DUBAI // As the world’s highest building, it is no surprise the Burj Khalifa tops a list of the most instagrammed buildings in Dubai – but the other nine making up the top 10 makes interesting reading. With more than 1.5 million posts on the social media app, the Burj Khalifa is 22 times more popular as a photo opportunity than the iconic Burj Al Arab (70,400) […]
By Andreina Aponte and Girish Gupta | CARACAS CARACAS Covering his mouth with a rag, Latin pop star Nacho choked on tear gas at an anti-government protest last month. Mexican actress Salma Hayek praised the protesters’ courage. Venezuelan soccer star Salomon Rondon called them “heroes.” A decade ago, the charismatic Hugo Chavez not only persuaded millions to vote for him in Venezuela, he enticed a who’s who […]
The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair completed its 27th edition on Tuesday. On the surface the event did what it was designed to do. Thousands of books were sold, literary awards were handed out, a new publishing house was announced, publishing deals were signed and authors’ works were snapped up in languages ranging from Chinese to Turkish. But it is only when you spend a serious amount […]
TEHRAN — Dozens of miners were trapped on Wednesday after a large explosion at a coal mine in northern Iran, state-run news media reported. Ambulances, helicopters and other rescue vehicles were sent to the site of the accident in the province of Golestan as the authorities tried to determine the scale of the disaster at the mine, which has more than 500 workers. The head of the […]
As previewed last night, this morning the US Air Force confirmed that another unarmed Minuteman III ICBM missile capable of sending a nuclear bomb across the world was launched early on Wednesday from California’s Vanderberg Air Force base, in what was a second clear signal of nuclear deterrence aimed squarely at North Korea and took place one week after the US test fired another ICBM under identical […]
The walled garden of iOS is more difficult to compromise than the famously open source Android platform. Image: iStock While most people are aware of the malicious threats targeting their computers, many still don’t realise that their mobile devices are an increasingly lucrative a target for cybercriminals. The main way smartphones are attacked is though apps, often ones which pose as innocent and useful but actually aim […]
News from the FT that the UK may face an initial Brexit bill of up to €100bn has dented sterling this morning. The currency fell by 0.2 per cent against the dollar to $1.29, nibbling into some of its eye-catching recent gains before recovering slightly. Against the euro, the pound is also down by 0.14 per cent to €1.1823. Broadly, the path for sterling since the general […]
By Karolin Schaps | LONDON LONDON Oil prices rebounded from near 2017 lows on Wednesday after preliminary data showed a much higher-than-expected fall in U.S. crude stocks, reviving bullish sentiment about easing oversupply. Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 was up 37 cents at $50.83 a barrel at 0815 GMT. On Tuesday the futures had settled at their lowest since Nov. 30, when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting […]
1. Optimism waning: Only 52 per cent of those polled said they felt things in their countries were moving in the right direction, a drop of 12 per cent from last year. 2. Overlooked by policymakers: A clear message to policymakers and governments across the region was that 81 per cent of young Arabs from across the region wanted their countries to do more to address their […]
CAIRO Islamic State claimed responsibility on Wednesday for an attack on an armoured convoy used by NATO that killed eight people in the Afghan capital Kabul. It said in a statement on its Amaq news agency that a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged car as the convoy passed an area near the U.S. embassy, killing eight American soldiers. Public health officials in Kabul said the eight dead […]
BEIRUT A bomb blast killed at least four people and wounded many more in a rebel-held town in northern Syria near the Turkish border on Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. The explosion hit the town of Azaz, which has long been an important base for rebels, including groups backed by Turkey. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which […]
As Australia passes the milestone of 2 million premises connected to the National Broadband Network (NBN), the latest NBN Wholesale Market Indicators Report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) shows that over 1.1 million users are now on a 25/5Mbps plan. When taken in combination with the almost 600,000 premises on a 12/1Mbps connection, more than 1.7 million NBN users are now on connections that […]
The OnePlus 5 is among the most hotly anticipated smartphones of this year and the company’s CEO just posted the first teaser, touting a “big surprise.” With the LG G6 and the Samsung Galaxy S8 out of the bag, one of the most rumored smartphones yet to debut is the OnePlus 5, which is expected to hit the scene sometime in the second half of this year. OnePlus […]
Mr. Abbas’s visit to the White House will present Mr. Trump with the Palestinian viewpoint more directly than he has ever heard it as president. But at 82, Mr. Abbas is a weakened political figure facing public discontent and divisions at home. Continue reading the main story His Palestinian Authority operates in the West Bank, while the more militant rival Hamas faction rules in Gaza. Despite an […]
BEIRUT An aid convoy of food and medical supplies has reached the besieged Syrian town of Douma for the first time since October, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday. Along with the United Nations and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, the ICRC went into Douma with 51 trucks loaded with aid for 35,000 people, it said on Twitter. A U.N. official in […]
By Nichola Saminather | SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian stocks followed global indexes higher on Wednesday, as strong earnings and manufacturing data boosted risk appetite, while expectations that the Federal Reserve will signal a June rate increase later in the session lifted the dollar. Oil prices pulled higher after a sharp fall on Tuesday on technical selling in a market already worried about oversupply and following a rise in […]
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin discussed paths towards peace in Syria on Tuesday, in the first sign of practical interaction between the American and Russian presidents since Rex Tillerson, US secretary of state, visited Moscow last month. The call, only the second time the two leaders have spoken since Mr Trump took office in January, was the first sign that Moscow and Washington might be acting on […]
LAGOS Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s health is not as poor as assumed, his wife said on Tuesday, trying to assuage growing concerns in the oil producer over her husband’s ability to work. Buhari, 74, did not attend a cabinet meeting last Wednesday, choosing to rest and work from home, his second consecutive absence from the weekly meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. “I wish to inform […]
ABU DHABI // Two major development projects will bring thousands of homes and jobs to an underdeveloped area on the outskirts of the capital. The Dh4 billion Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City is 90 per cent complete and will open soon, while construction is under way on a Dh2.5bn Emirati housing neighbourhood near Abu Dhabi International Airport. The first of the homes will be ready by 2019. The […]
Scientists have confirmed a nearby star’s planetary system contains separate belts of asteroids, similar to our own solar system. The star is also about one-fifth the age of our sun. All that makes this star a good model of the early days of our solar system. (via WSJ)
Photo A nurse with a wounded patient at a hospital in Hasaka, Syria, on Tuesday after an attack by the Islamic State. Credit Delil Souleiman/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images BEIRUT, Lebanon — Islamic State militants attacked a checkpoint on Tuesday used by refugees fleeing fighting in Syria and Iraq, killing more than three dozen people, according to local Kurdish militants and monitoring groups. It was one of […]
By Alexandra Ulmer and Eyanir Chinea | CARACAS CARACAS Venezuela’s opposition blocked streets in Caracas on Tuesday to denounce a decision by leftist President Nicolas Maduro to create a “constituent assembly,” a move critics said was a veiled attempt to cling to power by avoiding elections. After a month of near-daily protests by opponents demanding early general elections, the unpopular leader announced on Monday he planned to […]
By Brian Ellsworth | CARACAS CARACAS Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro shocked many of his countrymen on Monday by calling for a constitutional assembly in a move similar to one his predecessor and mentor Hugo Chavez used almost 20 years ago. But there is a key difference: while Chavez enjoyed broad popularity following his 1998 election, Maduro faces slim odds at the ballot box and critics say he […]
The Samsung Gear S3 is compatible with a number of Android and iOS smartphones and Samsung just published a handy chart to illustrate it. Just recently, Samsung announced a permanent price cut for its Gear S3 smartwatch in the United States, indicating that the company is looking to boost sales before Apple and other players release new smartwatches. The permanent Gear S3 price cut makes the smartwatch […]
