SHARJAH // Hundreds of Emirati families and residents from across Sharjah kicked off celebrations on Tuesday ahead of the 45th National Day. Boys dressed in army uniforms and girls wearing gowns in the colours of the UAE flag enjoyed traditional yola dancing and performances of plays at National Park on Airport Road. Families sat on the grass, drinking coffee and tea and revelling in the festivities. Emirati […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for November 30, 2016, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. newslide Abu Dhabi & Dubai Cooking class Sign up to take part in the Jones the Grocer culinary masterclasses in December and learn to create a festive dish from one of the head chefs. The […]
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 […]
Liquids shared mouth-to-mouth by social insects contain proteins and small molecules that can influence the development and organisation of their colonies, according to new findings published in eLife. The study from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, suggests Florida carpenter ants can collectively influence their communities by shifting the cocktail of proteins, hormones and other small molecules that they pass mouth-to-mouth to one another and their young through […]
5811 25 by Shannon K. O’Neil October 28, 2016 Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer’s CEO Frederico Curado (R) salutes workers next to an new Embraer E190-E2 during its unveil in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, February 25, 2016. Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA is in early talks with Iran, with a focus on commercial aviation, following the end of international sanctions, Chief Executive Curado told journalists on Thursday (Reuters/Nacho […]
By Takaya Yamaguchi | TOKYO TOKYO Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 is likely to cost 22.6 trillion yen ($201 billion), slightly more than double a previous estimate, according to a source involved in government discussions on the issue. In 2013, Japan’s industry ministry estimated the disaster would cost about 11 trillion yen ($97.9 billion), including compensation to those forced to flee their homes or who lost […]
Beijing is launching an investigation into alleged corrupt dealings by the spouses and children of officials in the city’s municipal government, in a pointed reminder to more powerful residents of the city to rein in their relatives’ behaviour. An audit of their assets would take place next year and on a rotating basis in subsequent years, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday night. Like London […]
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon addresses the Annual Conference of Swiss Developement Cooperation in Zurich, Switzerland January 22, 2016. On the screen behind are displayed the 17 goals of UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann). Emerging Voices highlights new research, thinking, and approaches to development challenges from contributing scholars and practitioners. This post is from Niklas Kossow, communications officer for the European Union FP7 ANTICORRP […]
For six and a half years, Donald Trump battled fraud allegations against his now-defunct Trump University, claiming it duped students into thinking they’d get personal access to the real estate mogul and the secrets to his success. After both sides vowed to go to trial, the litigation settled for $25 million the week before Thanksgiving, days before a trial was set to begin in San Diego. As part of the […]
A project by a group of schoolgirls has turned into their mission to have microbeads, small pieces of plastic that are found in exfoliants and household cleaners, banned in the UAE as a matter of urgency. ABU DHABI // A UAE school project raising awareness of the impact of microbeads might pale into insignificance in comparison to a US government ban and an impending one in the […]
Al Wadei: The rules of the E-Commerce game have changed after the introduction of “noon.com” 29 November 2016 E commerce expert, Dr Sadeq Al-Wadei, revealed that after the inauguration of noon.com in January 2017, it would utterly change E-Commerce platforms as we know them whilst emphasizing on the fact that it would entirely change this trade in Saudi Arabia over the coming few years. In addition, it […]
In the wake of Donald Trump’s surreal ascension to POTUS, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg publicly defended his company’s culpability in Trump’s win. Critics have pointed to Facebook’s propagation of fake news via the site’s algorithmically curated “Trending Topics” module and—perhaps even most dastardly—within users’ News Feed as directly responsible for the rise of America’s first potentially authoritarian-ish leader. Zuck’s public refutation exists within a larger […]
Wrapped up warmly with layers of clothing, gloves, hats and goggles, the runners await the blasting siren marking the start of the race before heading off onto the barren track. Ahead of them, snow, ice and freezing temperatures for one of the most unique runs in the world – the Antarctic Ice Marathon. Some 50 runners from around the world took part in the event last week, […]
Tuesday 15:15 GMT Overview The dollar and Treasury yields are steadying, but US equities are edging lower, as stronger-than expected US GDP data raise concerns that the Federal Reserve may quicken the pace of interest rate rises. The firmer buck is adding to pressure on commodity prices, with gold selling off and oil prices sliding on scepticism over an Opec deal to curb output. Hot topic It […]
Government Communications Headquarters, the UK signals intelligence agency, in Cheltenham, United Kingdom. (UK Ministry of Defence). Alex Grigsby is the assistant director for the Digital and Cyberspace Policy program at the Council on Foreign Relations. Two weeks ago, with much fanfare, the United Kingdom released a new strategy that sets out UK government’s approach to improving the country’s cybersecurity over the next five years. It follows the UK’s previous […]
An employee of a foreign exchange trading company works near monitors showing U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaking on TV news (top) in Tokyo, Japan, November 9, 2016. (Toru Hanai/Reuters). With Donald Trump’s victory, the prospects for digital trade have dimmed. This development owes much to the hostility towards trade that Trump brings to the presidency. But it also involves shifts more fundamental than Trump’s rejection of trade […]
People have a general idea of how much a rocket-propelled grenade costs. What about a cyber weapon? (Baz Ratner/Reuters), Max Smeets is a D.Phil candidate and research affiliate of the Cyber Studies Programme at the University of Oxford. His work analyzes the proliferation of cyber weapons. Can a non-state actor take down critical infrastructure with a cyberattack? If it is not possible today, will it be possible […]
The AI can add animations to static images, although the researchers acknowledge that it rarely generates the “correct” future. Image: MIT Researchers have developed a deep-learning system that can do the very human task of interpreting what’s happening in a photo and guessing what’s likely to happen next. Better yet, the system, developed by machine-learning researchers at MIT, can express its idea of a plausible future by […]
VERBANIA, Italy Emma Morano, thought to be the world’s oldest person and the last to be born in the 1800s, celebrated her 117th birthday on Tuesday, still swearing by her diet of two raw eggs a day. Morano was born in November 1899, four years before the Wright brothers first took to the air. Her life has spanned three centuries, two World Wars and over 90 Italian […]
But the changes were not enough. Alexandrians dug deeper into provincialism and their faith. In a city once famed for its European-style liberalism, the Muslim Brotherhood became a powerful force. The ultraconservative Salafi movement built its base. And on New Year’s Day in 2011, the city became the scene of some of Egypt’s worst sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians in modern history. The seeds of the […]
In a report confirming that the ECB is preparing for a rerun of a post-Brexit scenario, Reuters writes that the ECB is ready to temporarily step up purchases of Italian government bonds if the result of next Sunday’s crucial referendum, which according to WSJ will likely determine the future of not only Monte Paschi but other insolvent Italian banks, “rocks markets” and sharply drives up borrowing costs […]
In The Edge of Seventeen, Hailee Steinfeld plays Nadine, an awkward high-school pupil who carries the woes of the world on her young shoulders. Her main childhood memory is the death of her beloved father, her mother is overprotective, her brother is a goody two-shoes and her best friend, her only friend in fact, turns out to be a disappointing traitor. This is the world according to […]
In late 2000, rumors about about a new personal transportation device that could change the way people got around started making the rounds. Steve Jobs initially said it could be “as big as the PC,” while John Doerr speculated that it would be more important than the Internet. So when the Segway was actually introduced in December 2001, anticipation was very high. But while it […]
The reaction to the election of Donald Trump is as much a function of social media and its negative effects on the populace as anything the candidates did or said. People like to say social networks, especially Facebook, are a great way to maintain relations with old high school chums and relatives you ditched when you were 20. In reality, if you wanted to stay […]
