And yet it does. Among those bothered is Lod’s mayor, Yair Revivo, who is Jewish and announced last month that the city would broadcast the Shema, a central prayer that begins “Hear O Israel,” to counter the mosques’ call. Continue reading the main story The first of Islam’s five daily prayers begins before dawn, noted Col. Motti Yogev, a member of Parliament who introduced the new ban. […]
Russia launched its long-awaited offensive across Syria on Tuesday just hours after Vladimir Putin discussed the conflict with Donald Trump amid growing questions about how the incoming American president will deal with his Russian counterpart. Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, said the air strikes were targeting Isis and Syrian jihadis, their ammunition depots and training camps, in the provinces of Idlib and Homs. Opposition activists said the […]
Wednesday 09:20 GMT. European stocks are tracking a mostly positive showing in Asia as Wall Street eyes record highs on hopes the Trump administration’s pledge of infrastructure spending and tax cuts will boost the US economy. The dollar and government bond yields are a touch firmer, keeping gold and industrial commodity prices in check. After the FTSE Asia-Pacific equity index rose 0.6 per cent, the pan-European Stoxx […]
BERLIN The new chief executive of Hugo Boss (BOSSn.DE) said he expects to return the struggling German fashion house to growth in 2018, announcing plans to simplify its brand portfolio and adjust prices in a bid to appeal to younger customers. Mark Langer, the former finance chief who was appointed CEO in May, said the company will focus in future on two main brands – upper premium […]
While emojis will certainly not replace texts in messages anytime soon, it is increasingly integrated into modern electronic communication. That is why when Apple redesigned the peach emoji for an iOS 10 beta version, the company drew immense amount of flak, prompting a complete turnaround. Realistic iOS Style This issue has two important variables going for it. First, there is Apple’s drive to redesign the entire range of […]
Center for Public Integrity veteran John Dunbar has taken over as the organization’s new chief executive officer. Dunbar, 52, has worked at the Center for more than 12 years covering three separate stints. He first worked for the Center from 1999-2006, and during that time created the “Well Connected” project, an investigation of the political ties of the media and broadband industries. He came back briefly in […]
Photo Costa Rica players after a goal on Tuesday night. The Americans, tied for last place in their group, will have to wait four months to play again. Credit Moises Castillo/Associated Press SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — The defense was a shambles. The midfield had little presence. The attack, such as it was, just spun and sputtered. How bad was it? It is difficult to know where […]
Long-simmering tensions between Donald Trump and the Washington foreign policy establishment burst into the open on Tuesday after a respected former congressman quit the transition team and a leading neoconservative publicly warned colleagues not to join the incoming administration. Mike Rogers, former chair of the House intelligence committee who had been one of the senior figures advising the transition on national security, stepped down as head of […]
At the end of last week, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut interest rates. It could yet prove the last central bank to do so in the current cycle. For an inkling of why, look no further than the US government bond market. Treasuries are enduring their worst sell-off since the taper tantrum of 2013, when then Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke first signalled the end […]
TOKYO A pause in both the sell-off in global bonds and sharp rise in the dollar following Donald Trump’s election victory, together with Wall Street’s record high overnight helped Asian shares steady on Wednesday from a four-month low struck a day earlier. President-elect Trump’s plans to cut taxes and boost infrastructure spending would boost demand while his proposals to deport illegal immigrants and impose tariffs on cheap […]
|By Matein Khalid| Donald Trump’s shock win will have a profound impact on the GCC economic constellation via multiple feedback loops. His economic policies mean a much higher US dollar, anathema to GCC economies since it correlates with stock/property market crashes, banking stress and oil slumps. This is the macroeconomic linkage due to the GCC US dollar peg whose lessons the region learnt the hard way in […]
Photo Ohio State’s J. T. Barrett, right, after throwing a touchdown pass against Maryland on Saturday. To win the Big Ten East, the Buckeyes need Penn State to lose. Credit Patrick Semansky/Associated Press Following a weekend in which three of the top four teams lost, the expected shake-up in the College Football Playoff rankings was made official Tuesday night. After No. 1 Alabama (10-0), the sole undefeated […]
Rio Tinto’s lawyers uncovered more than a year ago internal emails about a questionable $10.5m payment to a consultant, but the mining company did not alert law enforcement authorities and investors about the matter until last week. The Anglo-Australian group said on November 9 it had notified authorities after discovering emails from 2011 that referred to the payment to the consultant, who helped head off a threat […]
The main US markets regulator on Tuesday approved a plan to introduce a vast surveillance system to monitor trading on the $23tn US stock market, ending six years of delays. The move by the Securities and Exchange Commission sets in motion a timetable to bring to reality its Consolidated Audit Trail, a single data warehouse that collects the millions of orders and quotes that daily pass across […]
By Lauren Hirsch and Liana B. Baker Snapchat has filed for an initial public offering, sources familiar with the situation said on Tuesday, which puts the messaging app a step closer to the biggest U.S. stock market debut since 2014. The Venice, California-based company could go public as soon as March and be valued at $20 billion to $25 billion, making it the largest IPO since Chinese […]
US President-elect Donald Trump is sending another strong signal that he plans to take a pro-growth and business friendly approach to economic policy, with leading New York investors Steve Mnuchin and Wilbur Ross on his short list for Treasury and Commerce secretary. The pair on Tuesday won the endorsement of billionaire investor and Trump backer Carl Icahn who turned to Twitter after speaking with the incoming Republican […]
A global trade union for construction workers that has criticized labour conditions in Qatar will inspect soccer stadiums being built for the 2022 World Cup. The Geneva-based Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), whose general secretary in 2015 said Qatar’s migrant workers faced conditions akin to “modern-day slavery”, will inspect safety on World Cup sites and labour accommodations starting next year, according to a statement by Qatar’s […]
By Paul Sandle | LONDON LONDON Google delivered a vote of confidence in London’s future as a technological hub after the Brexit vote on Tuesday by announcing plans for a new building in the King’s Cross area of the city that will house thousands of extra engineers. Google’s Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said computer science had a great future in Britain, citing the talent pool, educational institutions, […]
Photo A blanket of smog covered Tehran on Monday. Every year, heavy pollution gets trapped by the Alborz Mountains. Credit Atta Kenare/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images TEHRAN — This week, as a yellow blanket of smog settled in for what is typically a winter-long stay, Reza Shajiee, a prominent hipster socialite, posted a picture of himself on Instagram wearing a gas mask under his motorcycle helmet. The […]
Sweden’s Riksbank is debating whether to become the first significant central bank to issue a digital currency as it responds to an increasing move away from cash in the Scandinavian country. The world’s oldest central bank — it was the first to issue paper banknotes in the 1660s — is launching a project to examine what a central bank-backed digital currency would look like and what challenges […]
Alphabet’s Google announced the formation of an artificial intelligence group for Google Cloud, the tech company’s latest gambit to increase its market share in the lucrative cloud computing business. Diane Greene, who leads Google’s cloud business, announced the team at an event at the company’s facilities in San Francisco. The group will be led by Fei-Fei Li, an artificial intelligence professor at Stanford University, and researcher Jia […]
Big changes are coming to Overwatch. In addition to a new character in the form of the hacker Sombra and the new “Arcade” game mode, Blizzard is also changing up the game’s leveling system. It’s that last change that has some players worried. Each time a player levels up they get a loot box, which contains various skins, sprays and voice lines for the game’s characters. As […]
newslide ‘The Rock’ talks a future in politics, including potential White House run The Rock may have been voted Sexiest Man Alve by People, but the 44-year-old is interested in topping a more serious poll. After parleying a professional wrestling career as The Rock into leading roles in Hollywood, Dwayne Johnson is entertaining the idea of jumping into the political ring, including perhaps even a run for […]
Photo Mohamed Morsi, the ousted Egyptian president, during his trial in Cairo in June. Credit Mohamed Hossam/European Pressphoto Agency CAIRO — One of Egypt’s highest courts overturned a death sentence imposed on Mohamed Morsi, who was the country’s first democratically elected president and was ousted in 2013 by the military. Mr. Morsi, who is serving a life sentence in prison for offenses related to espionage and inciting […]
