The National Security Agency can read your email. Verizon knows where you are at all times. Amazon is confident you’re in the market for a new printer. We know these things about the weird world we live in, but few of us ever stop to think about what they really mean. Recently, a group of artists got together in New York City to change that. […]
So it would appear. Bit Player Turns Star Shawn Harrington was one of the bit players in “Hoop Dreams.” A sophomore point guard at Marshall who moved from the junior varsity to the varsity during that glorious 1991 tournament run, he had his own star turn a few years later. After bouncing around several colleges — during which time he both got a degree and became a […]
ISTANBUL Turkey-backed rebels killed 68 Islamic State militants in clashes in northern Syria overnight, Turkish state media reported the military as saying on Saturday, as intense fighting around the town of al-Bab continued. Syrian rebels supported by Turkish troops have been laying siege to the Islamic State-held town for weeks, as part of the “Euphrates Shield” operation launched by Turkey nearly four months ago to sweep the […]
Last-minute trawls round malls or petrol-station flowers aside, it’s probably time to accept that it’s getting a tad late for thoughtful festive presents this year. But for car-idolising types who get the best gift of all this Christmas – cash, obviously – there are plenty of, err, wheely great gifts to splurge on from around the world. Innovative toys A few months ago, we reviewed the impressively […]
Porsche has won a key victory in its efforts to dismiss claims against the company for billions of euros of damages relating to its failed takeover of Volkswagen in 2008. Porsche Automobil Holding SE said on Friday that Germany’s federal court of justice, the country’s highest civil court, had dismissed a claim for €1.2bn brought by 19 hedge funds. When Porsche revealed in 2008 that it owned […]
When that ultimately did not stop the Council from acting, Mr. Netanyahu’s team expressed blistering anger at Mr. Obama. An Israeli official, insisting on anonymity to maintain the veneer of diplomatic protocol, gave a statement to multiple reporters on Friday blasting Mr. Obama and his secretary of state, John Kerry, by name. Continue reading the main story “President Obama and Secretary Kerry are behind this shameful move […]
Eileen Eagar was a single mom, working at a steel mill in Chicago. Feeding her two kids sometimes meant going out on a date, ordering the biggest steak on the menu and bringing the leftovers home. When we met her in the fall of 2016, she had married, moved to Arizona and started a career in real estate — the “best darn” realtor in Tucson, her husband […]
Russian President Vladimir Putin has written to Donald Trump to express his hope that Moscow and Washington improve relations after the US president-elect is inaugurated on January 20. “I hope . . . we will be able — by acting in a constructive and pragmatic manner — to take real steps to restore the framework of bilateral co-operation in different areas as well as bring our level of collaboration on the […]
To most, it is sacrosanct; the idea of not playing on Boxing Day, New Year’s Day and various points in between is seen as somewhere between anathema and heresy. Photo Fabian Delph of Manchester City during his team’s Premier League match at home against Sunderland on Dec. 26, 2015. Credit Jan Kruger/Getty Images The week’s popularity bears that out: Even in the Premier League, where most seats […]
Each year at the Ira Sohn conference a group of the world’s best known hedge fund managers present their top ideas for what to buy in the stock market. The event is so closely followed by investors that it is not unknown for shares in companies that are picked to start rising before presenters have even left the stage. More recently, however, some of these celebrity investors […]
What a difference a year makes. Having ended 2015 as the worst performing sector on the S&P 500, energy stocks are on track to become this year’s biggest winners as this month’s rally in crude prices further extended the sector’s gains. Despite falling 0.1 per cent on Friday, the S&P 500 energy index is still up more than 25 per cent this year, making it the top […]
The man suspected of attacking a Berlin Christmas market has been shot dead by police near Milan in Italy, closing a chapter on one of Germany’s worst terrorist incidents. Anis Amri, a 24-year-old Tunisian with links to Italy, died after being confronted by police near the Italian city early yesterday. Isis later released a video of Amri pledging allegiance to the militant group and promising to “slaughter” […]
ABU DHABI // After going through a divorce and a custody battle for her children, Aysha Al Naqbi knows the trauma that marriage break-ups can cause. So, Ms Al Naqbi has decided to dedicate herself to helping other women going through similar experiences. “It can be tough being a divorced female,” says Ms Al Naqbi, 38, from Khor Fakkan. “You will get questioned a lot, ‘why you’re […]
America’s biggest defence contractors cannot decide whether to be thrilled or terrified by Donald Trump. The titans of the US defence establishment beat a path to Mr Trump’s Florida resort on Wednesday to hear the president-elect warn that the US government is spending too much money on wasteful, over-budget, out-of-control defence programmes. At the same time, however, Mr Trump has consistently promised a build-up in America’s military — including his […]
Good morning. A media A-list’s favorite books of 2016 Jake Tapper, the CNN reporter-show host, needed far less time than even a hyperactive wire service rewrite guy to answer a question about his favorite book this year: “‘Moonglow’ by Michael Chabon.” Bam, that didn’t take long. But it’s why amid a Trump- and-terrorism-centric moment, I asked busy and smart journalists to go high when so many others […]
How long ago it seems — that post-referendum panic in the UK stock market. The pound plunged and the crowd ran into “safe havens” in the form of government debt, ditching those risky, tricky shares. On July 13, this column pointed out the folly of this strategy. At that moment, buying and holding the UK government’s 10-year bond guaranteed an annual return of just 0.9 per cent. […]
For 15 years, Chandran Nair led a top Asian environmental consultancy that was active in China. In 2006, he founded the Global Institute for Tomorrow, a Hong Kong think tank focused on a shift of global power from the West to Asia, at a time when China’s rise is changing the geopolitical balance. Mr. Nair, who was born in Malaysia to a large South Indian family, is the […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for December 23, 2016, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. newslide Abu Dhabi Festive fun Visit Al Maryah Island for the Winter Wonderland, featuring cosy winter cottages hosting activities including bauble-decorating, cracker-making and gingerbread-house-decorating. A skating rink and snow park offer a wintry feel, while […]
Net redemptions from emerging market equity funds reached a five-week high in the latest week amid pressure from the rising dollar and uncertainty about trade policy in the US, especially with China. Investors withdrew $3.7bn from emerging market equity funds in the week to Wednesday, according to EPFR Global, with Asia ex-Japan equity funds seeing net redemptions of $2.36bn, the largest since September of 2015. China equity […]
Good morning. Here’s our morning roundup of all the media news you need to know. Want to get this briefing in your inbox every morning? Subscribe here. It could be a dinner akin to the disastrous ones in “Meet the Parents,” “Talladega Nights” and “Wedding Crashers.” Or maybe “American Beauty,” where newly unemployed Kevin Spacey turns to his wife (Annette Bening) and daughter (Thora Birch) and says […]
Law Blog rounds up the morning’s legal news: VW buy-back: Volkswagen agreed to pay around $1 billion to repurchase or fix an additional batch of diesel-powered vehicles tainted with emissions-cheating software, resolving what had become a sticking point more than a year into Volkswagen’s diesel-emissions crisis. [WSJ] Unrevealing: A newly unsealed search-warrant application in the Clinton probe confirms the FBI found thousands of emails potentially linked to […]
By David Stanway | SHANGHAI SHANGHAI China has publicly named more than 20 enterprises it says broke environmental rules during this week’s outbreak of hazardous smog in the country’s north, its latest attempt to bring lawbreaking firms to account by shaming them. The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) accused steel and paper mills, cement plants, power generators and chemical producers of a range of offences, including ignoring […]
Although students at Abu Dhabi’s Future Rehabilitation Centre achieve varying degrees of independence after they graduate, the ideal is to land a job. One such graduate to have achieved this is Eid Al Shamsi, a 21-year-old Emirati who is now working at the Ministry of Interior’s human rights department. When he was a boy, Mr Al Shamsi had initially been enrolled in a private school, where he […]
For Lindsay Lohan, adopting new roles and changing her image seems to have become as much a part of her personal life as it was in her acting career. Following well-documented struggles with addiction, turbulent relationships and a somewhat chequered history as an actress, the 30-year-old is embracing her latest real-life role. She has become a self-proclaimed humanitarian campaigner for Syria and Turkey, in addition to reportedly […]
