Netflix announced today that it would ditch its standard five-star rating scheme in favor of a much more simple thumbs up or down option. The streaming service said it had been testing thumbs up and down ratings “with hundreds of thousands of members” in 2016 – and it led to 200% more ratings being given. This makes sense – giving a five-star rating takes some thought, especially […]
WASHINGTON — The United States military said that it had carried out an airstrike against a meeting of Qaeda militants on Thursday in Syria and that a number of the extremists had been killed. The American military statement came as Syria activists reported that a mosque had been bombed and that scores of innocent civilians had been killed and wounded. A spokesman for the United States Central […]
The parkas that have made it to the top of Mount Everest and the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition have found their way to Wall Street. Shares of Canada Goose, the maker of down winter coats with coyote fur trim and a circle patch logo, soared in their New York debut on Thursday, rising 26 per cent to $16.08 after pricing at $12.78 a piece, above […]
Authored by Michael Jabara Carley via The Strategic Culture Foundation, On 10 January 2017 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fired his minister of external affairs, Stéphane Dion, and replaced him with Chrystia Freeland, who was then minister of international trade. This cabinet shuffle might not have gotten much public notice except that Dion is a distinguished parliamentarian, former leader of the party and leader of the opposition, […]
By Colin Packham | SYDNEY SYDNEY Parts of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef will never recover from the impact of unseasonably warm waters, scientists said on Thursday, as more of the World Heritage Site comes under renewed threat from a recent spike in sea temperatures. Warm seas around the reef killed some two-thirds of a 700 kilometre (496.4 miles) stretch of coral last year after warm water caused […]
ABU DHABI // Tobacco as well as fizzy and energy drinks are expected to be taxed this year, the Minister of State for Financial Affairs announced. Obaid Al Tayer was speaking on Wednesday as the Federal National Council approved a draft law that paves the way for value-added tax (VAT) and excise duties on selected items, by setting up a legal framework for taxation. While the GCC […]
Image: LG I’ve been using a non-final LG G6 unit for a couple of weeks and have decided this is likely my next Android phone, depending on the price. Rumors have indicated we might see the LG G6 launch on 7 April, a week after Samsung announces the Galaxy S8 and before the S8 hits the streets. According to information that Android Central received, the LG G6 […]
One of the authors of the report was Richard Falk, an American law professor and former United Nations human rights investigator whom critics regard as an anti-Israel extremist. He has been refused entry to Israel for what Israeli leaders have described as his hostile point of view. Continue reading the main story The report comes amid a hardening polarization on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with […]
Retail stocks were once again heading straight for the discount bin on Wednesday. Struggling department store operator Macy’s was the day’s biggest decliner on the S&P 500, dropping 2 per cent to $30.32 following news that one-time suitor Hudson’s Bay now has its eyes on upmarket retailer Neiman Marcus instead. Shares in Macy’s, which have been languishing at six-year lows amid falling sales and profits, had rallied […]
In the widely anticipated budget proposal to be released by President Trump on Thursday, the White House will call for spending cuts of 28% for the State Department and 31% for the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing congressional staff who are familiar with the plan. The budget plan for fiscal 2018 will also propose a big reduction in the State Department’s […]
WASHINGTON President Donald Trump suggested more information would be coming out soon about his claim that former President Barack Obama ordered a wiretap of Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential campaign. “I think you’re going to find some very interesting items coming to the forefront over the next two weeks,” Trump said about the wiretap claim in excerpts of an interview to be broadcast later Wednesday on […]
From lush landscapes to buzzing cities, Vietnam is designed to dazzle. Few countries have changed so much in so little time. This intrepid corner of Southeast Asia has persevered through colonialism, communism, war and poverty, and like the proverbial phoenix, has risen again to claim top spots on countless bucket lists. Prepare for sensory overload. Though it has not forgotten its past, Vietnam has come roaring into […]
Samsung has been in news a lot for its upcoming Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. However, the South Korean is now in the news for its Z series of phones, which will be powered by its own operating system. The company, which is all set to launch its latest flagships on March 29, is rumored to be working on a new smartphone known as Samsung Z4, successor […]
ABU DHABI // The introduction of value-added tax in the UAE next year, in tandem with the other five GCC countries, will boost government revenues that took a hit with falling oil prices. VAT could generate Dh12 billion in its first year and Dh20bn in its second year, said Sultan Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy. The international monetary fund (IMF) said introducing VAT at a low rate […]
The White House will propose large spending cuts on Thursday for the state department, public broadcasting and environmental programmes as part of its preliminary budget for the 2018 fiscal year. Administration aides call it an “America First” budget — with greater spending on defence, law enforcement and veteran affairs, as well as new education programmes that emphasise school choice. The last are a pet project of Betsy […]
The preparations for Fireworks Wednesday started Tuesday afternoon when the gardeners carefully laid out seven small piles of sand near the square. Seven is regarded as a holy number in Iran’s pre-Islamic Zoroastrian faith. They then brought over several wheelbarrow loads of firewood. I noticed several of my neighbors peeking down from their balconies. Fireworks Wednesday is traditionally celebrated on the last Tuesday before the end of […]
Key points ● Treasury yields have fallen, with the 10-year yield lower by 9 basis points to 2.50 per cent● Market expectations for at least four Federal Reserve rate increases this year dipped to less than one-in-five● Wall Street has extended gains, S&P 500 gaining as much as 0.9 per cent to 2,387.23● US dollar falls across the board, with the dollar index down 1 per cent […]
(Image: CNET) The Amazon Echo was the first mass-market, consumer-level device responding to voice control with general purpose functions, such as playing music. It was launched in the US in 2015. Then, in 2016, Google released its competing device, Google Home. Framingham, Mass.-based digital agency Stone Temple collected 5,000 questions to ask both Google Home and Amazon Alexa. Itverbally asked the devices each question and noted many […]
Three-dimensional chip stacks could be used in computers in the future. Integrated microscale flow batteries could both power and cool them. Credit: IBM Research Zurich Researchers at ETH Zurich and IBM Research Zurich have built a tiny redox flow battery. This means that future computer chip stacks—in which individual chips are stacked like pancakes to save space and energy—could be supplied with electrical power and cooled at […]
JERUSALEM: Israeli ex-defense minister Moshe Yaalon accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday of seeking a “neo-Ottoman empire” while warning of growing instability in the Middle East.Yaalon, seeking to build a campaign to become Israel’s next prime minister, spoke of his concerns while addressing regional issues in a meeting with foreign journalists.The ex-minister, forced out of office last year as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to […]
With the oil market showing signs of losing faith in a price rebound, Opec is now asking itself: what more can it do? Production cuts agreed late last year between some of the world’s biggest producers inside and outside the cartel, are losing their sway given the near 10 per cent drop in the Brent benchmark over the past week. Brimming global storage tanks and a resurgent […]
In this Monday, March 13, 2017 photo, a Uniti employee works on prototype steering controls, at the startup’s temporary production facility in Lund, Sweden. A group of Swedish students that raised 1.2 million euros in crowdfunding for their startup to build electric cars has caught the attention of German industrial heavyweight Siemens. The two sides said Wednesday that they were starting a partnership that will see them […]
Kuwait, 15 March 2017 Dubai-based flydubai’s inaugural flight to Sylhet landed today and was greeted by a traditional water cannon salute. Upon arrival, a flydubai delegation led by Sudhir Sreedharan, Senior Vice President Commercial for GCC, Subcontinent and Africa, was met by H.E. Rashed Khan Menon, Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism, along with local officials from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, […]
According to Google, background tabs are responsible for up to a third of Chrome’s power use on a desktop. Image: Google Google has begun to throttle some background tabs in Chrome as part of a plan to reduce its browser’s impact on power consumption. Chrome 57 introduces the first phase of its plan, which ultimately aims to kill background tab processing and reduce the browser’s impact on […]
