By Nidal al-Mughrabi | GAZA GAZA Gaza’s population will more than double in about 30 years, signalling even more serious economic problems ahead for Palestinians in the small enclave if the conflict with Israel is not resolved, a U.N. official said on Tuesday. Andres Thomsen, of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), told Reuters “it will be very hard to imagine that you can create the right […]
Submitted by Jayant Bhandari via Acting-Man.com, India’s Currency Ban – Part VI India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, announced on 8th November 2016 that Rs 500 (~$7.50) and Rs 1,000 (~$15) banknotes would no longer be legal tender. Linked are Part-I, Part-II, Part-III, Part-IV, and Part-V, which provide updates on the demonetization saga and how Modi is acting as a catalyst to hasten the rapid degradation of […]
By Steve Scherer | ROME ROME Three days after resigning as Italian prime minister and before his successor took office, Matteo Renzi typed a late-night Facebook post from his family home near Florence that seemed to cast doubt on his future. “I have no seat in parliament, no salary, no pension… I’m starting over,” he wrote. Since stepping down on Dec. 7 after a crushing referendum defeat […]
It started off as one of those typical conversations you have when you’re in a foreign country and the taxi driver recognizes you to be a foreigner. “Where are you from?,” he asks, soon after I get into the bright yellow taxi cab, to which I reply “Sri Lanka.”“Beautiful country,” he responds.“Have you been there?” I ask him politely.“No, but my friend went there for a holiday. He […]
By Alastair Sharp and Allison Martell | TORONTO TORONTO BlackBerry Ltd (BB.TO)(BBRY.O) on Tuesday posted an adjusted profit that beat expectations even as revenue dropped sharply, as the software growth it is relying on failed to fully make up for its retreat from handsets and lost service fees. The Canadian smartphone pioneer has gone through a wrenching transition in recent years featuring huge writedowns and job cuts […]
With so many toys on the market it can be hard to know which one to buy, especially in the pre-Christmas shopping rush. A Disney figurine might draw gasps of delight, but will it be forgotten after a few weeks? And what about that state-of-the-art, remote-controlled car? Will the lights break off and become a choking hazard for younger siblings? With so much to consider, it’s worth […]
Otsimo provides free games for autistic children to help improve attention spans using machine learning and gamification. Image: Otsimo Autistic spectrum disorders, or ASDs, impose huge costs, both human and economic, on sufferers, their families, and the community. The human toll, in terms of care and impaired relationships, is almost impossible to quantify. Looking at the US alone, the economic expenditure last year was estimated at about […]
The Turkish lira is climbing off its weekly lows this morning in the wake of the assassination of the Russian ambassador in Ankara on Monday and ahead of another key interest rate decision later today. At publication time, the lira has gained 0.35 per cent against the dollar to TRY3.5180 per dollar, having slumped to as low as TRY3.5340 in the aftermath of the shooting of Andrei […]
State investment fund Mubadala Development Co will control a 2 percent stake in BP sold to Abu Dhabi in exchange for a holding in Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations (ADCO), a spokesman said on Monday. The firm became the second Western oil major to renew a 40-year onshore concession in Abu Dhabi on Saturday after almost two years of negotiations to improve terms to help […]
BEIJING China said it will not change its position on opposing the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to people it considers criminals, even though Beijing and Norway had now normalised ties frozen since 2010 when a prominent Chinese dissident won. Liu Xiaobo, 59, was jailed by a Chinese court for 11 years in 2009 on subversion charges for organising a petition urging an end to one-party […]
MUMBAI Apple Inc is in talks with India’s government to explore making products locally, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, as the U.S. firm aims to make deeper inroads in the world’s second-largest mobile phone market by users. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to boost technology manufacturing in the country through his ‘Make in India’ initiative. His government in June exempted foreign retailers for three […]
ZURICH A man who shot three people at a Zurich mosque on Monday is dead, police said on Tuesday, confirming that a body found near the scene was that of the assailant. Zurich cantonal police said authorities had identified the suspect, but gave no details. A news conference was scheduled for 1300 GMT. The gunman had stormed into the Islamic centre and opened fire on worshippers. “The […]
ABU DHABI // Iran’s nuclear deal and the republic’s support for militias across the region are some of the major threats GCC countries face, the head of an Abu Dhabi think-tank told the British Parliament. Dr Ahmed Al Hamli told the International Relations Committee this threat had led to a regional shift of power from legitimate states to illegitimate terrorist groups, weakening the region for the Islamic […]
It’s a hot July day in Bethlehem, and white-robed pilgrims from Nigeria stand in the courtyard entrance to the ancient church, singing and beating drums. They’ve travelled more than 3,500 kilometres to enter the church’s low wooden door, pass through a nave under restoration and down one of the staircases in the sprawling church, to the grotto. There, they will kneel in prayer and devotion at the […]
To appreciate this inherent tension, consider Hillary Clinton’s words from the second presidential debate: “It is important for us as a policy not to say, as Donald has said, we’re going to ban people based on a religion. How do you do that? We are a country founded on religious freedom and liberty.” Here Clinton establishes a minimum standard of liberal decency that few American Jews would […]
The newly opened location will expand company’s existing office portfolio, including several offices in Europe and recently announced US presence. 20 December 2016 Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Walkbase, a leading IoT analytics and marketing platform for retail, today announced the opening of its office in Dubai, UAE, resulting from a growing number of existing customer cases and ongoing discussions in the Middle East region. The decision to open […]
Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports fell in October by 176,000 barrels per day from the month before, despite high production, but its refined products shipments rose as the kingdom expands its refining power, official data showed on Monday. The world’s top exporter shipped 7.636 million barrels per day in October, down from 7.812 million bpd in September, according to data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI). […]
The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy on hold and turned optimistic on the growth outlook as a slide in the yen sharply improves the outlook for Japan in 2017. Japan’s economy is “likely to turn to a moderate expansion” with rising domestic demand, large-scale fiscal stimulus and growing exports, the central bank said. Its comments highlight the dramatic turnround from September — when despairing analysts said the […]
In moving 120 miles to the north, Spanos, of course, would risk alienating fans in San Diego, where the Chargers have played for more than a half-century. It is unclear how many of those fans would pay thousands of dollars for seat licenses and tickets, which would undoubtedly be more expensive in Los Angeles. “I’ll drive to L.A. to support them, but only a couple of games […]
Reliance Jio is a great, big, and savvy Indian python that has recently slithered into the telecom space, threatening to swallow the lunch of existing incumbents like Airtel and Vodafone. The question is, will it end up swallowing itself tail-first as well? As I wrote a few months ago, and as you probably may well know, Mukesh Ambani, India’s oil to telecom billionaire who is not known […]
Qantas Group has selected SAP executive Susan Doniz to fulfil the role of CIO after undertaking a global search for Luc Hennekens’ replacement. Hennekens revealed his intention to leave the national carrier in July after three years of leading its technology operations. He moved to France to join Airbus Group as CIO after working his last day at Qantas in September. Doniz will relocate from Canada to […]
Zsa Zsa Gabor, the Hungarian-born Hollywood siren perhaps better known for her love life than her movie credits, died on December 18. She was 99. Her husband, Frederic von Anhalt said the actress passed away at home after suffering a heart attack, surrounded by friends and family. The pair wed in 1986, making their union by far the longest of her nine marriages. Gabor, who in her […]
Christine Lagarde was found guilty of negligence in public office by a special Paris court on Monday in a ruling that will cast a cloud over her position as managing director of the International Monetary Fund. Within hours, however, the former French finance minister won the support of her board, clearing the way for her to continue on at the head of the fund. The board’s decision came […]
WASHINGTON A 38-year-old Chinese man pleaded guilty on Monday to charges that he stole numerous sensitive military program documents from United Technologies Corp (UTX.N) and transported them to China, the U.S. Justice Department said. Yu Long pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in the theft of trade secrets to benefit a foreign government and one count of unlawful export and attempted export of defence […]
