Scientists describe how, in collaboration with Google, they have quantified changes in global surface waters and created interactive maps which highlight the changes in Earth’s surface water over the past 32 years. (via WSJ)
DUBAI // Dubai has invested Dh120m in 19 projects in the first stage of the emirate’s Future Accelerators Programme, which ended on Sunday. The investments are in projects in education, health, infrastructure, transport, technology, energy, and security. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, is “leading a government system that encourages unconventional thinking to achieve unprecedented results”, said Mohammed Al Gergawi, managing director of […]
In the past 70 years, the world’s population tripled to more than seven billion and average global temperature increased by nearly one degree Celsius. Population growth and climate change are associated with big challenges facing modern agriculture. New research combines computer science and biology to identify genes that make plants more resistant to stress factors, such as drought and saline soils. (via WSJ)
11 December 2016 Dubai, UAE, Azizi Developments – a leading UAE-based real estate developer with global reach into international markets – culminated the year with an annual gala event to celebrate the success with its valued real estate agents at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray on December 8th. More than 450 brokers attended the event organised at a panoramic sea view, luxury resort with plush décor and gala arrangement […]
Dubai’s only listed crude shipper has announced plans for a major expansion of facilities in the northern Emirates including a new ship building and repair yard. Gulf Navigation said in a statement that it is starting studies for the expansion, known as the GNH Northern Project. The plan will include ship building, ship repair and offshore platforms, equipment and services, logistics, marine specialised operations and global mobile […]
ABU DHABI // Cultural development is an integral part of progress in any society, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, told a conference in the capital. Sheikh Nahyan said on Sunday that culture was a pre-requisite for achieving successful and sustainable economic growth. “We strive to preserve our heritage, values and principles as well as all aspects of culture in the UAE and […]
In a move that is certain to infuriate those who see Trump as nothing more than a puppet of the Kremlin, moments ago NBC reported that Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil and late entrant into the SecState race after his first meeting with the president elect this past Tuesday at the Trump Tower, has been picked by Trump to serve as his next Secretary of State. […]
More than ever before, these articles pulled the curtain back on how an estimated $100 billion in undeclared money has been siphoned from Canada into offshore tax havens. Since the first investigations were published, the federal government has invested almost $500 million in the Canada Revenue Agency aimed at tougher tax enforcement, launched investigations into 85 Canadians identified in the Panama Papers and compelled banks to divulge […]
By Angus McDowall | BEIRUT BEIRUT When President Bashar al-Assad turns from the wreckage of Aleppo to assert his authority across a fractured Syria, it will be as a figure who is virtually unassailable by rebels, but still faces great challenges in restoring the power of his state. The expected fall of Aleppo would mean rebels have almost no chance of ousting Assad, but their revolt has […]
ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson has emerged as the strong favourite to be Donald Trump’s secretary of state, US media reported on Saturday, potentially placing a businessman with global dealmaking experience at the heart of US foreign policy. After a 41-year career at the oil giant, Mr Tillerson has no direct diplomatic background but he has close ties with Russian president Vladimir Putin who awarded him the […]
PTI BOGOR (INDONESIA)President Joko Widodo Saturday said Indonesia and India must cooperate closely in the key areas defence, security and counter-terrorism as no country is immune to a terror attack and also sought stepping up of bilateral trade ties.“I am very much looking forward to have discussions with Prime Minister Modi,” Widodo told PTI in an interview ahead of his state visit to India, beginning Monday.Widodo said […]
Photo Alexander Novak, Russia’s energy minister, left, with Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s energy and industry minister, after OPEC members and 12 other countries met in Vienna, Austria, on Saturday. Credit Lisi Niesner/European Pressphoto Agency Russia and other oil producers agreed on Saturday to join OPEC nations in a rare, coordinated reduction in oil output meant to lift petroleum prices and revenues to shore up their sagging government […]
Kuwait’s emir appointed Essam Abdul Mohsen Al-Marzouq as the country’s new oil minister on Saturday, state news agency KUNA reported. Marzouq has previously served as head of the country’s stock exchange and as a board member of state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC). Opposition candidates won around half of the parliament’s 50 seats last month in a poll seen by Kuwaitis as a referendum on austerity measures brought […]
British actor Bill Nighy walked the red carpet at the Dubai International Film Festival on Friday night at a gala screening of his latest movie, the Second World War drama Their Finest. But with the fifth film of the Underworld franchise still in local cinemas, and given that he played Vampire elder Viktor earlier in the series, it seems his mind was at least partly on all […]
Ahead of next week, here are the big questions we are asking at FT Markets What signal will the Federal Reserve send? The last US central bank meeting of the year will unfold on Wednesday with all eyes on officials’ latest assessment of the economy and the press conference of Fed chief Janet Yellen. Plenty has changed since their previous gathering just before the US election. Dollar […]
By Steve Holland | BALTIMORE BALTIMORE U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name the chief executive of Exxon Mobil Corp as the country’s top diplomat, a source familiar with the situation said on Saturday, an appointment that would put in place an official with close ties to the Russian government. News of Tillerson’s possible appointment comes as U.S. intelligence analysts have concluded that Russia intervened in […]
Bombs outside Istanbul soccer stadium kill 29, wound 166 – minister | Reuters Top News | Sun Dec 11, 2016 | 7:53am IST ‘+Reuters.inlinevideo.title+’ ‘+Reuters.inlinevideo.length+’ ‘); } ISTANBUL A car bomb followed by a suicide bombing less than a minute later killed 29 people and wounded 166 outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul on Saturday night, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said. All but two of those […]
Donald Trump has picked Andrew Liveris, the chief executive of Dow Chemical, to lead his advisory council on manufacturing, giving him a connection to the new administration at a time when he is trying to secure approvals for a complex $130bn merger with DuPont. Mr Liveris previously served in a similar advisory role for President Barack Obama. At a rally in an arena in Michigan on Friday […]
It was previously reported that Samsung could be releasing an update that will permanently disable the remaining units of the recalled Galaxy Note 7 that are still out in the wild on Dec. 15. Samsung has confirmed that such an update is on its way to stubborn users in the United States who are still holding on to the device despite the risk of its battery exploding and […]
VIENNA OPEC and non-OPEC producers on Saturday reached their first deal since 2001 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices that overstretched many budgets and spurred unrest in some countries. With the deal finally signed after almost a year of arguing within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and mistrust in the willingness of non-OPEC […]
The Associated Press is laying off two-dozen employees in its global news department, the cooperative told Poynter Friday. While AP makes every effort to cut costs elsewhere before affecting jobs, AP is laying off 25 staffers in the global News department this week. Like so many media companies, especially in the news business, AP must reduce expenses in order to continue to provide its objective, indispensable news […]
PARIS: US Secretary of State John Kerry and leading diplomats are trying to find solutions for Syria’s desperate opposition, as Syrian government forces squeeze rebels out of Aleppo after a devastating blitz.With tens of thousands of civilians fleeing, Kerry said he is working to ensure their safety and to save Aleppo “from being absolutely, completely destroyed.”Kerry and European and Arab diplomats are meeting members of Syria’s opposition […]
For a quick study in market blindness, look at how an obscure US fund reacts to events in a country where markets do not even exist. Nearly two years ago US president Barack Obama and Cuban president Raúl Castro jointly announced their intent to rejuvenate the diplomatic and commercial relationship between their two countries. Until that day, the Cuba closed-end fund had historically traded beneath its net […]
In early 2009, roughly at the time when this blog was launched which coincided with the start of the greatest monetary experiment of all time, we warned that there are two ways it will end: either in hyperinflation, or a deflationary supernova, the failure of currency and, eventually, barter. Now, almost 8 years later, some of the world’s top hedge funds are in agreement, and they are […]
