Facebook on Thursday unveiled a multi-part plan to fight fake news that includes teaming up with fact-checkers in the United States to cut down on the reach of bogus stories. The plan (which Poynter’s International Fact-checking Network is involved with) represents the first time Facebook has given fact-checkers the ability to verify news on its platform, and comes after months of public debate about the social media […]
By Corina Pons and Andrew Cawthorne | CARACAS CARACAS Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro suspended on Saturday the elimination of the country’s largest denomination bill, which had sparked cash shortages and nationwide unrest, saying the measure would be postponed until early January. The surprise pulling of the 100 bolivar note from circulation this week – before new larger bills were available – led to vast lines at banks, […]
US planemaker Boeing is working to resolve certain issues with IranAir to finalise a $16.6 billion aircraft deal, and the manufacturer plans to commence the the first delivery in 2018, a senior company official told Arabian Business. The deal for 80 Boeing passenger jets, announced on Sunday, includes 50 narrow-body 737 MAX aircraft and 30 long-haul 777s, split equally between the 777-300ER, and the 406-seat 777-9, which […]
By David Stanway | PINGDINGSHAN, China PINGDINGSHAN, China China has ordered state firms to smash the decades-old system of providing cradle-to-grave welfare support, known as the country’s “iron rice bowl”. But the order, part of a plan to reduce financial pressure on bloated and heavily indebted state-owned enterprises (SOEs), is likely to be easier said than done as cities navigate the social and financial wrenches the changes […]
The Volcani Center, the Ministry of Agriculture’s research organization, is building a national institute for medical marijuana research. The chief scientist’s office of the Ministry of Economy has infused millions of shekels into innovative marijuana companies, much as government investment helped fuel the Israeli tech boom in the 1990s. The government is also setting standards for the cultivation, storage and use of medical marijuana. Continue reading the […]
(Image: Uber) Uber will continue operating its Volvo self-driving cars on San Francisco, California streets, despite repeated warning from state regulators the ride-hailing service doesn’t have proper permits to do so. In a letter obtained by the Associated Press, California’s Department of Justice said “the attorney general will seek injunctive and other appropriate relief,” if Uber doesn’t get the special permit to allow for self-driving vehicles. The […]
Settling into an interview with Marwan Bin Jassim Al Sarkal, the man in charge of luring foreign investors to Sharjah, it becomes evident that both tensions and ties bond the emirate with neighbouring Dubai. On the one hand Sharjah is cast into the shadows, often overlooked by businesses and visitors. On the other hand, the bigger brother’s international standing is helping the emirate of 1.5 million people […]
It was a clear and chilly afternoon in Moscow – March 18, 2014 – when Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the documents to formally annex the Crimean Peninsula away from Ukraine. Frustrated Western governments soon began rolling out the only response they could agree on to Mr. Putin’s brazen redrawing of Europe’s borders: economic sanctions. Over the next two days, the United States would designate 27 individuals […]
15 December 2016 The Ajman Real Estate Conference 1, being organized by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency – Ajman [ARRA], the state-run institution mandated with regulating the real estate activities and developments in Ajman, was inaugurated this morning by Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Director General of Survey and Land Registration Bureau – Bahrain, Sheikh Mubarak Al-Otaibi, prominent business leader – Saudi Arabia […]
Image from Istockphoto In part one of my conversation with Kim Stevenson and Adriana Karaboutis, we discussed the challenges and opportunities facing women in technology Also read: Women in technology: Advice from Intel and Biogen This second post offers advice from Andi and Kim on how CIOs can add value to their organizations. Both women have years of CIO experience; Kim was CIO at Intel and Andi […]
LONDON Scotland will publish proposals this week for how it can remain in the European single market after Britain leaves the European Union in order to avoid the “national disaster” of a “hard Brexit”, the Scottish government said on Sunday. British Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the formal process of leaving the EU, by the end of […]
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. Bob Dylan just won the Nobel Prize for Literature, enough said. “Poet laureate of the rock era.” But media critic, too? Patti Smith gained deserved attention for a notable performance of “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” at the Nobel ceremony […]
A new deal has been reached to complete the evacuation of rebel-held areas of Syria’s east Aleppo which ground to a halt on Friday over demands from pro-government forces that people also be moved out of two villages besieged by rebels. Syrian rebel official al-Farouk Abu Bakr, speaking from Aleppo to news channel al-Arabiya al-Hadath on Saturday, said the deal comprised an evacuation from the two Shi’ite […]
Microsoft is building out a number of “graphs,” or data indexes, across the company. There’s the Bing knowledge graph, the Office Graph, and now, the LinkedIn professional graph. This week, the company announced plans to add another graph to its stable: A “world graph.” It’s partnering with HERE, TomTom, and Esri to build this geographic data index. The data in the coming world graph isn’t just about […]
ATHENS Greece’s decision to give pensioners a one-off bonus has delayed the conclusion of its second bailout review but an agreement can still be reached in the coming months, EU Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis was quoted as saying on Saturday. Greece angered its lenders this month by announcing it would spend about 600 million euros on a Christmas bonus for low income pensioners after beating its fiscal […]
As millions of children around the world drag their parents to shopping malls to sit on Santa’s lap and tell him their wishes, hardly anyone is coming to Demre. Turkey has an abundance of problems — frequent terror attacks, a swelling population of Syrian refugees, mass arrests after a failed coup — that have driven tourists away. The only foreign visitors to Demre these days seem to […]
With Net Profit Reaching SAR 159 Million; a 41.8% Increase Compared to the Same Period Last Year: 15 December 2016 Riyadh: Saudia Dairy and Foodstuff Company (SADAFCO) has commenced operations of the new solar project that comes in line with the Kingdom’s 2030 vision for renewable energy, offering new employment opportunities and creates economic diversification. “The new 2 SAR million solar power project at our Riyadh Regional […]
The number of passenger cars in use in the GCC region is expected to grow at 5 percent annually from an estimated 10.3 million in 2015 to 13.2 million in 2020, according to Alpen Capital. Its report said new passenger car sales are projected at 1.4 million in 2020, compared to 1.2 million in 2015. Although new sales declined in 2016 and will be under pressure in […]
California has long been a breeding ground for innovation and has fostered pioneering tech companies ranging from Disney to Apple. But in terms of self-driving cars—and based on several recent developments—a much more conservative Michigan is taking the pole position in nurturing the technology. Michigan and particularly the Detroit area is an ideal incubator for autonomous technology since it’s the center of the automotive universe […]
Nearly 300 mid-to-large private jets were delivered to the Middle East between 2006 and 2015, with an estimated value of over $14.6 billion, according to new research. Global Jet Capital, a provider of financing solutions for large-cabin, long-range private jets, revealed that 293 jets were delivered, costing between $25 million and $75 million each. It said that the largest number of deliveries were to Turkey (77), followed […]
A version running Google’s Chrome OS could join the Windows and Android editions of the Lenovo Yoga Book 2-in-1. Lenovo has a critical darling on its hands with the Yoga Book, a 2-in-1 hybrid that uses a “Create Pad” instead of a traditional laptop keyboard. That feature — which allows the user to switch easily between typing and pen input modes (including writing directly on paper that’s […]
Newspapers reach nearly seven in 10 Americans in any given month, according to a new report from the ratings agency Nielsen. The report, drawn from a Nielsen Scarborough study, found that “more than 169 million adults in the U.S. read a newspaper in a month — whether it be in print, on a website or via mobile app.” Notably, more than half of monthly newspaper readers are reading […]
PARIS French telecoms boss Stephane Richard was sharply criticized by one of the judges and by a witness during the negligence trial of IMF chief Christine Lagarde in Paris this week. Richard, the chief executive of Orange (ORAN.PA), is a target of investigators in a related inquiry which has yet to conclude. He was Lagarde’s chief of staff when, as French finance minister, she approved a payout […]
The UAE is close to being self-sufficient in producing generic drugs as 16 pharmaceutical facilities are manufacturing up to 1,000 such drugs, according to a senior official from the Ministry of Health and Prevention. Dr Ameen Hussain Al Amiri, the Ministry’s Assistant Under-Secretary for Public Health and Licensing said in comments published by news agency WAM that the country is also planning to increase the number of […]
