“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.” So Henry Temple, the third Viscount Palmerston, described British foreign policy in 1848, at the height of its imperial pomp. “England is a power sufficiently strong, sufficiently powerful to steer her own course.” It is more than fanciful to imagine US […]
Watergate. Spying by the National Security Agency. Bungled protection by the Secret Service. These stories have two things in common: Each were major, consequential pieces of journalism about the federal government that got big results. And none of them were broken by the White House press corps. With less than two weeks before Donald Trump is inaugurated as the nation’s 45th president, news organizations have begun plotting […]
After India’s government took 86% of currency out of circulation a couple of months ago, its main policy think-tank has a new plan for the country: rendering plastic money “irrelevant” by 2020. Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog, which helps the government formulate long-term policies, said Sunday that India was in the midst of a “huge disruption” in financial technology and innovation, which will enable […]
By Jonathan Landay | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The risk of conflicts between and within nations will increase over the next five years to levels not seen since the Cold War as global growth slows, the post-World War Two order erodes and anti-globalization fuels nationalism, said a U.S. intelligence report released on Monday. “These trends will converge at an unprecedented pace to make governing and cooperation harder and to […]
By Tulay Karadeniz (Corrects to U.S. support in fourth paragraph) By Tulay Karadeniz ANKARA President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday he believes Turkey’s dialogue with the United States will gain pace after President-elect Donald Trump takes office and that they will reach a consensus on regional issues. Relations between Washington and Turkey – a NATO ally key to the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State in Syria and […]
Meryl Streep brought politics back to Hollywood at the Golden Globes on Sunday evening with a powerful acceptance speech that excoriated Donald Trump and his mocking of a disabled reporter during the election campaign. Ms Streep, Hollywood’s most decorated and revered actress with three Oscar wins, was accepting the Cecile B DeMille award for lifetime achievement when she tore into Mr Trump. In front of a primetime audience […]
Who would now warn publicly against “Islamic fascism,” when the hard-liners sought to influence elections? Who would state openly that there should be a nuclear compromise? Continue reading the main story Mr. Rafsanjani said things others would not dare to say, all agreed, and his voice had at least created some tolerance for debates. “Hard-liners will be happy, but this is the start of a period of […]
By Ju-min Park | SEOUL SEOUL South Korean special prosecutors team have filed fresh charges including bribery against a close friend of impeached President Park Geun-hye, the central figure in a political scandal that has engulfed the country, the team said on Monday. Choi Soon-sil, in jail since late October and on trial since last month, already faces charges of abuse of power and attempted fraud. On […]
BEIRUT Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said his government is ready to negotiate on “everything” in proposed peace talks in Kazakhstan but said it was not yet clear who would represent the opposition and no date had been set. Assad also said a ceasefire brokered by Turkey and Russia, his most powerful ally, ahead of the talks was being violated and the army’s role was to recapture an […]
As we browse the perfume counters, spritzing our wrists with the latest creations, what is it, we may ponder, about the power of fragrance that unlocks our imaginations and captivates our senses? Why is it that certain smells connect to the parts of the brain that govern emotion and memory, like remembering the perfume one’s mother wore? Some of these olfactory mysteries are unravelled in Paris, the […]
Some analysts say Russia appears to have arrived at an accommodation in which the Turks are moving to establish a security zone in northern Syria to preclude Syrian Kurds from setting up an autonomous region. In return, the Turks appear to be backing off their efforts to unseat President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, who, with Russian help, is strengthening his hold on the country’s major cities to […]
A week after a gunman killed 39 people in an Istanbul nightclub, the suspected assailant remains at large and secular Turks are feeling under attack. ISIS claimed the shooting, calling it an assault on what it called “a pagan holiday.” The government’s pledge to defend all lifestyles hasn’t kept an atmosphere of fear from descending on some of Istanbul’s secular neighborhoods. By way of contrast, some Turks […]
Imagine a dim light which is insufficiently bright enough to illuminate a room. An amplifier for such a light would increase the brightness by increasing the number of photons emitted. Photonics researchers have created such a high gain optical amplifier that is compact enough to be placed on a chip. The developed amplifier would help to efficiently increase the power of the transmitted light before it is […]
By Stephen Kalin and Ahmed Rasheed | MOSUL, Iraq/BAGHDAD MOSUL, Iraq/BAGHDAD Iraqi special forces battling Islamic State reached the eastern bank of the Tigris river in Mosul on Sunday for the first time in a three-month, U.S-backed offensive to capture the city from the militants, who still control its entire western half. The group also claimed one of two attacks at two Baghdad markets in which 20 […]
Submitted by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com, In a major setback for organized labor, Kentucky passed right-to-work legislation and repealed the state’s prevailing wage law. Organized labor suffered its first major legislative setback due to the 2016 elections on Saturday, when Kentucky Republicans gave final approval to right-to-work legislation and repealed the state’s prevailing wage law. Both bills are expected to be signed into law by the governor, […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for January 9, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. newslide Abu Dhabi Comedy show Have some fun with the crew from Yalla Laughs, featuring top local and regional comedians, including headliner Maher “Jokah” Barwany (pictured), as well as Akshay Ahuja, Jon Boulton, Colin Armstrong […]
By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin | DUBAI DUBAI Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died on Sunday at the age of 82, state media reported, a big blow to moderates and reformists deprived now of their most influential supporter in the Islamic establishment. “Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani was taken to hospital after heart attack and more than an hour long efforts by doctors to revive him were not successful,” the […]
Yet many Western analysts believed that he sought a less confrontational relationship with the United States than other powerful figures in the Iranian hierarchy, for whom hostility toward Washington was a touchstone of ideological purity. Continue reading the main story Mr. Rafsanjani, for instance, was credited with suggesting that “Death to America” be dropped from the litany of slogans at Tehran’s Friday prayers, a weekly moment of […]
The iPhone 7 – 10 years after the release of the first iPhone, Apple is under pressure to come up with a new wonder The smartphone continues to change the world a decade after the debut of the iPhone, even as Apple is under pressure to come up with a new wonder. The iPhone—introduced by late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007—set the stage for […]
The Cohort is Poynter’s bi-monthly newsletter about women kicking ass in digital media. Happy 2017, friends! I gave up on yearlong resolutions a few years back, but I still adore fresh beginnings and all the promise they hold. Instead of setting specific goals this year, I’m focusing on the kind of work I want to do, the kinds of days I want to have, the kind of purpose […]
ABU DHABI // The Gulf has been left without the protection of a naval strike force after the United States Navy withdrew out its sole aircraft carrier last month. With the Dwight D Eisenhower returning to Norfolk, Virginia, at the end of December and its relief, the George H W Bush yet to leave port in the US, the gap of potentially two months is seen as […]
A year ago Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince and the power behind the throne, electrified the global energy industry by revealing plans to float the world’s largest oil producer. The ambitious proposal for an initial public offering in state-owned Saudi Aramco is the centrepiece of the hard-charging 31-year-old’s vision to overhaul an economy seen as too heavily dependent on natural resources. One year on […]
Here are the big questions for investors ahead of the coming trading week. What impact will Donald Trump’s press conference have on markets? “I will be having a general news conference on JANUARY ELEVENTH in N.Y.C. Thank you.” That was how the president-elect last week [3] tweeted news of what is surely the first big market-moving event of the year — if it takes place. Mr Trump […]
Descriptive analytics — looking into what has happened in the past — is commoditized. Traditional BI, reports, and dashboards are well understood and used in one way or another across a wide spectrum of organizations to keep an eye on their operations. Predictive analytics — trying to predict what will happen in the future — is in the limelight. Today many organizations are scrambling to utilize predictive […]
