Opec’s production cut this week to bolster oil prices may strike many as a throwback to an earlier era, but it hinged on a very modern method of communication: a messaging group between the smartphones of Saudi Arabia’s delegation in Vienna and Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud. For a royal priding himself on being a tech savvy moderniser in the kingdom, the use of a popular encrypted messaging service may […]
Successful SMEs set to become part of the supply chain for Qatar Shell and Pearl GTL 03 December 2016 Doha: As part of a nationwide strategy to support Qatari small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Qatar Development Bank (QDB) and Qatar Shell will award contracts for five business opportunities; four will be awarded at a special ceremony on 5th December, and a fifth contract will be signed and announced […]
Donald Trump risks opening up a major diplomatic dispute with China before he has even been inaugurated after speaking on the telephone on Friday with Tsai Ing-wen, the president of Taiwan. The call, confirmed by four people, is believed to be the first between a US president or president-elect and a leader of Taiwan since diplomatic relations between the two were cut in 1979. Although it is […]
Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz’s decision to step down is unlikely to hamper growth at the world’s biggest coffee chain as his successor Kevin Johnson is well suited to take the helm, analysts said. Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) said on Thursday that Schultz would step down as CEO on April 3 to focus on new high-end coffee shops, handing the top job to Chief Operating Officer Johnson, a […]
UAE rulers gathered together on Friday to open Dubai’s new $136 million museum, launched as part of the country’s 45th National Day celebrations. Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan were joined by leaders from the other emirates at the Union House, in the same hall where the UAE’s founding fathers gathered 45 years ago. […]
Eight new rural solar energy projects are now operational across the Islamic Republic of Mauritania in western North Africa, doubling the UAE’s total contribution to the country’s clean energy capacity to 31.6 megawatts (MW). Delivered by Masdar, the Abu Dhabi clean energy company, the 16.6MW of additional solar power will supply up to 30 percent of the electricity demand of the remote communities of Boutilimit, Aleg, Aioune, […]
The Cohort is Poynter’s bi-monthly newsletter about women kicking ass in digital media. Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, I caught up on several post-election podcasts. Nearly all of the conversations veered towards self-care. From Another Round’s Heben Nigatu and Bim Adewunmi to Call Your Girlfriend’s Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow, the women I listened to checked in with each other and offered up their go-tos for feeling good. […]
KUALA LUMPUR: Khairy Jamaluddin’s successor as the UMNO Youth chief must be highly prepared in facing the various challenges, and defending the party and president from political attacks. The wing’s deputy chief Khairul Azwan Harun said, the new leadership must also continue the legacy left by Khairy. “Execution standards have already been in place, probably only the approach would be different…if the new chief after KJ (Khairy […]
By Greg Torode and Marius Zaharia | HONG KONG/SINGAPORE HONG KONG/SINGAPORE As the impounding of Singaporean troop carriers in Hong Kong exposes rising tensions between China and Singapore, the Lion City is unlikely to budge on core security interests concerning Beijing – its military relationship with Taiwan, worries over the South China Sea and its hosting of the U.S. military. Singaporean officials, retired military officers and analysts […]
ABU DHABI // This National Day, a celebration of 45 years of the UAE, is an opportunity to pay tribute to the country’s remarkable progress and its Rulers. Around the country, Emiratis, residents and tourists are expected to flock to public places to celebrate the occasion. Aziz Al Shamsi, 45, an Emirati, said National Day was a day of unity for all who live in the UAE. […]
The measure calls for making the annual financial disclosures of D.C. court judges similar to those already required for federal judges — and making those reports available to the public. While D.C. Court judges’ paychecks come from the federal government, the judges have not been held to the same standard as federal judges when it comes to publicly disclosing their financial affairs. The measure also includes several other […]
Tax compliance gets easier for companies, but new data highlights post-filing challenges across the world JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, December 1, 2016/ Economies around the world continue to make progress in simplifying and reducing the burden of tax compliance on business, according to the latest edition of Paying Taxes 2017, a report by the World Bank Group and PwC (www.PWC.com ). Released today, the report finds that the Total […]
December 1, 2016 by: Anne-Sylvaine Chassany in Paris François Hollande announced on Thursday night that he would not run for a second term in next year’s French presidential elections. The unprecedented decision was driven by his historically low popularity ratings, which left him little chance of success against centre-right candidate François Fillon and far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen. He would also first have had to […]
By Ingrid Melander | PARIS PARIS French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday he would not seek a second term in office in the presidential election in 2017, an unprecedented move that leaves the way open for other left-wing candidates. It is the first time in decades that an incumbent French president has not sought re-election. Hollande is the most unpopular president on record. “I am aware […]
ANKARA: Israel’s new ambassador to Turkey arrived in the capital Ankara on Thursday, an Israeli embassy official said, to serve as the first official envoy since a six-year spat put diplomatic relations on ice.Eitan Naeh arrived in the morning, the official, who did not wish to be named, told AFP. Naeh is due to present his letter of credence to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the […]
By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen | COPENHAGEN COPENHAGEN Maersk Line, the world’s biggest shipping company, is to buy smaller rival Hamburg Süd, joining a wave of M&A in the industry just over two months after the Danish company revealed plans to bolster its transport operations. The deal, announced by parent A.P. Moller-Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) on Thursday, is the group’s first full takeover in more than a decade and highlights a […]
ABU DHABI // Ninety-seven children born to Emirati mothers and foreign fathers were granted citizenship under the orders of President Sheikh Khalifa. The General Directorate of Naturalisation in Abu Dhabi presented the naturalised citizens with their documents during a ceremony on Tuesday, reported Wam, UAE’s state agency. Brigadier Saeed Rakan Al Rashidi, Head of Naturalisation Department, who headed the ceremony, said: “This wise and humanitarian decision embodies […]
Submitted by Federico Pieraccini via Strategic-Culture.org, Looking at US history over a fairly long period of time, it is easy to see the destructive path that has accompanied the expansion of the American empire over the last seventy years. While World War II was still raging, US strategists were already planning their next steps in the international arena. The new target was immediately identified in the assault […]
By Paritosh Bansal and Serajul Quadir | DHAKA DHAKA Before Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury orchestrated Bangladesh’s worst militant attack, he sought and won approval for it from Islamic State. A Canadian of Bangladeshi origin, he was told by his contact in the militant group, Abu Terek Mohammad Tajuddin Kausar, to target foreigners, according to a senior police official who has seen communications between the two men. Chowdhury, located […]
By Angus McDowall and Tom Perry | BEIRUT BEIRUT Syrian rebels on Wednesday vowed to fight on in east Aleppo in the face of sudden government advances that have cut the area held by the opposition by a third in recent days and brought insurgents in the city to the brink of a catastrophic defeat. Gains by the Syrian army and its allies since last week have […]
30 November 2016 Dubai: Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region, was named ‘Banking and Finance Company of the Year’ at the prestigious Arabian Business Achievement Awards held yesterday (Monday, November 28, 2016). The bank was recognised for its pioneering efforts toward the digitisation of banking as well as its resilient performance in the past year. The Arabian Business Achievement Awards are adjudicated by an independent judging […]
Photo Mahmoud Abbas, third from right, the Palestinian Authority president, at a Fatah party conference on Tuesday in Ramallah, West Bank. Credit Presidential Office, via Reuters RAMALLAH, West Bank — Under fire at home and abroad, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority moved on Tuesday to solidify his decade-long hold on power with a party conference that had already been purged of most of his opponents. […]
In this year’s election, the most powerful news source was Facebook. More than 40 percent of US adults—that’s more than watch any single TV channel—get their news from Facebook, according to Pew, and as plenty of journalists have recounted, the platform is flooded with hyperpartisan fake news. Yet Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook’s leadership refuse to own up to their responsibility for our politics. Zuckerberg argued […]
I’m willing to bet that self-driving cars are not high on president-elect Donald Trump’s list of policy priorities in his first 100 days in office. He’ll likely be so overwhelmed with the immediate demands of his office and squaring his campaign promises with his party’s often-competing agenda that federal regulation of autonomous vehicles will be on the backburner for a while. But with autonomy accelerating […]
