President Trump unveiled an alternate universe Thursday in which virtually every problem of his is the creation of the press. In a rambling, angry and contradictory media meltdown, Trump bashed “the failing New York Times,” The Wall Street Journal, CNN and the BBC, among others, following a fleeting announcement of a new nominee for Labor Secretary. It constituted what at minimum is a quadrupling down — or might […]
Theresa May has ordered her top officials to examine Kraft Heinz’s proposed takeover of Unilever to see if it raises concerns for the wider British economy and merits government intervention. The $143bn takeover approach is a big test for Mrs May’s industrial policy: last year she criticised Kraft’s 2010 takeover of the British chocolate maker Cadbury — the US company reneged on a promise to retain factories […]
By Maher Chmaytelli and Isabel Coles | BAGHDAD/SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq BAGHDAD/SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq U.S.-backed Iraqi forces on Sunday launched a ground offensive to dislodge Islamic State militants from their remaining stronghold in Mosul, in the western part of the city, and put an end to their ambitions for territorial rule in Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of the offensive, asking Iraqi […]
MUNICH U.S. Republican senators plan to introduce legislation to impose further sanction on Iran, accusing it of violating U.N. Security Council resolutions by testing ballistic missiles and acting to “destablise” the Middle East, a U.S. senator said Sunday. “I think it it is now time for the Congress to take Iran on directly in terms of what they’ve done outside the nuclear programme,” Senator Lindsey Graham, a […]
Hackers are carrying out surveillance on members of the Israeli military by hacking into their Android phones in order to monitor activity and steal data – potentially including photos and audio recordings – according to security companies. Developed and deployed by currently by a so-far unidentified group, ViperRAT is designed to collect sensitive information from infected devices, with those behind the malware seemingly most interested in images […]
19 February 2017 Manama – (The 13th Annual Middle East Insurance Forum (MEIF 2017), being held in partnership with the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), is set to commence on 20 February 2017 in the Kingdom of Bahrain with the expected participation of more than 400 high level attendees to explore “Current Challenges and their Implications on the Regional Insurance Industry – The Road Ahead”, the theme of this year’s event. A […]
BAGHDAD A suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt on Sunday in the “My Fair Lady” neighborhood of Mosul that was retaken recently from Islamic State, killing one and wounding nine others, security sources said. A restaurant in the same area was hit on Feb. 10 by a suicide bombing that killed at least 10 people. U.S.-backed forces dislodged Islamic State from the east side of Mosul in […]
In light of the recent flurry of leaks by the so-called “deep state”, which includes such agencies as the NSA and FBI and which last week lead to the resignation of Mike Flynn after a phone recording of his phone conversation with the Russian ambassador was leaked to the WaPo and other anti-Trump publications, an article published on January 12 by the NYT has generated renewed interest. […]
Donald Trump has closed out the first month of his presidency by returning to his raucous campaign style and lashing out at the media as an agenda-bearing component of a corrupt system determined to undermine his time in office. A day after dubbing journalists the “enemy of the American people” at the end of the rockiest week so far of this White House’s short existence the new […]
special feature Harnessing IoT in the Enterprise The tech revolution is spreading to every corner of the earth with the Internet of Things, and it’s enabling data analytics and automation in ways never before imagined in business. Depending on whose numbers turn out to be right, there will be somewhere between 20 and 200 billion “things” connected to the internet by 2020. We all know about the […]
YANGON Two members of Myanmar’s security forces were injured in a clash with militants on the troubled Rakhine State border with Bangladesh, Myanmar state counselor’s office said, casting doubt on the government’s claim that the region had stabilised. The government last week said the situation in northern Rakhine had stabilised and that it had ended a four-month security crackdown on Rohingya Muslims. The security operation had been […]
For populists on both sides of the Atlantic, “expert” is now an expletive, a synonym for out-of-touch elitists swindling the common man. This was perhaps most obvious during the Brexit referendum campaign, when the UK Justice Secretary and “Leave” advocate Michael Gove told a stunned interviewer that “the people of this country have had enough of experts … from organizations with acronyms saying that they know what is best.” Polling indicates […]
By Julia Edwards Ainsley | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The Department of Homeland Security has prepared new guidance for immigration agents aimed at speeding up deportations by denying asylum claims earlier in the process. The new guidelines, contained in a draft memo dated February 17 but not yet sent to field offices, directs agents to only pass applicants who have a good chance of ultimately getting asylum, but does […]
Pakistan stocks exchange (PSX) remained under pressure during the week ended February 17, 2017 as worsening security situation and political uncertainty kept the participants on the sidelines, dealers said. An analyst at Arif Habib Limited (AHL) said mixed trend was witnessed at the local bourse with levels above the psychological 50K mark seemingly untenable. “Resistance became the underlying theme of the market given reservations over the ongoing […]
BEIJING China understands South Korea’s need to protect its security but Seoul still needs to respect Beijing’s concerns about the deployment of an advanced U.S. anti-missile system, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his South Korean counterpart. China has repeatedly expressed opposition to South Korea’s planned deployment later this year of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, which Seoul and Washington say is needed […]
February 18, 2017 by: Kathrin Hille in Moscow Russia has moved to recognise documents issued in separatist-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine, a step which could heighten tension with Kiev just as efforts are underway to reinforce a shaky ceasefire in the region. According to an order by president Vladimir Putin published by the Kremlin on Saturday, Moscow will temporarily recognise identification documents, education and qualification documents, birth, […]
President Donald Trump took his press-bashing to a new level on Friday when he called journalists from The New York Times, ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC “the enemy of the American people.” The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 17, 2017 The comment touched off a […]
By Jonathan Landay | MUNICH MUNICH Russia has shown no change in behaviour or policies to embrace U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer of better relations or cooperation in fighting Islamist militants, U.S. officials and lawmakers say. Trump’s latest overture was delivered by Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday to a security conference in Germany held amid European worries over U.S. commitment to the continent’s security and […]
By John Irish and Andrea Shalal | MUNICH MUNICH Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine agreed on Saturday to use their influence to implement a ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy weapons from Monday in eastern Ukraine. Fighting has recently escalated between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists in the region, refocusing global attention on a simmering conflict that has strained relations between Russia and the West. “On Feb. […]
Finnish Prime Minister Sauli Niinistö made it clear to CNBC last week that while Russia’s actions involving Crimea must come to a peaceful resolution, the most important issues facing Europe right now are terrorism and migration. Despite Finland pledging $55 Million Euros to NATO, Niinistö also made it clear that European nations need to ultimately be responsible for their own security. I think that Europeans start to understand […]
There are a range of jobs being spun up with Microsoft Azure instances, many with attractive salaries. The Azure-related position for which companies are paying the most is that of enterprise architect. Photo: HubSpot In the United States, companies report allocating $125,000 a year for their Azure architects, on average. Developers and sales and marketing specialists adept in Azure, Microsoft’s cloud-based infrastructure offering, follow at $100,000 a […]
By Jeff Mason | WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. Retired general and former CIA chief David Petraeus is no longer a candidate to be President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, thwarted by differences over who controls staffing decisions within the White House’s National Security Council. Petraeus did not make the cut of those invited to Florida for an interview with the president this weekend, […]
MOSCOW President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian authorities on Saturday to temporarily recognise civil registration documents issued in separatist-held areas of eastern Ukraine, a decision strongly criticised by Ukraine’s president. The decision will enable people from the conflict-hit region to travel, work or study in Russia. According to Putin’s order, published on the Kremlin website, Russia will temporarily recognise identity documents, diplomas, birth and marriage certificates and vehicle […]
Al-Nahedh: Structural Changes, Regulatory Compliance and Cyber Security Major Challenges Facing Banks 18 February 2017 Kuwait – Group Chief Executive Officer at Kuwait Finance House (KFH), Mazin Saad Al-Nahedh stressed the importance of practically facing the economic challenges facing the GCC banks in light of the fall in oil prices, indicating the necessity of applying best practices and highest standards in the structural changes, regulatory compliance and […]
