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Mobile phones are the preferred payment device for 59% of consumers in the UAE, reveals Mastercard study

UAE.  Mobile phones are the most commonly used device among consumers in the UAE and more than half of all consumers (59%) prefer using their smartphones over any other device to make payments, the new Mastercard Impact of Innovation Study reveals. The study surveyed 23,000 consumers in 23 different countries across the Middle East, Africa and Europe about their attitudes to digital technology. It found that while […]

New Certification Aims To Ensure the Safety of USB-C Chargers

A new certification program is aimed at assuring users that USB Type-C chargers won’t damage their devices or fail to provide adequate charges. Announced yesterday by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the program sets compliance standards for original equipment manufacturers of USB-C products. Introduced in 2014, the USB-C standard for universal serial bus connections is a more compact type of connector that’s easier to plug in and […]

Special Report – Not so SWIFT: Bank messaging system slow to address weak points

By Tom Bergin | LA HULPE, Belgium LA HULPE, Belgium More than a dozen current and former board directors and senior managers of SWIFT, the bank messaging system that helps transmit billions of dollars around the world every day, have told Reuters that the organisation for years suspected there were weaknesses in the way smaller banks used its messaging terminals – but did not address such vulnerabilities. […]

Google Releases Duo App for One-to-One Video Calls on Smartphones

While it already offers several ways for users to make video calls over various platforms, Google today launched a new phone-based app called Duo that’s designed for simplicity. Available for both Android and iOS smartphones, Google Duo doesn’t require anything more than a phone number to launch once the app is downloaded. Unlike Google’s Hangouts messaging, voice and video calling tool, people don’t even need Google accounts […]

Google's Building a New Operating System Dubbed Fuschia

Apparently, Google is working on a new operating system called Fuchsia but not much is known about it. Early evidence indicates that the new operating system might be a catchall OS that can run on computers, mobile devices and even Internet of Things devices. So far, Fuchsia consists of some work on Google’s code repository and on the GitHub code-sharing Web site. News of the new OS […]

A staggering 70% of UAE consumers would take a ride in a fully self-driving car, BCG study reveals

UAE.  Based on a new report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) titled Self-Driving Vehicles, Robo-Taxis, and the Urban Mobility Revolution—and prepared in collaboration with the World Economic Forum—consumers around the world are surprisingly knowledgeable about Self-Driving Vehicles (SDVs) and their potential benefits, and, by and large, they are more than willing to give them a try. In fact, the study shows that 70% of  consumers in […]

UAE parents defend Gems schools after claims in the US they fund 'jihad'

DUBAI // An American television network has been criticised by UAE residents after one of its anchors cited a report that Gems schools, based in Dubai, funded jihad. The comments, aired on a Fox Business Network show hosted by British-American Stuart Varney, were taken from a report from US political website The Daily Caller. Fox reiterated that the views were not that of the channel but of […]

Musk's Tesla 'master plan' big on vision, short on details

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk attends a forum on startups in Hong Kong, China January 26, 2016. Reuters/Bobby Yip/File Photo Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) chief Elon Musk’s ambitious new “master plan” provided a vision of the company as a leader in sustainable energy, but lacked details on how the plan would be funded and executed. Musk sketched out a plan on Wednesday for an integrated carbon-free energy […]

Improving governance, risk management, and human talent high priorities for Islamic Finance leaders

UAE. Implementing change strategies to reinvent the value proposition of the Islamic financial services industry is high on the agenda of industry leaders, according to Deloitte’s new whitepaper entitled “The catalysts for change: Strategic priorities in governance and regulation in Islamic Finance practice.” This necessity is fueled by recent global economic downturn coupled with geopolitical risks that have put more pressure on industry strategists and policymakers. The […]

Musk hints at top secret Tesla masterplan – tweet

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk attends a forum on startups in Hong Kong, China January 26, 2016. Reuters/Bobby Yip/File Photo Tesla Motors Inc CEO Elon Musk on Sunday tweeted his intention to soon publish part two of his “top secret Tesla masterplan” following an embattled several weeks for the Silicon Valley heavyweight. The tweet, which read “Working on Top Secret Tesla Masterplan, Part 2. Hoping to publish […]

Terrorists hiding near Pathankot airbase, India says

Government has been informed and security of the strategically important facility beefed up, committee says Jammu: Terrorists are hiding in villages close to the “vulnerable” Pathankot airbase, which can come under fresh attack from them, the Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) on Home Affairs said on Tuesday. It said the government has been informed about it and security of the strategically important facility beefed up. The committee was […]

Iran Said to Have Deal With Boeing to Buy Passenger Planes

Iran has reached an agreement with the Boeing Company for the acquisition of new passenger planes to help modernize its outdated fleet, state-run Iranian news media reported on Tuesday. Such an agreement, if completed, would potentially be worth many billions of dollars to Boeing and amount to the most prominent commercial transaction between an American company and Iran since sanctions linked to Iran’s nuclear program were lifted […]

Early days, but Apple Pay struggles outside U.S.

More than 18 months after Apple Pay took the United States by storm, the smartphone giant has made only a small dent in the global payments market, snagged by technical challenges, low consumer take-up and resistance from banks. The service is available in six countries and among a limited range of banks, though in recent weeks Apple has added four banks to its sole Singapore partner American Express; […]

Debate Over Role of ‘People’s Army’ in Israel Reflects Wider Fissures

JERUSALEM — In a politically fractious country troubled by monumental security challenges, Israel’s military has long served as an equalizer and unifier, a “people’s army” that, at least in the eyes of the Jewish majority, reflected the general interest. But the Israeli people, and with them the government, have shifted to the right amid an upsurge of Palestinian stabbings and other attacks. Now the military finds itself […]

Rule of law is losing out to mob rule

This is the age of the disgruntled — in domestic politics and foreign affairs alike. Anti-establishment sentiment within countries is somehow echoed by the way the rule book of international relations is being torn up. These dynamics feed on each other. They are at play in America (the rise of Donald Trump), Europe (growing populism) and Asia (nationalism and an arms race). Finding a way to […]

May 16 Weekly Open Thread: "I’m Mad As #*!! And I’m Not Going To Take It Any More!"

…at least not without saying something about it. I thought this pet peeve belonged just to me, but apparently there are quite a bunch of folks that hate this. And it’s not often that one sees a disguised “colorful” metaphor in the title of a Car Lust post. But if there’s one method of bad driving that gets my blood boiling… it’s people that think they have […]

Amazon Drops Device Encryption on Fire OS 5

With little fanfare, Amazon has removed the option for device encryption for tablets, phones and other products running its Fire OS 5 operating system. The decision has been met with widespread confusion and criticism, especially as Amazon yesterday filed an amicus brief in support of Apple’s decision not to give the FBI access to the data on the iPhone of one of the San Bernadino, Calif. terrorists. […]

Turkey’s industry muscle on show at Win Eurasia

|By K Raveendran| Going by the pace at which machinery automation is advancing, the day does not appear to be a long way off when self-working machines carry out complicated and high-skilled operations without manual intervention. The Win Eurasia Metal Working Fair in Istanbul held during 11-14 February provided clear insights into the evolving trends in this area and the rapid strides Turkish machinery manufacturing industry is […]

What’s Turning iPhones into Useless Bricks?

iPhone owners who use third-party repair services are finding their devices can suddenly become useless “bricks” after they update the iOS operating system. Apple confirmed yesterday that the disabling “Error 53” occurs because the company wants to prevent Touch ID-related security problems that could be introduced by unauthorized repairs. Reports about the iPhone-killing Error 53 have circulated at least since the spring, when The Daily Dot’s Mike […]

Basic rules to maintaining your LinkedIn account

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network and most of us have an account. Let’s face it, no one actually reads 95% of the stuff that appears on the feed but there is so much of sharing done that LinkedIn is slowly inching closer and closer to the top of the list of largest content aggregators. There are 3 main types of users of the platform and […]

Among White House hopefuls, Trump least likely to hit "follow" button on Twitter

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waits to speak at a campaign town hall in Davenport, Iowa January 30, 2016. Reuters/Rick Wilking NEW YORK The millions of Twitter users following Donald Trump shouldn’t expect a “follow back” from the Republican presidential front-runner anytime soon. Trump’s campaign account @realDonaldTrump has nearly 6 million Twitter followers, the most of any candidate running for president. But he is picky about […]

CHINA SLOWDOWN OFFERS OPPORTUNITY

INDIA IN SWEET SPOT TO BALANCE THE ACT

By K R Sudhaman

India is in a sweet spot as global economy is not looking good in the face of market turmoil in China. A global recession triggered by poor showing of European economy had hit badly the export led growth model of China, whose economy grew by 6.9 per cent in 2015, the slowest in two decades. Following this slowdown, high commodity prices had started correcting exerting more pressure on China down turn. The massive over investment in China in steel, cement, shipbuilding, petrochemicals, real estate and other infrastructure sectors began to burst. This volatility in equity and commodity markets did not augur well for the global and Chinese economies. Global economy may not be in a crisis as in 2008 during the financial meltdown but it is certainly not out of the woods and outlook for global economy is certainly bearish in 2016.

MASSIVE GOLD INFLOW RUINING INDIA’S RUPEE AND RATING

ECONOMY BEING HELD HOSTAGE BY BULLION MERCHANTS

By Nantoo Banerjee

Swiss banks may not be too happy with India’s latest round of searches for big Indian accounts there. But, largely impoverished India’s endless gold hunt, especially at a time when the global economy and trade are shrinking and stock markets around the world are going topsy-turvy following economic slow-down in China, has placed the Geneva-based World Gold Council on top of the world. India’s gold import last month hit a new 120-day high at nearly $4 billion while all other imports to the country shrank by over 15 per cent in value.  The massive gold import by bullion merchants, mostly from Mumbai and Ahmedabad, widened the country’s trade deficit to $11.7 billion in just one month. In the pre-reform period, India’s annual trade deficit rarely topped $5 billion. During the current financial year 2015-16, t

Iran, Saudi proxy war at Davos

Senior Saudi and Iranian figures clashed behind closed doors at a private meeting convened by the World Economic Forum in Davos this week to try to promote peace in Syria, participants said. The barbed exchange between Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif at an invitation-only meeting on Wednesday underlined the hostility between the two Gulf rivals, who are waging proxy wars in Syria, […]