Ambitions to turn London into a hub for the $70bn insurance-linked security market, one of its fastest growing sectors, face being scuppered by a slow moving regulatory approach. The government wants to introduce new rules that would make it possible to issue these ILS securities in the UK, but industry insiders say that the proposed timetable for approving them would make the new regime uncompetitive against established […]
Dec 14, 2016 10:30 am IST As for the rest of the world, 2016 has been an eventful year for India. From the cash crunch to pollution to terrorist attacks to the Rio Olympics, there has been plenty for Indians to talk about online. Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have ranked the most talked about events, videos, people and hashtags of 2016. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Twitter said Indian Prime […]
DUBAI Eleven headless bodies have been dumped in a nature reserve in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden, a local news website reported on Wednesday. The Aden al-Ghad news website quoted a security source in the city as saying that the male bodies were found on Tuesday evening in the al-Hiswa reserve, west of Aden. It was not immediately clear who killed the men and why, […]
Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has said he personally killed suspected criminals when he was mayor of a southern city in order to set an example for police. Duterte made the comments in a speech late on Monday night to business leaders as he discussed his campaign to eradicate illegal drugs, which has seen police and unknown assailants kill thousands of people since he became president on 30 […]
An exciting X-ray imaging technology has been successfully developed to the point where it is now ready for translation into all kinds of beneficial applications, including potentially life-saving uses in security and healthcare. (via WSJ)
By Patricia Zengerle | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. Senate Democrats plan to enlist accountants and legal experts to pore through the business records of Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state, Democratic aides said. Tillerson could face a rocky confirmation process, given concerns among both Democrats and Republicans about his ties to Russia. If Tillerson can overcome the skepticism of Republicans, […]
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has deepened its rift with its Gulf allies over the ongoing conflict in Yemen, blocking a transfer of precision munitions to Saudi Arabia because of concerns about civilian casualties that administration officials attribute to poor targeting. Administration officials said on Tuesday that the White House had made the decision to block the sale by Raytheon of about 16,000 guided munitions kits, which […]
(L-R) Sheikh Tahnoon bin Mohammed, Ruler’s Representative of the Eastern Region of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Ruler of Fujairah, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Sheikh Suroor bin Mohammed and Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah, offer condolences to Sheikh Rashid bin Hamdan Al Nahyan on the death of […]
In a massive (in a literal sense, printing at 25 pages and over 8,000 words as there is little new information revealed in the piece itself) expose issued by the NYT tited “The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the U.S.” and meant to piggyback on the WaPo’s recent reporting and solidify the left-leaning media’s case that Hillary lost the election, the New York Times try to […]
By Matt Spetalnick and Timothy Gardner | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Barack Obama will make his case directly to President-elect Donald Trump not to derail the recent U.S.-Cuba detente, the White House said on Tuesday, insisting that “turning back the clock” would be damaging to American interests and the Cuban people. Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, said the outgoing administration hopes to persuade the incoming Trump […]
By Laila Bassam and Angus McDowall | ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT Syrian rebels prepared to withdraw from Aleppo on Wednesday after a ceasefire agreement that ended years of fighting in the city and gave President Bashar al-Assad his biggest victory yet after more than five years of war. The agreement was a result of talks between Russia, Assad’s main ally, and Turkey, a leading backer of the […]
It’s rare for a court to prohibit a newspaper from writing about something — even when it implicates national security — and even rarer for such an order to be upheld. Lawyers for New Jersey battling a local newspaper in court say in their case, their demands for prior restraint should trump the tallest of First Amendment […] (via WSJ)
ERBIL, Iraq — The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that a United States airstrike had killed three Islamic State operatives who were involved in mounting terrorist attacks in Europe, including the deadly assault in Paris in November 2015. The three men were killed on Dec. 4 in an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria, the Islamic State’s declared capital, said Peter Cook, the Pentagon press secretary. He described the men […]
ABU DHABI // The Arab world is entering a new era, involving reform and changes in its mindset, according to the former Egyptian foreign minister and secretary general of the Arab League. In an interview with The National, Amr Moussa said the region’s young citizens, who make up about 70 per cent of the population, are better educated and have aspirations for the future. “They reject what […]
By Eric M. Johnson A 20-year-old British tourist who prosecutors say caused a security scare at a Donald Trump campaign rally in Las Vegas by trying to wrestle a gun from a police officer was sentenced on Tuesday to a year and a day in prison. Michael Sandford, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James Mahan in Las Vegas after pleading guilty in September under a plea […]
In this July 20, 2015 file photo, a pedestrian crosses in front of a vehicle as part of a demonstration at Mcity on its opening day on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, Mich. Cars that wirelessly talk to each other are finally ready for the road, creating the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths, improve the safety of self-driving cars and someday maybe even […]
Qualcomm said it will work with Google to combine Android Things, an Internet of things operating system, and its Snapdragon processor. The move could give Google a much larger ingredient brand play in the smart home, Internet of things and smart city deployments. If the collaboration is successful, Android will be embedded with the processors in the IoT food chain. Keep in mind that Qualcomm recently acquired […]
ABU DHABI // Security and economic and cultural integration will help the Arab world build a prosperous future, experts from the region said on Tuesday. They were speaking on the second day of the Fikr 15 conference, which is aimed at finding solutions to the risks, challenges and threats facing Middle East unity and identity. “The threats that face the security of the Arab world are external […]
By Laila Bassam and Stephanie Nebehay | ALEPPO, Syria/GENEVA ALEPPO, Syria/GENEVA The United Nations said on Tuesday it had reports that Syrian soldiers and allied Iraqi fighters had summarily shot dead 82 children, women and men in recaptured east Aleppo and a military source said the last rebel pocket could fall “at any moment”. The Syrian army has denied carrying out killings or torture among those captured, […]
Russia’s rouble has cemented its position as the best-performing currency of the past three months, enjoying the benefits of a strong oil price at a time when the US appears to be tilting towards a more accommodating relationship with Vladimir Putin. A 2.3 per cent rise in the rouble’s value against the dollar on Monday was followed by a further half per cent gain during Tuesday trading. […]
ANKARA Turkish authorities have detained 568 people over alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group in the last two days, the interior ministry said on Tuesday. The operations, which followed the twin bombing in Istanbul on Saturday that killed 44 people outside a soccer stadium, were launched in 28 provinces across Turkey from the northwest to the southeast, the ministry said in a statement. […]
DUBAI Many disasters loom over one of the poorest countries in the Middle East as it suffers through nearly two years of war, among them a colossal pile of waste outside Yemen’s capital leeching toxic waste into its diminishing water supply. Hardly a paragon of waste management before the war, Sanaa was at least able to separate out the most dangerous materials from the 10-million-ton hill thanks […]
Boeing Chinese hackers are targeting aviation systems in the quest for information and intellectual property which will boost the country’s competitiveness, security researchers say. Cyberattacks against the aviation industry are nothing new, but with the inclusion of Internet-capable devices at the basic level of embedded devices to in-flight Wi-Fi and connected aviation systems, there are more avenues than ever that threat actors can exploit. Successful attacks which […]
December 13, 2016 by: Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington Donald Trump is poised to name Rex Tillerson, chief executive of ExxonMobil, as his secretary of state, ignoring criticism that the oil and gas man is too close to Russian president Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. Mr Trump tweeted on Monday that he would formally unveil his choice for the high-profile cabinet position on Tuesday morning. US media reported […]
