Middle East By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN September 9, 2015 WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders on Wednesday postponed debate on President Obama’s landmark nuclear accord with Iran amid a revolt by some Republicans who claimed the White House had not disclosed secret side agreements on the deal. The delay of the historic debate because of Republican infighting opened a new twist in the White House’s effort to move forward with the […]
Apple unveiled its iPhone 6S (pictured) and 6S Plus today at its annual new product blowout in San Francisco. The form factors and screen sizes of the two phones (4.7 inches and 5.5 inches, respectively) are the same as previous models, but that’s about where the similarities end. The big news on the iPhone 6S and 6S plus is the new input feature, previously called Force Touch […]
UAE. JLL, the world’s leading real estate investment and advisory firm, has today published a special report on the middle-income housing segment in the Middle East and North Africa region. The report highlights the social and economic impact of a marked shortfall in the required supply of middle-income housing, suggesting that significant efforts are needed to address the current imbalance. The report clearly outlines that this shortage […]
|By Matein Khalid| The Federal Reserve could well raise its overnight borrowing rate at the next FOMC monetary policy conclave on September 17. Though contagion from China’s 40% stock market meltdown has triggered bear markets from Hong Kong to Frankfurt and plunged Asian/emerging markets equities into ta ghastly replay of 1998’s epic meltdown (General Suharto’s overthrow, the Russian rouble default, Malaysia’s capital controls, the run on the […]
WASHINGTON — Three Democratic senators announced on Tuesday that they would back President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, bringing to 41 the total number of Senate supporters as critics in Congress prepared to open a historic debate on the accord. With the support of the three senators — Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Gary Peters of Michigan and Ron Wyden of Oregon — the White House gained additional […]
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Tuesday rallied Republican opposition to President Obama’s agreement with Iran, denouncing it as a “shameful deal” that would risk a new Holocaust and possibly lead to the first nuclear attack since Nagasaki. In a full-throated speech to supporters at the American Enterprise Institute here, Mr. Cheney argued that Mr. Obama and his team had abandoned their own criteria for […]
JERUSALEM — A conference of the Palestinian National Council that had been scheduled for next week has been indefinitely postponed amid boycotts by some political factions and debate about the agenda and structure of the meeting. The 700-plus-member council, which has not had a regular session since 1996, was slated to convene in the West Bank city of Ramallah next Monday and Tuesday to consider, among other […]
HAIFA, Israel — THE day after six world powers reached a nuclear agreement with Iran in July, the Israeli Knesset’s foreign affairs and defense committee called on Israel’s government to “continue to closely follow the precise and strict implementation” of the agreement “to ensure that Iran is not continuing to fool the international community as it did in the past, while strengthening the historic alliance between the […]
WASHINGTON — Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, announced on Sunday that she will support the nuclear agreement with Iran that has roiled many in her Florida district. “I’ll be casting my vote to support the deal and if necessary sustain the president’s veto,” she told Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” on CNN. While she called it a “gut wrenching” […]
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry told his Russian counterpart on Saturday that the United States was deeply concerned by reports that the Kremlin may be planning to vastly expand its military support for President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, warning that such a move might even lead to a “confrontation” with the American-led coalition, the State Department said. Mr. Kerry called Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, “to […]
When it comes to Microsoft Windows 10, the momentum is huge. At least that’s the message Redmond is sending to the masses. Nick Parker (pictured), corporate vice president of Microsoft’s OEM division, took the stage at the IFA 2015 consumer electronics show in Berlin today to talk about the new operating system and how much traction it’s gaining even in the early days of its release. “Our […]
Middle East By KAREEM FAHIM September 4, 2015 SANA, Yemen — The United Arab Emirates said on Friday that 45 of its soldiers were killed fighting the Houthi insurgents in a province east of Yemen’s capital, in a major setback for the coalition of Arab forces that have been trying for months to vanquish the rebels. The death total was the largest in a single day for the military […]
A new update for Facebook’s Conversion Lift tool aims to make things a little easier for advertisers on the social network’s site. While the previous version compared audience members who were served ads and those who were not, the latest iteration will allow companies to compare multiple ads to see which are more effective. The updated version of Conversion Lift is designed to help advertisers discover which […]
Middle East Refugees from Syria walked down the railway in Horgos, Serbia, on Sunday before crossing into Hungary. By ANNE BARNARD September 4, 2015 BEIRUT, Lebanon — Arresting images of desperation on the West’s doorstep have brought Syria, for the moment, back to worldwide attention: refugees cramming into train stations and climbing border fences; drowned Syrian toddlers washing up on beaches, a girl in polka dots, a boy in […]
WASHINGTON — Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland on Wednesday came out in support of President Obama’s Iran nuclear accord, the 34th Democrat in favor. Her decision gave Mr. Obama the votes needed to assure the deal will survive a congressional challenge. “Some have suggested we reject this deal and impose unilateral sanctions to force Iran back to the table. But maintaining or stepping up sanctions will only […]
Middle East President Hassan Rouhani of Iran, arrives on Tuesday at a session of the Assembly of Experts, the country’s top clerical body in charge of appointing, supervising and even dismissing the supreme leader. By THOMAS ERDBRINK September 1, 2015 TEHRAN — Flexing their muscles, some of the toughest anti-American voices in Iran said on Tuesday that the United States remains their country’s top enemy, guilty of “uncountable” crimes. […]
Middle East Memo From the West Bank In the 10th year of a four-year term in the absence of national elections, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has lost the public’s confidence. A poll published on Tuesday showed trust in him falling to 16 percent from 22 percent in March. By JODI RUDOREN September 1, 2015 RAMALLAH, West Bank — Mahmoud Abbas, the aging Palestinian president, may be paving the way […]
Middle East By THOMAS ERDBRINK August 31, 2015 TEHRAN — Iranian security forces arrested a prominent reformist politician on Monday, hours after he held a news conference thanking President Hassan Rouhani for a more open political atmosphere, several Iranian news agencies reported. The arrest of the politician, Ali Shakorirad, put a damper on the hopes of Iran’s reformists. Just last week they launched the Islamic Iranian National Union Party, […]
INTERNATIONAL. The first Barclays UK Prosperity Map has revealed that booming house prices and returns in equity markets, in addition to higher wages and employment rates have resulted in every UK region becoming more affluent, and has driven a 41% increase in numbers of millionaires since 2010. Longer-term, growth in millionaires is expected to return to more normal levels, with a 9% increase in the UK expected […]
CAIRO — An Egyptian judge on Saturday handed down unexpectedly harsh verdicts in the trial of three journalists from the Al Jazeera English news channel, sentencing them to three years in prison on charges that legal experts said were unfounded and politically motivated. The verdict on Saturday was especially stunning because Egyptian officials had repeatedly signaled that they viewed the trial as a nuisance that had brought […]
A Microsoft logo is seen at a pop-up site for the new Windows 10 operating system at Roosevelt Field in Garden City, New York July 29, 2015. Reuters/Shannon Stapleton NEW YORK Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) avoided a potentially costly setback to its mobile phone business on Friday as the U.S. International Trade Commission declined to block the import of its devices in a longstanding patent dispute. The decision […]
INTERNATIONAL. The enduring impasse between Israel and the Palestinians in the peace negotiations and their changing internal political dynamics has made it impossible for them to resolve the conflict on their own. Leaving them to their own devices is no longer a viable option as the continuation of the conflict is hazardous and potentially explosive. The resumption of bilateral peace negotiations with US mediation alone will not […]
|By Matein Khalid| A month ago, I published a column predicting history’s first Made in China global recession. Wall Street finally agreed with me last week after we witnessed the most brutal crash in global equities since October 2008. I have predicated a 20% fall in US equities several times in the last three months and the 1000 point drop in the Dow last week only reinforces […]
By Kingsely Ohajunwa| Corruption has been a clog in the wheel of progress in Nigeria; there are too many corrupt individuals in Nigeria; the level of corruption in the civil service is gargantuan and mind-blowing; political office holders embezzle funds meant for projects, progammes and welfare of the people; Nigeria has continually been ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in the world; the level of […]
