The law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers scandal has quit New Zealand. The offices of law firm Mossack Fonseca in Panama City (file). Photo: AFP Mossack Fonseca hit the headlines last year when a massive leak revealed its role in helping its clients hide their wealth around the world, including in New Zealand New Zealand became a popular destination for Mossack Fonseca to set […]
The last thing many people before they do before they go to sleep is browse through their social media feeds until their eyes get too tired and they eventually turn in for the night–probably with their smartphone in or next to their bed. While they are shutting down for the day, chances are they aren’t powering down their phones. And the first thing they do when they […]
ABU DHABI // Jet fighters soared across the skies and tanks rolled along the beaches to the delight of the thousands who turned out for the largest military spectacle yet seen in the UAE. Complete with paratroopers, helicopters, surveillance aircraft, fighter jets and ground combat troops, Union Fortress – an Armed Forces event that included a mock hostage rescue from a ship off Abu Dhabi Corniche – […]
Technology accelerates by leaps and bounds, which can only spell doom for most workers’ economic prospects. How long before a robot or algorithm can do your job, leading to mass “technological unemployment?” Machines are learning to master once-unthinkable tasks. Yet, even though our software can best us at Jeopardy! and our hardware has learned to run and jump, there’s still no consensus among economists that […]
Fact-finding mission or junket? Some lawmakers are bewildered that the groups that paid for their trips are now swept up in Turkey’s current political turmoil. “I can’t imagine what they would have wanted out of the North Dakota state Legislature,” said former North Dakota state Rep. Ben Hanson, a Democrat who went on a trip sponsored by a Gulen group in 2013 with six other lawmakers from […]
MOSCOW Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that the Syrian city of Palmyra has been fully recaptured from Islamic State militants, the RIA news agency reported, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The Syrian army retook the ancient town, which has fallen to IS twice, with help from the Russian air force, it cited Peskov as saying. (Reporting by Denis Pinchuk; Writing by […]
The war is not over yet — the battlefield has just gotten bigger. On February 28, publisher EA and developer DICE unveiled four major expansions for Battlefield 1 included in the Premium Pass offer. These expansions will extend the flames of World War I around Europe with a focus on French and Russian armies in their respective lands. You can also engage in thrilling amphibious and naval battles, and […]
While tiered gowns and elaborate showstoppers are plentiful on the catwalk, a new style movement has taken the reins, giving you a seriously awesome alternative to your everyday work blouse. Spearheaded by niche labels like Jacquemus and Monse, the spotlight is very much on unique shirting at the moment. Typically blue or monochrome and pinstriped, these shirts are far from your average button-downs. They may only have […]
A video showing Uber CEO Travis Kalanick disrespecting a company driver has gone viral and drew a firestorm of criticism, and Kalanick would like to apologize. For those unfamiliar with the matter, a video surfaced on Tuesday, Feb. 28 showing Kalanick in a heated argument with an Uber driver. The video stirred quite some waves and made headlines, so a more humble Kalanick has now seen the error of […]
Middle East fund managers have turned more bullish towards Saudi Arabian equities on hopes that corporate earnings may finally have bottomed out after a slide due to low oil prices, a monthly Reuters poll found. The poll of 13 leading fund managers, conducted over the past week, also found they had become very bearish on Qatari and Egyptian shares. The poll found 62 percent of managers expect […]
In The Way of the Strangers: Encounters with the Islamic State, journalist Graeme Wood aligns himself with the Orientalist tradition of Bernard Lewis, who warned liberal students against projecting secular frameworks on contemporary Muslim politics. Lewis believed religion, not secular grievance, was the prime motivator of this politics. This may or may not be true. In any case, the argument has limited explanatory power. It doesn’t explain […]
Photo King Salman of Saudi Arabia, center, arriving at the presidential palace in Bogor, Indonesia, on Wednesday. Credit Achmad Ibrahim/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images LONDON — You could call it bling diplomacy. As part of a monthlong tour in Asia to promote economic ties, King Salman of Saudi Arabia arrived in Indonesia on Wednesday to great fanfare, accompanied, the news media said, by a retinue with a […]
CK Chow struck a cautious note at the start of the week when revealing the Hong Kong Exchange’s annual results. With average daily turnover down 37 per cent, the exchange chairman’s wariness was understandable as he talked of a “challenging” outlook and volatile markets. Yet such caution is out of step with the mood in the market. Hong Kong’s blue-chip Hang Seng index and the Hang Seng […]
On Wednesday, Jean-Claude Juncker’s European Commission released a “White Paper On the Future Of Europe” which comes at a time of extensive tensions with the departing UK, and which lays out what Juncker believe are the “main challenges and opportunities for Europe inthe coming decade.” It presents five scenarios for how the Union couldevolve by 2025 depending on how it chooses to respond. The paper comes as […]
This Sept. 6, 2012, file photo, shows the Amazon logo in Santa Monica, Calif. Amazon’s cloud-computing service Amazon Web Services experienced problems in its eastern U.S. region, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, causing widespread problems for thousands of websites and apps. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File) Usually people don’t notice the “cloud”—unless, that is, it turns into a massive storm. Which was the case Tuesday when Amazon’s huge cloud-computing […]
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer says that she wants her annual bonus and equity stock grant redistributed to employees, following the security breaches that happened in 2013 and 2014 but came to light only in 2016. In a Tumblr post, the executive made the announcement, saying that she’s holding herself accountable for the 2014 hack, which occurred during her term. “I am the CEO of the company and […]
The Bank of Japan published detailed schedules of planned asset purchases for the first time on Tuesday as it seeks to prove its commitment to a zero per cent cap on 10-year government bond yields. Japan’s central bank said it will buy a minimum of ¥1.375tn and a maximum of ¥2.175tn of government bonds during March, giving a series of dates and estimated sizes for its planned […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for March 2, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. Ellen Fortini rounds up 10 things to do today in the UAE. Want to see your event listed here? Email us with the details and contact information at [email protected] newslide Al Ain Cultural event As […]
Constant innovation. It’s a well-known motto of the pizza industry. Oh wait. It’s not. But with the recent influx of pizza news, it kind of feels like it is. And now Pizza Hut has up and changed the game completely. Introducing the sneakers that double as pizza-ordering devices. Before we give you more information on this wonder-shoe, we want to first assure you that these shoes are […]
By Lucia Mutikani | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. consumer spending rose less than expected in January as the largest monthly increase in inflation in four years eroded households’ purchasing power, pointing to moderate economic growth in the first quarter. The surge in inflation raises the possibility of an interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve this month. While still below the U.S. central bank’s 2 percent target, inflation […]
This was originally published in our weekly newsletter, Local Edition, which is a product of the Knight-Lenfest Newsroom Initiative. Subscribe here. Have you ever had a party and looked around the room at some point and thought, Wow, there are a lot of cool people here? Well, that’s how my inbox felt this week. Thanks to everyone who contributed last week by answering our first question in […]
As if Uber’s woes couldn’t get any more taxing than it currently is. The company is dealing with extremely controversial sexual harassment allegations, being sued by Google over allegedly stolen designs, and now it has to deal with another controversy altogether, this time of its CEO, Travis Kalanick, arguing — with harsh words, no less — with an Uber driver in a video caught by the car’s dashcam. Travis […]
Wednesday 09:30 GMT Overview The dollar and government bond yields are jumping, and gold is falling, as hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials cause traders to drastically shorten the odds of an increase in US interest rates this month. Meanwhile, US equity index futures point to another record on Wall Street, tracking gains in Europe and Asia, after Donald Trump addressed Congress for the first time, with […]
By David Shepardson | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON German automakers dominated Consumer Reports’ annual ranking of automotive brands released on Tuesday, with Volkswagen AG’s (VOWG_p.DE) Audi (NSUG.DE) leading the pack, while U.S. brands continued to lag despite gains for many. Jake Fisher, director of auto testing at the magazine, said German automakers rose largely due to improvements in reliability. “Building one or two great vehicles is achievable, but making […]
