By A. Ananthalakshmi and Liz Lee | KUALA LUMPUR KUALA LUMPUR VX, the chemical used in the airport murder Kim Jong Nam, is one of the deadliest chemical weapons created by man. Just 10 milligrams of the nerve agent or a single drop enough to kill in minutes, experts say. With the texture and feel of engine oil, VX was first produced in the United Kingdom in […]
We may be about to witness the extinction of a very rare bird indeed: the $1m Monaco home. Savills agent Irene Luke hasn’t seen one on her books for several years. “We’re selling a parking space for €190,000,” she says, “so you’re not going to get very much for a million dollars.” Luke taps at a computer, trawling through all sorts of listings the public doesn’t have […]
The latest GDP numbers from the World Bank were released earlier this month, and today’s visualization from HowMuch.net breaks them down to show the relative share of the global economy for each country. As Visual Capitalist’s Jeff Desjardins explains, the full circle, known as a Voronoi Diagram, represents the entirety of the $74 trillion global economy in nominal terms. Meanwhile, each country’s segment is sized accordingly to […]
That leaves many governments invested in vague hopes that such a settlement, however rickety or superficial, will somehow stop the metastasis of the Syrian crisis and ease fears of Islamic State terrorism — often conflated with concerns about ordinary Syrian refugees — that have fueled the rise of right-wing politicians. Photo Syrian refugees live in makeshift tent settlements in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Credit Diego Ibarra Sanchez for […]
A body set up by the Saudi-led coalition to investigate civilian casualties in Yemen said on Thursday a technical fault was responsible for the death of seven people in a 2015 air strike but cleared the alliance of other attacks. Saudi Arabia and its allies in a mostly Gulf Arab military coalition have been bombing the Iran-aligned Houthi movement since they seized much of northern Yemen in […]
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co, the corporate hardware and enterprise software business of Hewlett-Packard Co, reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue and cut its full-year profit forecast. The company’s shares were down 5.6 percent at $23.22 in after-market trading on Thursday. HPE said it expected full-year adjusted profit of between $1.88-$1.98 per share, down from $2-$2.10 it forecast earlier. Analysts on average were expecting a profit of $2.05 per share, […]
There was so much weaponry inside that visitors got searched not just on the way in, but also on the way out. Continue reading the main story The exhibition served to promote Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which has distinguished itself as a regional hub for international business at a time when wars and uprisings have upended other Arab states. It also provided […]
An online commercial released by Nike this week showing Arab women fencing, boxing and spinning on ice-skates has stirred controversy over its attempt to smash stereotypes about women leading home-bound lives in the conservative region. It begins with a woman nervously peering out of her doorway and adjusting her veil before going for a run in the street, while a female voice narrates in a Saudi dialect: […]
By Lucia Mutikani | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week but the four-week average of such claims, considered a better gauge, fell to a 43-1/2-year low in a sign of a strengthening labor market. Other data on Thursday showed house prices increasing solidly in December amid strong demand for housing even as mortgage rates rose. The reports highlighted strength […]
It might already be two months into the new year, but in terms of hotel milestones, it’s just about to start. Just as the UAE’s residential sector is producing a much-needed surplus of property, consumers are set to benefit as this year’s hotel industry pipeline turns out a wave of audacious new developments. From a new Viceroy, Langham and Bulgari in Dubai to an Aloft in Al […]
Photo Iraqi forces attacked the Mosul airport in an offensive to take the western side of the city from the Islamic State on Thursday. Credit Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images BAGHDAD — Iraqi forces have seized most of Mosul’s airport, an important milestone in the broader offensive to retake from the Islamic State the western half of the city, allied and Iraqi officials said on Thursday. […]
A HoloLens display visualization Microsoft “You take the high road and I’ll take the low road and I’ll be in Scotland before you,” assert modernized lyrics of The Bonny Banks of Loch Lomond. The 176 year-old song is a metaphor for the state of virtual reality. Scotland represents a promised land of market leadership, Oculus and HTC, with their pricey high-end products, are taking the high road, […]
By John Geddie and Elisabeth O’Leary | LONDON/EDINBURGH LONDON/EDINBURGH The Scottish government is increasingly convinced it can win a new independence referendum and is thinking seriously about calling one next year as Britain exits the European Union, sources close to the Scottish government said. Scotland voted overwhelmingly to stay inside the EU in last June’s referendum, but Britain as a whole voted to leave and British Prime […]
A recent meme under the hashtag #OscarsWeNeed, dubbed “Outstanding Background Extra”, perfectly encapsulates what The National’s Alternative Academy Awards (aka The Other Oscars) is all about. There he was, an extra standing behind Spectre star Daniel Craig, sweeping as if his life depended on it – even as his broom never came close to the ground. As Hollywood prepares to honour the best of American and foreign […]
Frank Sorrentino used to do a lot of mortgages. But since the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act seven years ago, he has mostly shied away. Rules have been tightened so far as to make home loans uneconomic, says the chairman and chief executive of ConnectOne, a bank with $3.7bn in assets based in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. “Community banks used to be able to cut through the […]
For footloose international money, the safest place to hide in the European financial system may be two-year German debt. The government of Europe’s largest economy not meeting such obligations in euros is as close to inconceivable as things get. The debt is also easy and cheap to trade, which means it can be a market signal of investor angst. The price of such safety set a record […]
Image: Bednarczyk/Epa/REX/Shutterstock By Sohini Mitter2017-02-23 08:56:35 UTC We told you that Justin Bieber is performing in India for the first time. Understandably, there’s a lot of excitement, especially in millennials who can’t have enough of the 23-year-old pop sensation. But now there’s a problem as we discovered once the tickets went on sale. Firstly, there’s a queue. Even if you wait, you are never sure that […]
For the Arab world’s largest country, February 11, 2011, was the moment the 21st-century began. Hosni Mubarak, after decades in power, was finally pushed to step down after millions of people took the streets. Many things were born in Tahrir Square that day. Hope for the future. A new politics led by youth. A revolutionary current, as H A Hellyer puts in his new book A Revolution Undone. […]
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. A few months ago Vice founder Shane Smith fronted a superior Vice-HBO documentary, “A House Divided,” that detailed the issues, tactics and rancor that dominated Barack Obama’s relations with a Republican-dominated Congress. Now he sees “a perfect storm” that involves […]
By Naomi Tajitsu and Chang-Ran Kim | TOKYO TOKYO Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) said Carlos Ghosn will step aside as CEO after leading the firm for 16 years, allowing him to concentrate on deploying his cost-cutting expertise across its alliance with Renault SA (RENA.PA) and newly added Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T). In handing over the helm to Hiroto Saikawa, a company veteran of 40 years, Ghosn ends […]
Russia is pressing world powers to provide Syria with billions of dollars for reconstruction to bolster its faltering efforts to resolve the Arab state’s six-year conflict. But European and Gulf states, angered by Russia’s military intervention that tilted the war in favour of President Bashar al-Assad, will only contribute if Moscow secures a peace settlement that sets the terms for an eventual political transition, western diplomats say. […]
Thursday 05:25 GMT Overview Asian stocks fell, following their US counterparts lower as investors digested the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January policy meeting. Hot topic The Fed’s minutes showed that “many” policymakers thought it would be appropriate to raise short-term US interest rates again “fairly soon”, even given potential uncertainty around the new Trump administration’s economic policies and possible tax cuts. The market view on rates […]
Instagram just introduced its most controversial feature since Stories. The app added the ability to attach up to 10 photos and video clips to a single post, which is either the absolute worst or, maybe, kind of okay — depending on where you stand. But no matter where you stand, the update will absolutely change how you share and view posts and it could take some getting […]
By Nichola Saminather | SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian stocks pulled back from a 19-month high on Thursday, while the dollar tried to steady from losses suffered in the wake of the U.S. Federal Reserve minutes indicating a cautious approach to more interest rate increases. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was fractionally lower. Japan’s Nikkei slid 0.1 percent, while Australian shares retreated 0.3 percent. Overnight on […]
