jobs from London ahead of Britain’s departure from the EU. Banks had been among the most vocal opponents of Brexit in the run-up to June’s referendum, donating millions of pounds to the Remain campaign and speaking openly about the thousands […]
By Elisabeth O’Leary | EDINBURGH EDINBURGH While the economic case for Scottish independence once centred on oil, people like company director Niall McLean now argue that trade is the way to ensure their country’s future prosperity – and avoid the damage of the United Kingdom leaving the EU. Turning Scotland, which sells two thirds of its exports to the rest of Britain, into a heavyweight international trader […]
