ABU DHABI // Candidates for the Federal National Council have told of their reasons for stepping forward, as the objection process for the elections began on Monday. Sheikh Musallam Salem bin Ham Al Ameri said the people of his emirate had asked him to nominate himself. “The idea was crossing my mind, but when the people asked me to run I was happy to,” said Sheikh Al […]
KIBBUTZ SUFA, Israel — Looking out across the perimeter fence of this small rural community in southern Israel, along the border with Gaza, Eyal Shalev, 23, sees a battlefield. Last summer, during Israel’s 50-day war with Hamas in Gaza, Mr. Shalev was on the other side, in a tank. His younger brother, Sgt. Shachar Shalev, who was fighting with the Paratroopers Brigade inside Gaza, was critically injured […]
GAZA CITY — At this time last year, as the missiles and bombs rained down in Israel’s lopsided seven-week war against Gaza, I wrote about our struggle to survive during the holy month of Ramadan. This year, another Ramadan has passed, Eid al-Fitr is over and the reality on the ground has changed very little. The same dreadful conditions are creating desperation among Gaza’s inhabitants, whose lives […]
UAE. Generation Y, otherwise known as the Millennials, are a very appealing pack of consumers to advertisers for two reasons: They are happily spending their disposable income now that they have entered full-time work and they have unprecedented influential power. Millennials are very active on their social channels and it is their voice that is becoming the primary source of information on products and services. In the […]
ADEN // The streets of Aden are filled with the flag of the UAE – fluttering above checkpoints, flying from cars, and draped over homes, businesses and government buildings. In the weeks since Houthi rebels were driven from Yemen’s southern port city, there has been an outpouring of gratitude from residents for Emirati troops. “The Emirates’ soldiers were in the frontlines of the battle against the Houthis, […]
BERLIN // German scientists have found an unusually long trail of footprints from a 30-tonne dinosaur in an abandoned quarry in Lower Saxony, a discovery they think could be about 145 million years old. “It’s very unusual how long the trail is and what great condition it’s in,” excavation leader Benjamin Englich said, referring to 90 uninterrupted footprints stretching over 50 metres. Their diameter measured 1.2 metres. […]
ABU DHABI // School campuses are “buzzing with excitement” as thousands of teachers begin preparations for the new term on Sunday. The Abu Dhabi Education Council said about 15,000 staff in 255 government schools return to work on Sunday, a week before pupils arrive for the new academic year. Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, Adec’s director-general, urged staff to make the best of the coming week by taking […]
By THE NEW YORK TIMES August 21, 2015 For decades Cairo was considered safe for residents and visitors. Not anymore. Nearly two years of escalating bombings in and around Cairo are gradually changing the feel of the city. Neighbors are becoming more suspicious of strangers asking questions, and commuters are getting used to changing their routes to avoid police cordons after each bombing. The New York Times asked readers on Facebook, […]
News Analysis By DAVID E. SANGER August 21, 2015 To the most strident opponents of President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, the suspicious behavior at a military base about 12 miles southeast of Tehran has become a rallying call to defeat the accord, especially as it now appears that Iranian officials may be allowed to take their own environmental samples at the site and turn them over to inspectors. It […]
By HELENE COOPER August 21, 2015 WASHINGTON — A deputy to the leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed in a United States airstrike in Iraq this week, the White House announced Friday. Ned Price, the National Security Council spokesman, said in a news release that Fadel al-Hayali, whom the Obama administration described as the Sunni militant group’s “Baghdad military emir” as well as the emir […]
By RICK GLADSTONE August 21, 2015 Doctors Without Borders said that Saudi-led airstrikes killed more than 65 civilians early Friday in Yemen’s southwest province of Taiz, including 17 people from one family. If confirmed, it would be one of the largest tolls from airstrikes by Saudi Arabia and its military coalition partners since they began bombing Yemen five months ago in a campaign to crush the Houthi insurgency in […]
Customers stand beneath an Apple logo at the Apple store in Grand Central station in New York City, July 21, 2015. Reuters/Mike Segar DETROIT/SAN FRANCISCO Consumer electronics company Apple Inc (AAPL.O) has hired a senior engineer from electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O), according to a LinkedIn posting, as part of Apple’s effort to build a team of experts in automated driving. A LinkedIn profile for […]
Surfing über-icon Kelly Slater has spent his entire life in the water & in front of the camera. Hence: the new KS Action Cam Pro Pack from Incase. The full-size pack features water-resistant 160D ballistic nylon construction, coated zippers & a weatherized exterior with a shoulder strap GoPro mount. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it […]
People gathered near the site of a bomb blast on the outskirts of Cairo on Friday. A study found that public turmoil, war and other crises can be associated with declining air pollution in the Middle East. By JOHN SCHWARTZ August 21, 2015 Civil unrest and humanitarian crises can now be detected from space — because of, somewhat surprisingly, cleaner air. A paper published on Friday in the journal […]
FRANKFURT Smartphone apps that help people learn languages for free or nearly free, a few sentences at a time, are piling pressure on established education firms and setting the pace for how to make lessons more engaging. Phone and tablet-based mobile products from newcomers like Germany’s Babbel, Britain’s Memrise and U.S.-based Duolingo have overtaken names like Berlitz and computer self-learning pioneer Rosetta Stone (RST.N) in terms of […]
TORONTO Emails sent by the founder of infidelity website AshleyMadison.com appear to have been exposed in a second, larger release of data stolen from its parent company, cyber security experts confirmed on Thursday. The data dump by hackers who have attacked the site appears to include email messages linked to Noel Biderman, founder and chief executive officer of its Toronto-based parent company Avid Life Media. In a […]
Xpress Money, a leading global money transfer brand, has launched its Xpress Money Rewards Program, which provides customers a guaranteed cash back, each time they transact with Xpress Money. Customers who enrol for the program get an instant advantage of Dh5 cashback on their very first transaction and will continue to get Dh2 cashback for all subsequent transactions. Customers can also earn Dh1 on each transaction done […]
Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) has appointed Gaurang Desai as its chief executive officer. As one of the founding members of the team that set-up DGCX in 2005, Desai is ideally positioned to take the exchange to its next stage of development, said a statement. Gautam Sashittal, chief executive officer of Dubai Multi Commodities Centre and director of DGCX, said: “We are delighted to appoint a […]
Egypt will lower the top tax rate and threshold for companies and individuals in high income brackets and freeze a 10 per cent tax on capital gains within two weeks in order to attract investors and boost the economy, the finance minister has said. “We await the issuing of amendments lowering the income tax ceiling to 22.5 percent as well as amendments to the capital gains tax […]
INTERNATIONAL. In the wake of China’s recent devaluation of the yuan, companies need to be more strategic than ever in their manufacturing-sourcing decision-making, focusing on clear-headed, case-by-case analysis and tight project management. That is according to a new study, including a survey of almost 250 senior-level executives in Western Europe and North America from manufacturing and distribution companies in 20 industries, released today by AlixPartners, the global […]
LEBANON. Byblos Bank issued today, in cooperation with the Olayan School of Business at the American University of Beirut, the results of the Byblos Bank/AUB Consumer Confidence Index for the first half of 2015. The results show that the Byblos Bank/AUB Consumer Confidence Index declined marginally in January and February, grew in March, regressed in April, and slightly improved in May and June 2015. Further, the Index […]
INTERNATIONAL. Global investors have shifted their attention from Greece to China amid continued concern of a Chinese recession, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey for August. Respondents are scaling back their expectations for economic growth. · China recession is now rated the number one “tail risk” by 52 percent of panel. · Fifty-three percent of investors say the global economy will strengthen in coming […]
King Salman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia on Thursday received Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces at his Moroccan residence in Tangier. During the meeting, they discussed the fraternal relations between the UAE and Saudi Arabia as well as reviewing regional events. This entry passed […]
DUBAI // The last day of Federal National Council registration lived up to expectations as 90 candidates rushed to apply before the deadline. “Just as we thought, the last day of registration in Dubai had the biggest turnout,” said Ahmed bin Humaidan, the head of the Dubai Federal National Council Election Committee. In Dubai, 21 candidates registered yesterday, six of whom were women. “We’re very pleased with […]
