Pebble’s time ran out. Pebble did not launch the first smartwatch or even the first smartwatch of the modern era. But its combination of long battery life, daylight-readable display and iOS compatibility led it to become the highest-grossing Kickstarter campaign ever. Its campaign for the Pebble Time — which noted that over a million Pebble watches had been sold and that it was the top-selling smartwatch on […]
Thursday 21:00 GMT Overview The European Central Bank’s latest policy surprise fuelled a volatile session for the euro and government bonds as participants appeared, initially at least, to struggle to assess its implications. But European stocks rose to 11-month highs while Wall Street overcame an early bout of fatigue to set yet more record peaks. Oil prices resumed their upward path, even as a stronger dollar unsettled […]
National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) secured shareholders’ assent to merge with First Gulf Bank (FGB) at a meeting on Wednesday, a spokesman for NBAD said. First Gulf Bank also secured shareholders’ approval on Wednesday, FGB’s chief executive Andre Sayegh said. The pair announced in July that their boards had approved the tie-up, which will create one of the largest banks in the Middle East and Africa […]
ABU DHABI // The year of reading may be coming to a close, but teachers and students have vowed to keep up their work to instil a passion for the written word in their friends and colleagues. These days, reading competes with a wide range of ‘easier’ pastimes – from video games to mobile phones – but for Sari Al Hemeiri sitting down with a good book, […]
The European Central Bank has decided to scale back its landmark quantitive easing programme from €80bn to €60bn a month, in a move that responds to hawks’ concerns about ultra-loose monetary policy but which could unsettle markets. The bank confirmed that it would buy €80bn a month of bonds under the current leg of the programme until March, but added that it would reduce the purchase size […]
Can you imagine a bank where artificial intelligence runs checking accounts, debit cards, and wire transfers? Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto The Milan-London startup connection is getting stronger. After MoneyFarm and Soundreef, yet another promising Italian startup, Euklid, is opening up shop in the UK capital, moving its headquarters to be part of the city’s vibrant ecosystem. The team selected London’s Level39 fintech accelerator as its new center of […]
Dubai, UAE, 8 December Bollywood Parks™ Dubai, part of Dubai Parks and Resorts, the largest integrated theme park destination in the region, unveils Jaan-e-Jigar, the regions first Broadway-style Bollywood show in all its grandeur at the Rajmahal Theatre, which is located in the heart and soul of the park. Dubai’s answer to world-class entertainment, Jaan-e-Jigar is the biggest Bollywood style show to ever hit the region, where […]
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have invented a novel live-cell imaging method that could someday help biologists better understand how stem cells transform into specialized cells and how diseases like cancer spread. The Photonic Crystal Enhanced Microscope (PCEM) is capable of monitoring and quantitatively measuring cell adhesion, a critical process involved cell migration, cell differentiation, cell division, and cell death. “Our approach is important […]
Blackrock’s chief multi-asset strategist summed up tomorrow’s anxiously awaited ECB meeting best by noting that “what’s priced into markets is a fully fledged extension of the [bond-buying] program,” but warns that, thanks to a muted reaction to the Italy vote and recent encouraging data, “there’s a significant chance the ECB disappoints markets.” As bond traders bet on a six-month QE extension, Citi warns, anything less will be […]
By Hamid Shalizi and Josh Smith | KABUL KABUL Afghan and American officials are increasingly worried that any deepening of ties between Russia and Taliban militants fighting to topple the government in Kabul could complicate an already precarious security situation. Russian officials have denied they provide aid to the insurgents, who are contesting large swathes of territory and inflicting heavy casualties, and say their limited contacts are […]
General assembly meetings of FGB and NBAD held on December 7th Combined bank has total assets of approximately AED655 billion (US$178 billion), representing a 27% market share of UAE banking sector[1] Shareholders approve combined bank’s board of directors from effective merger date Effective date of merger towards the end of Q1 2017 as initially planned. Abu Dhabi, 7 December 2016 Shareholders in First Gulf Bank PJSC (FGB) […]
Even Kurdish guerrilla units are fully integrated by gender: Women occupy the same combat roles as men, and when the military goes to war, it sends a woman to command one of its major units. Continue reading the main story There is one big problem with this aspect of Kurdish life, in Turkey at least: It has, in effect, been outlawed as part of the Turkish government’s […]
Raphael Domjan (right) and Thierry Plojoux in front of SolarStratos on December 7, 2016 in Payerne, Switzerland Just months after two Swiss pilots completed a historic round-the-world trip in a Sun-powered plane, another Swiss adventurer on Wednesday unveiled a solar plane aimed at reaching the stratosphere. The SolarStratos, a sleek, white two-seater aircraft with long wings covered with 22 square metres (237 square feet) of solar panels, […]
DUBAI: Britain will help Gulf states “push back” against aggressive regional actions by Iran, Prime Minister Theresa May told the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Bahrain on Wednesday in a televised address.“We must… continue to confront state actors whose influence fuels instability in the region,” May told Gulf leaders at their annual summit.“So I want to assure you that I am clear-eyed about the threat that Iran […]
Will this truck be the eyes and ears of the smart city? Credit: USPS The future of the U.S. Postal Service could be as the eyes, ears and sensor network for the smart city. If cities played along the USPS could also derive a revenue stream that could reverse billions of dollars of annual losses. According to a panel at the Smart Cities Summit in Boston, the […]
Samsung is partnering up with SLG Design and Strap Studios to give every Gear S3 classic or frontier owner out there more ways to personalize their smartwatch. That said, these watch bands throw in a touch of style in the mix, creating a perfect blend of fashion and functionality out of the Samsung wearable. Strap Studio (Photo : Strap Studio) With 15 straps made out of Italian leather […]
Abu Dhabi // Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid led the UAE delegation to the two-day GCC Summit on Tuesday, which is also being attended by UK prime minister Theresa May as she looks to expand trade ties ahead of Britain’s exit from the European Union. The 37th annual talks among the six Gulf member states in Manama were expected to focus on security within the GCC, economic integration […]
Lydia Polgreen, the editorial director of NYT Global at The New York Times, will be The Huffington Post’s next editor in chief. She follows Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington, who had been at the top of the website’s masthead since its founding in 2005. So excited that my successor as EIC of HuffPost will be Lydia Polgreen, who I know will take HP to new heights. Here […]
“I thought it would be a great opportunity to treat it like a college professor taking a sabbatical,” he said. Continue reading the main story So Thibodeau attended training camp with the Houston Rockets. He sat backstage with the performance troupe known as the Golden State Warriors. He hit the road with the Sacramento Kings. He met with coach after coach, trading ideas and jotting notes on […]
NEW DELHI—Jayaram Jayalalithaa, the powerful chief minister of the state of Tamil Nadu whose fervent following was matched by few other Indian politicians, died late Monday after she failed to recover from cardiac arrest. The daughter of an actress in Tamil-language films, Ms. Jayalalithaa’s first career was in show business. She was featured in more than 100 movies, which catapulted her to fame before she turned to the political arena […]
InfoComm MEA Opens Today as Region’s Leading A/V Event, Showcasing Holograms, Videoboards, and Audio and Lighting Systems DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – 6 December 2016 Holograms, massive videoboards, and state-of-the-art audio and lighting displays will be among the audiovisual innovations set to make Expo 2020 in Dubai the world’s most technologically advanced event. The UAE is one of the fastest-growing professional audiovisual markets in one of […]
In interviews with The New York Times, a former Taliban finance minister described how he traveled to Saudi Arabia for years raising money while ostensibly on pilgrimage. The Taliban have also been allowed to raise additional millions by extorting “taxes” by pressing hundreds of thousands of Pashtun guest workers in the kingdom and menacing their families back home, according to Vali Nasr, a former State Department adviser. […]
It’s been a bad year for newspapers. Money from print advertising is tanking. Layoffs have affected newsrooms large and small. And The President-elect isn’t shy about abusing journalists on Twitter. But today, just a few weeks before Christmas, the clouds parted a bit as New York Times CEO Mark Thompson spoke at the UBS Global Media & Communications Conference in Manhattan. He dispensed a couple of encouraging […]
HONG KONGThe corruption crackdown ordered by Chinese President Xi Jinping is reliant on a secret system of detentions and torture beyond the reach of the formal Chinese criminal justice system, a U.S.-based human rights group said in a report on Tuesday. Human Rights Watch, which released its study in Hong Kong, called for the abolition of the system known as shuanggui, through which it alleges that confessions […]
