For Diana Sugg, writing a big story is a little bit like eating a slice of pizza. Don’t try to bite off more than you can chew at the beginning, said Sugg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editor at The Baltimore Sun. Start with the small end. The slice — and the story — gets wider the farther in you go. At the beginning, find something appetizing and easy to “swallow” […]
BEIRUT The head of the United Nation’s West Asia commission resigned on Friday, after what she described as pressure from the secretary general to withdraw a report accusing Israel of imposing an “apartheid regime” on Palestinians. The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), which comprises 18 Arab states, published the report on Wednesday and said it was the first time a U.N. body had clearly […]
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister who served as the eurozone’s chief dealmaker during some of the bloc’s biggest crises, may become a high-profile casualty of his national elections, with his Labour party unlikely to remain in government after losing three-quarters of its seats. The drubbing means Mr Dijsselbloem, who has served as eurogroup president for more than four years, may have to relinquish the post before […]
Markets do not have a clue how to handle political populism. They are still frightened of it, even though last year’s populist earthquakes in the UK and US are yet to have the drastic consequences that had been feared, and they cannot gauge its chances of success. This might yet create opportunities for those who can stomach some risk. This was a great week for European stocks, […]
This morning President Trump hosted a brief media appearance in the oval office, along with a group of conservative lawmakers, to, among other things, declare his “100% support” for the GOP’s Obamacare replacement plan. During the discussion, Trump indicated that concessions had been made to the GOP’s legislation to attract the support of several conservative lawmakers and guarantee the bill’s passage when it come up for a […]
Despite the surge in interest and sales of modern data discovery tools like SAP BusinessObjects Lumira and SAP BusinessObjects Cloud, corporations are still really, really interested in reporting. At the recent Gartner Data & Analytics event in Texas, Cindi Howson showed that descriptive analytics remains by far the most common type of analysis that companies do in the real world. Last year, Gartner redefined the BI and […]
BEIJING Even as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledges to ensure that blue skies never become a luxury, a state-backed firm is doing brisk business selling 48 yuan ($6.95) cans of fresh air bottled in a forest in western China. Each bottle is good for two minutes of uninterrupted use. From air-filter necklaces to anti-smog stockings, Chinese companies are touting innovative – if not odd – products to […]
By John Davison | MOSUL, Iraq MOSUL, Iraq After five months of intense fighting, Iraqi forces have begun to drive back Islamic State into the dense and narrow-alleyed Old City of Mosul, with the mosque where its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate in 2014 firmly in sight. Iraqi leaders say the battle to recapture Mosul is reaching its final stages, trumpeting each gain made against […]
Netflix announced today that it would ditch its standard five-star rating scheme in favor of a much more simple thumbs up or down option. The streaming service said it had been testing thumbs up and down ratings “with hundreds of thousands of members” in 2016 – and it led to 200% more ratings being given. This makes sense – giving a five-star rating takes some thought, especially […]
Saudi Arabia’s push to boost political and trade ties with the Maldives faces growing resistance as activists in the archipelago oppose plans for an ambitious development project funded by the kingdom. King Salman bin Abdulaziz, who is on a month-long tour of Asia as Saudi Arabia seeks to deepen alliances with predominantly Muslim states in the region, is due to visit the Indian Ocean nation at the […]
JEDDAH: A new report by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) sets two landmark precedents on the question of Palestine, a Palestinian rights activist told Arab News.The report, entitled “Israeli Practices Toward the Palestinian People and the Question of Apartheid,” has drawn swift criticism from the UN and Israeli officials.“It’s the first time any UN agency has proven beyond doubt that Israel is […]
Authored by Michael Jabara Carley via The Strategic Culture Foundation, On 10 January 2017 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fired his minister of external affairs, Stéphane Dion, and replaced him with Chrystia Freeland, who was then minister of international trade. This cabinet shuffle might not have gotten much public notice except that Dion is a distinguished parliamentarian, former leader of the party and leader of the opposition, […]
It’s a story that’s cherished in the hearts of journalism students across the United States: Two enterprising Washington Post reporters, hungry for a big story, dig deep into Richard Nixon’s secretive presidency and expose wrongdoing that eventually pushes him out of office. Except it didn’t happen that way. Not exactly. In fact, the enterprising heroes of Watergate, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, were mostly chroniclers of an […]
ABU DHABI // Tobacco as well as fizzy and energy drinks are expected to be taxed this year, the Minister of State for Financial Affairs announced. Obaid Al Tayer was speaking on Wednesday as the Federal National Council approved a draft law that paves the way for value-added tax (VAT) and excise duties on selected items, by setting up a legal framework for taxation. While the GCC […]
Beauty and the Beast Director: Bill Condon Starring: Dan Stevens, Emma Watson, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson, Euan McGregor Four stars Remaking a classic is often a risky enterprise – just look at the lukewarm reception Paul Feig received for his Ghostbusters reboot, or the lead balloon that was Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day: Resurgence. Disney, at least, has good form in this department, with its revisits to the […]
Image: Google My kids are spoiled when it comes to technology. I won’t dispute that fact. It’s part of having a dad who is constantly testing and reviewing new products. The three of them get to use the products as well, and at times, actively participate in testing. However, they don’t have the luxury of doing whatever they want, whenever they want on any electronic device. One […]
ABU DHABI // The introduction of value-added tax in the UAE next year, in tandem with the other five GCC countries, will boost government revenues that took a hit with falling oil prices. VAT could generate Dh12 billion in its first year and Dh20bn in its second year, said Sultan Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy. The international monetary fund (IMF) said introducing VAT at a low rate […]
Platform empowers SMEs to launch customizable online stores within 24 hours Chanbar.com leverages Facebook Messenger to place merchants in direct contact with customers Promoting inclusive, sustainable growth and jobs for the Iraqi community Advertisement Baghdad, Iraq – 15 March, 2017 Iraq Wallet, the country’s leading mobile wallet and digital payment company, announces it has expanded its ‘ZainCash’ service by introducing and launching chanbar.com, a multi-channel, cloud-based e-commerce […]
JERUSALEM: Israeli ex-defense minister Moshe Yaalon accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday of seeking a “neo-Ottoman empire” while warning of growing instability in the Middle East.Yaalon, seeking to build a campaign to become Israel’s next prime minister, spoke of his concerns while addressing regional issues in a meeting with foreign journalists.The ex-minister, forced out of office last year as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to […]
With the oil market showing signs of losing faith in a price rebound, Opec is now asking itself: what more can it do? Production cuts agreed late last year between some of the world’s biggest producers inside and outside the cartel, are losing their sway given the near 10 per cent drop in the Brent benchmark over the past week. Brimming global storage tanks and a resurgent […]
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. Nate Silver’s “March Madness” analysis is out and, knock on hardwood, he’s not picking Hillary Clinton. I know, I know. Cheap (jump) shot. It’s that time of year when FiveThirtyEight, the ESPN-owned politics and sports data site founded by Silver, […]
It is fitting that just a few hours until the Fed’s second rate hike in two quarters, and one day after Goldman downgraded global stocks to Neutral for the next 3 months, not to mention with the results of the anticipated Dutch election due shortly, that global stocks as well as S&P futures are higher, while crude oil has finally managed to stage a rebound as the […]
By Kevin Yao and Ryan Woo | BEIJING BEIJING China’s Premier Li Keqiang reassured investors on Wednesday that the world’s second-largest economy is strong and not at risk of a hard landing, while stressing Beijing’s support for globalization and free trade at a time of rising protectionism. Li also reiterated that China does not want a trade war with the United States, and urged talks with Washington […]
Shares in Cathay Pacific fell as much as 6.9 per cent on Wednesday after the Hong Kong flag carrier swung to its first annual loss since 2008. The airline reported a net loss of HK$575m ($74m) for 2016 in the face of increased competition from mainland Chinese airlines and falling demand for its premium class seats. The net loss compares with a HK$6bn profit reported in 2015, […]
