When Ioan Gornic suddenly starts blasting out 1990s dance hit “No Limits”, the assembled group of about 20 European factory managers shift nervously in their seats and try to avoid eye contact. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to sing,” says the Shenzhen-based general manager for Zobele, an Italian maker of air freshener and insect repellent. “I just want to make the point that the only limits are […]
Dany El-Eid, a Lebanese-Canadian entrepreneur based in Dubai for more than a decade, believed in the power of augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies much before photos of heads of state trying VR headsets could be seen, tweeted and retweeted. El-Eid is the founder and CEO of Pixelbug, a rapidly growing tech company, set up in Dubai in 2012, which specialises in developing advanced AR applications. […]
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Generations of Ohio State and Michigan fans will debate the latest episode of one of college football’s most impassioned rivalries, a 30-27 Ohio State victory in two overtimes on Saturday, the Buckeyes’ fifth straight win over the Wolverines. What if Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight — who generally played well, completing 23 of 36 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns — had not fumbled […]
AMSTERDAM Royal Dutch Shell expects to pump out all the fossil fuel reserves listed on its balance sheet, its chief executive said, dismissing concerns that production limits in the wake of the Paris climate accord could hit the energy giant’s valuation. In an interview with Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad, Ben van Beurden said the issue of “stranded” reserves – deposits in the ground that cannot be […]
KUALA LUMPUR Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Sunday that he will “not necessarily” call a snap election next year, amid talk that he would seek an early vote as splits in the opposition have hobbled efforts to oust him over a long-running financial scandal. The multi-ethnic Southeast Asian country is due to hold an election by August 2018, and a government official has told Reuters […]
By Marc Frank and Sarah Marsh | HAVANA HAVANA Fidel Castro’s death could give his younger brother, President Raul Castro, more space to pursue economic reforms, but change will also depend on whether U.S. President-elect Donald Trump decides to work with or challenge Cuba’s communist government. Raul Castro has introduced market-oriented reforms in recent years, but the pace of change has been slowed, many Cubans say, by […]
Every presidential election brings with it a renewed debate on taxes: should tax rates be increased or decreased (which in turn forces economists to break out their textbooks to brush up on their Laffer curve definitions)? Traditionally, the question eventually boils down to one thing: what should the tax treatment of the “rich” be: should the wealthy pay more or less in taxes? Why the particular focus […]
Kuwaitis voted on Saturday in an election energised by the participation of opposition candidates for the first time since 2012 and focused on recent government austerity measures aimed at tackling the oil-rich nation’s deficit. The parliament of Western-allied Kuwait was due to run until July 2017, but the emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, dissolved it in October, saying “security challenges” in the region – an apparent reference […]
Canadian director Denis Villeneuve’s thoughtful sci-fi drama Arrival, which was released on Thursday, is being hailed by some as one of the best movies about alien contact. But as with much of the best science fiction, the story is as much a look at the real world of today as a fictional adventure about a fantastical world of tomorrow. With its themes of communication, lack of understanding […]
Resident Evil 7 players will be able to transfer their saves between versions of the game bought on Xbox One and the PC Windows Store, raising questions as to whether the game will be part of Microsoft’s Xbox Play Anywhere scheme. In an article about features present in each format of the game, Dengeki (as translated by IGN Japan) reports that “the Windows Store version can share play data with […]
BEIRUT Syrian government and allied forces seized large parts of an important district in rebel-held eastern Aleppo on Saturday but fierce fighting for control of the residential area continued, rebels, pro-government media and a monitor said. Government forces have advanced with a ground and air assault on the edge of the besieged eastern half of the city, a move the rebels say is designed to split their […]
Photo Residents of the Tahir district of Mosul, which had been liberated from the Islamic State a few hours before, on Nov. 16. Credit Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times CHICAGO — The ancient Assyrians considered the Tigris River the division between East and West, and the city I come from in Iraq is called Mosul — connection point, in Arabic — because it connects these […]
If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, why not have it for lunch and dinner, too? It seems the all-day breakfast trend is being embraced by cafes across the UAE, with options appearing at many venues. Much like the age-old chicken or the egg question, it is unclear whether the birth of the ‘Breakfastarians’ – a term popularised on the internet and in IHOP […]
By Karin Strohecker | LONDON LONDON Turkey’s rapprochement with Russia has not changed Ankara’s position that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must go to restore peace in the country, Turkish deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Saturday. Russia is Assad’s main military backer while Turkey backs the rebels fighting to oust him in the six year old conflict. “We are in the same position, Assad has committed […]
Amid increasing social unrest, a collapsing currency (against the dollar), and an economy at a standstill, there has been another growing fear in India that has spooked many around the world. The rumors and speculation of an Indian gold import ban (or even an outright ban on gold ownership) have sparked panic-buying of the precious metal sending retail premia soaring at local jewelers. In an effort to […]
Saudi Arabia pulled out of planned talks with non-OPEC nations including Russia as disagreements about how to share the burden of supply cuts stood in the way of a deal to boost prices just days before a make-or-break meeting in Vienna. OPEC officials were scheduled to meet with non-members including Russia on Monday before a ministerial meeting in Vienna two days later. The meeting was later canceled […]
The Samsung Galaxy S7 edge is undoubtedly one of the best smartphones of 2016. Reports suggest that the mobile phone is also at the top of the list for emitting the lowest electromagnetic radiation level. Electromagnetic Radiation Specific absorption rate (SAR) is an indication that establishes the amount of radiation absorbed by humans while using a cell phone. Higher SAR indicates that the device is emitting more electromagnetic […]
The Jill Stein campaign prides itself for being anti-corporate — only accepting the donations from the small people — the disenfranchised folks who cannot afford to donate to her losing campaign — but do so nonetheless to help Jill fulfill an otherwise pointless existence in the political landscape. Thanks to her website and the Wayback machine, we can examine the donations and the rate by which they […]
FRANKFURT German trains-to-turbines group Siemens is well placed to do business in the United States, regardless of whether President-elect Donald Trump backs fossil-fuels at the expense of renewable energy, its CEO told a newspaper. “The good thing is that we can offer everything. Steam power plants that are powered by coal, state-of-the-art gas-fired power plants, wind energy, we can build solar parks and the necessary link to […]
Beats on The Beach may have been at the Abu Dhabi Corniche on Friday, but the evening was full of Jamaican beach vibes. Dance hall king Sean Paul delivered an exuberant, hit-laden set on the second day of the three day free music festival. The 42-year-old attempted to pack in many of the hits he’s accumulated since emerging on the scene 20 years ago. On that score, […]
He seized power audaciously in 1959 and commanded to the last a powerful personal following inside and outside Cuba. But during more than half a century in office Fidel Castro, who has died at the age of 90, metamorphosed from a popular and charismatic guerrilla leader into a traditional caudillo, an autocratic holdover from another age. At his life’s end, although bolstered by the emergence of a […]
Iraq’s prime minister said the country is willing to cut some of its own production, in a move that could smooth the way to a supply deal when Opec, the oil cartel, meets next week. Haider al-Abadi said Iraq would “shoulder responsibility” for some of the planned reductions of the 14-member group’s output to bolster the oil price, according to comments reported by Reuters. The price of […]
“Bo was not happy,” said Carr, who later became a Michigan head coach. This week, Michigan plays the same opponent in a similarly emotional moment — and one with perhaps even higher stakes. The No. 3 Wolverines will face the No. 2 Buckeyes on Saturday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio, with the chance to go on to win the Big Ten championship, cementing a place in the season-ending […]
DUBAI // Thousands braved the morning chill on Friday to take part in a charity run on Al Mamzar beach. Around 2,000 participants from all ages took part in the 3km walk and 7km Unity Run to raise funds for Al Noor Training Centre for Persons with Disabilities and raise awareness for people with special needs. The event, held at Al Mamzar Corniche, coincided with the celebration […]
