Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives won a surprise victory on Sunday in regional elections in Germany’s most populous state, giving Europe’s most powerful leader a big boost in the run-up to national elections in September. The Christian Democrats took control of North Rhine-Westphalia from their Social Democrat rivals, dealing a heavy blow to SPD leader Martin Schulz as he bids to unseat Ms Merkel in Berlin. Meanwhile, the […]
By Dustin Volz and Eric Auchard | WASHINGTON/FRANKFURT WASHINGTON/FRANKFURT U.S. and European officials scrambled to catch the culprits behind a massive ransomware worm that caused damage across the globe over the weekend, stopping car factories, hospitals, shops and schools, as Microsoft pinned blame on governments for not disclosing more software vulnerabilities. The attack, which leveraged malicious software that security researchers widely believe was stolen from the U.S. National […]
President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya has called on China to rebalance an increasingly skewed trade relationship between Africa and the rising superpower, arguing that Beijing must do more to tackle a widening trade deficit. Africa’s trade balance with China has moved decisively into deficit due to a fall in the price of many African commodities, such as oil, copper, iron ore and cocoa. In 2015, the most […]
By Michel Rose and Jean-Baptiste Vey | PARIS PARIS Emmanuel Macron took power as president of France on Sunday, vowing to restore the country’s status in Europe and the world and heal divisions in society — a nod to the bitter campaign the pro-EU centrist fought to defeat a far-right leader. The 39-year-old former investment banker, unknown to the wider public three years ago and whose May […]
Having single-handedly hounded Home Capital Group – the company which we predicted in 2015 would be “ground zero” for any potential Canadian financial crisis, and has emerged as the Canada’s equivalent to the infamous New Century which in 2007 presaged the upcoming global financial crisis – into near oblivion, noted chicken-farmer and short-seller, Marc Cohodes, over the weekend revealed the full details behind his latest short thesis: […]
In this May 12, 2017 photo, a display panel with an error can be seen at the main railway station in Chemnitz, Germany. Germany’s national railway says that it was among the organizations affected by the global cyberattack but there was no impact on train services. Deutsche Bahn said early Saturday that departure and arrival display screens at its stations were hit Friday night by the attack. […]
If you’re creating a message to educate, inform, or persuade, don’t underestimate the power of a well-executed cartoon. A new study suggests if you’re trying to convince the public to change their stance on a topic such as wind energy, you may be more successful if you use a cartoon rather than a photograph. Source
By Ayesha Rascoe | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The top Democrat in the U.S. Senate said on Sunday that Democrats would consider refusing to vote on a new FBI director until a special prosecutor is named to investigate President Donald Trump’s potential ties to Russia. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said his caucus has not yet made a decision on whether to withhold their votes, but added that the […]
BERLIN German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives scored a major upset in a key state election on Sunday, finishing ahead of the ruling Social Democrats (SPD) and boosting their hopes of retaining power in September’s federal vote, an ARD TV exit poll showed. The Christian Democrats (CDU) saw a strong surge of support in Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), where the SPD has ruled for […]
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi | AMMAN AMMAN More than 1,500 rebels and their family members left the devastated district of Qaboun on the edge of the Syrian capital Damascus after more than two months of aerial strikes and artillery shelling, rebels and state media said on Sunday. The rebels had agreed overnight to a secret evacuation deal after being cornered in a small pocket of Qaboun, which lies […]
Do you use Google Chrome? Do you want to become a Google Chrome guru? Read on! What follows are a collection of tips, tricks, and tools to help you get the most from Google Chrome. There are tips on speeding up the browser and making it consume less RAM, ways to increase your privacy, and extensions that you can install to help you get more done in […]
DUBAI Former president Mohammad Khatami, considered the spiritual leader of Iran’s reformists, urged voters on Sunday to re-elect President Hassan Rouhani and support his policy of seeking to end Iran’s isolation from the rest of the world. Iran’s hardline security and judicial powers, which operate separately to the presidency and are close to Iran’s ultimate authority – Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – have banned media from […]
Private dining in the UAE is no longer the exclusive domain of the rich and famous. Heeding requests from customers with a desire for closed-door rooms and secluded enclaves for entertaining, restaurants in the country are increasingly providing spaces where patrons can host private get-togethers. While some packages can cost thousands of dirhams, if your tastes are gourmet or your group exceeds 30, there are deals to […]
By Benjamin Kang Lim | BEIJING BEIJING China and the Philippines will start bilateral consultations on the disputed South China Sea this week, the Philippine ambassador to Beijing said, as Manila looks to ease tensions with Asia’s top economic power. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is visiting Beijing to attend a summit on China’s ambitious new Silk Road plan, has opted to court China for its business […]
By Erik Kirschbaum | BERLIN BERLIN The names of German military barracks honouring a handful of World War Two officers should changed to show that the country’s post-war armed forces have made a clean break from their Nazi past, Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday. Having come in for criticism herself after accusing the Bundeswehr armed forces of “weak leadership” amid a national debate […]
Scientists have produced a powerful green laser‹the highest average power green laser ever generated by a single fiber-based laser that will be crucial to experiments in nuclear physics at the Lab¹s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). (via WSJ)
Portugal won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time on Saturday with a gentle, romantic ballad that challenged the event’s decades-long reputation for cheesy, glittery excess. Salvador Sobral – who has a serious heart condition and is awaiting a transplant – sang Amar Pelos Dois (Love For Both), written by his sister Luisa, in a high, clear tenor accompanied by quiet strings and a piano. Unlike […]
Newly re-elected President of the Chamber of Advocates George Hyzler said that lawyers are concerned about the effect that the Panama Papers and other recent allegations, and the negative international coverage resulting from them, will have on the financial services sector in particular. Asked about the effects of such revelations on the financial services sector, and whether lawyers are concerned about this, Dr Hyzler – who […]
India’s $1.6tn stock market broke new ground last week, with the benchmark index hitting an all-time high as confidence builds that the government’s reform agenda will strengthen growth and corporate earnings. But the stock market’s 14.9 per cent rally since January 1 has divided opinion among fund managers who disagree over whether Indian equities can make further gains. “The most common question that I am asked by […]
BEIJING Nepal is in talks with China to build a cross-border rail link that may cost up to $8 billion, and funding could be expected after Nepal formally signed up to Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative, a Nepali finance ministry official said on Sunday. Yug Raj Pandey, an under secretary at Nepal’s Ministry of Finance, told Reuters the proposed 550 kilometre-long railway would connect China’s western Tibet […]
Authored by Paul Criag Roberts, “Fifty years ago, the streets of Leningrad taught me one thing: If a fight is inevitable, you must strike first.” Vladimir Putin In George Orwell’s 1949 dystopian novel, 1984, information that no longer is consistent with Big Brother’s explanations is chucked down the Memory Hole. In the real American dystopia in which we currently live, the information is never reported at all. […]
Emmanuel Macron will formally become French president on Sunday and will immediately be put to the test by challenges from choosing a prime minister to pressing Germany to back a tougher EU stance on trade and investment. Mr Macron, a 39-year-old Europhile pro-business centrist, is taking over a country on edge after an unpopular Socialist presidency and a rollercoaster campaign marked by the qualification of the far-right […]
By Ju-min Park and Jack Kim | SEOUL SEOUL North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Sunday in defiance of calls to rein in its weapons programme, South Korean and U.S. officials said, days after a new leader took office in the South, pledging to engage it in dialogue. The U.S. Pacific Command said it was assessing the type of missile but it was “not consistent with […]
ABU DHABI // Nuclear experts have proposed recommendations for governments on planning their use of energy sources. There is scepticism about the use of nuclear energy in some countries because of concerns about safety and security, said John Bernhard, a former Danish ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency. “A decisive element when introducing nuclear power or when increasing the use of it is, therefore, to take […]
