By Elida Moreno | PANAMA CITY PANAMA CITY Panama does not expect any change in its relations with Taiwan or China, a senior official from the isthmus nation said on Friday, despite increased pressure from Beijing on Taiwan’s allies to sever ties. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen will visit Latin America next month, against a tense backdrop after news of her phone call with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump […]
By Sam Forgione | NEW YORK NEW YORK The U.S. dollar slipped on Friday but notched its fourth straight year of gains against a basket of major currencies. The dollar index .DXY, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, gained about 3.7 percent for the year. The index rose about 7.1 percent during the fourth quarter, more than half that gain coming since […]
The announcement of new US sanctions against Russia paves the way for a potential showdown between Congress and Donald Trump’s incoming administration over what kind of stance Washington should take against the country in the future. Mr Trump has called for closer ties with Moscow and played down its role in the Ukrainian conflict. But he is likely to face fierce resistance from a bipartisan coalition in […]
Video Step Into a Refugee Camp The Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan is one of the largest Syrian camps in the world. In the fall, we visited the camp live with our audience. Here’s what we heard from the refugees and from you. By DEBORAH ACOSTA on Publish Date December 30, 2016. Photo by Deborah Acosta/The New York Times. Watch in Times Video » In September, we […]
Investors’ positions fluctuated wildly this year after unexpected election results in the UK and US upended markets, ultimately propelling a global stock rally and selling of government bonds as portfolio managers readied for the arrival of fiscal stimulus and inflation. A $66bn rotation into US stocks over the past eight weeks reflects expectations for faster global growth and inflation in the wake of Donald Trump’s surprise US […]
Here’s something you don’t hear enough: Journalists, you’re doing a good job. Chances are good that you learned a new skill this year and put it into action. Maybe 2016 was the year you started using Snapchat to tell global stories. Perhaps you figured out how to use GIFs, or augmented your reporting with data. It’s also possible that you unleashed some bots upon the world. In […]
Oil prices were on track for their biggest annual gain since 2009 after the OPEC grouping and other major producers agreed to cut crude output to reduce a global supply overhang that has depressed prices for two years. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slipped 12 cents to $53.62 a barrel by 1400 GMT on Friday, while Brent front-month March crude futures were down 19 […]
Given his previous acceptance of Grammy Awards and a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Swedes behind the Nobel Prize in Literature felt confident that Bob Dylan would welcome their prestigious gong – and their cheque for 8 million Swedish Krona (Dh3.18m) – with open arms. Initially, though, it seemed Dylan failed to heed the advice of his own song Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right, and was […]
A year ago the coffers at Argentina’s central bank were empty as the country teetered on the brink of a currency crisis. Now banks are scrambling to fly dollars back to the US as their vaults fill to bursting with piles of cash. That would sound like good news for Alfonso Prat-Gay, who as finance minister this week boasted that his tax amnesty had already repatriated $90bn hidden […]
Photo Ruined buildings in Douma, Syria, a rebel-held area near Damascus, on Friday. Credit Bassam Khabieh/Reuters BEIRUT, Lebanon — A cease-fire between the Syrian government and rebel groups tentatively took hold across the country on Friday, with only scattered reports of clashes, shelling and airstrikes. The truce, brokered primarily by Russia and Turkey, who pledged to guarantee the compliance of the government and the opposition, was announced […]
Hindsight Capital beats the market, and all competition, every year. But how would it do over a decade? For the uninitiated, Hindsight Capital is an imaginary hedge fund that is blessed with perfect foresight, which features at this time of year in the Long View column. As real fund managers deploying real money have to hedge their bets, it always does far better than any of them […]
Tesla Transport underpins and supports both urban and rural living worldwide. Whether this is just a runaround to get from A to B, a flight to get to a conference or distribution networks for parcels and supplies, companies and the general public require a strong transport infrastructure for cities and businesses to thrive. However, as transport is so ingrained, new and innovative solutions are required to lessen […]
For a glimpse into just how insane modern finance and capital markets are, look no further than Italy’s thrice insolvent (in three years) bank Monte Paschi, which after failing to finalize a private, is finalizing the terms of its nationalization with the Italian government: a rescue which will cost Italian taxpayers at least €6.6 billion, and likely more. The bailout, however, is not the punchline. What is, […]
By Selam Gebrekidan | TOREKOV, Sweden TOREKOV, Sweden For more than a year, Girmay Mehari dreaded his 18th birthday next February. The teenager escaped from an Eritrean jail two years ago after he was sentenced to an indefinite term for evading national service or plotting to escape the country. The police never spelled out the charges. With money his brothers raised in New York and Israel, Girmay […]
A team of researchers made a significant breakthrough which will help patients with heart problems all over the world. The scientists managed to create synthetic stem cells, which can help the heart tissue regenerate just as well as normal stem cells, while also avoiding the complications associated with them. Promising Results A team of American and Chinese researchers joined efforts in order to provide a better treatment […]
By Polina Nikolskaya and Svetlana Reiter | MOSCOW MOSCOW President Vladimir Putin ruled out on Friday expelling anyone in retaliation for Washington’s decision to throw out 35 Russian diplomats and impose sanctions on two of the country’s intelligence agencies. RIA news agency quoted Putin as saying he would consider the actions of President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next month, when deciding on further steps in Russia-U.S. […]
Even if a trip is only a few blocks, human drivers need to make hundreds of calculations in order to reach their destination safely, and we do it without much thought. For example, is it raining, sunny, clear, or foggy? Is it early morning when kids are walking to school or later in the day? For computers to safely drive cars, they must also take […]
Vladimir Putin said Russia will not expel any US diplomats in response to sanctions imposed by Washington, in an extraordinary move aimed at limiting the fallout from the Kremlin’s clash with the Obama administration over the hacking of this year’s US presidential election. The Russian president made his announcement on Friday despite foreign ministry proposals for the expulsion of 35 US diplomats. Sergei Lavrov, foreign minister, said […]
This has already changed the course of the Syrian war. Turkey grudgingly accepted the fall of Aleppo in return for a de facto recognition of its zone of influence along the Syrian-Turkish border. Instead of supporting rebel groups fighting in Aleppo or pressuring the Assad forces besieging the city, Turkey raced to capture territory from the Islamic State before the Kurds did. The Kremlin is now not […]
Financial markets in 2016 endured an escalation of negative interest rates, the collapse and subsequent rebound in commodity prices and fluctuating stock market valuations. The test for investors began in week one, as fears of a China slowdown roiled stock indices weeks after the Federal Reserve began to normalise policy. Over the ensuing months, the Brexit vote and US election would prove significant mile markers, shift thinking […]
BERLIN Martin Schulz, the European Parliament president who is returning to German politics, does not expect to run as the Social Democrats’ (SPD) candidate for chancellor next year, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Friday. Schulz’s decision not to run, if confirmed, would likely clear the way for SPD chairman Sigmar Gabriel to be the party’s candidate to challenge conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bid for a fourth term […]
DUBAI// The deadline for applications for health insurance has been extended into the new year, Dubai Health Authority has announced. The authority said it had made the decision due to a flood of customers applying to insurance companies in the last few days, and in response to those who had not been able to get insured in time due to unforeseen circumstances. It was not clear how […]
TAIPEI Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen will transit through Houston and San Francisco during her January visit to allies in Latin American countries, her office said Friday, a move certain to anger China which a day earlier urged the U.S. to block a stopover. Tsai is transiting in the United States on her way to and from visiting Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador in that order. She […]
The next generation of toys could be controlled by the power of the mind, thanks to new research. Source
