CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Private launch company SpaceX plans to fly two paying customers on a tourist trip around the moon using a spaceship under development for NASA astronauts and a heavy-lift rocket that has not yet flown, Chief Executive Elon Musk told reporters on Monday. The launch of the first-ever privately funded tourist flight beyond the International Space Station is tentatively targeted for late 2018, Musk told […]
The UAE is one of the world’s leading food and beverage markets, worth Dh52.4 billion in 2015, according to global market research group Euromonitor. Dubai alone has about 7,500 places to eat, from street cafes and fast-food outlets to fine-dining and high-end restaurants established by big-name chefs. Many will showcase their best dishes during Dubai Restaurant Week, which ends on Saturday. Click here for our guide. Jean-Luc […]
Gold’s almost 10 per cent advance this year will be in jeopardy should US president Donald Trump’s key address to Congress on Tuesday reignite the dollar rally and prospect for higher interest rates. The yellow metal has been one of the chief beneficiaries of the cooling this year of the so-called “Trumpflation” trade, which sent the dollar to a 13-year high in early January and helped buoy […]
Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and 5G are Huawei’s biggest opportunities for growth in Australia, according to the Chinese network technology giant, which is pushing into the IoT space via research programs and project partnerships. Speaking at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on Monday, Huawei Australia chair John Lord said providing NB-IoT solutions for such businesses as the agricultural sector, wineries, cattle stations, and energy utilities […]
The number of mobile phone users globally will top 5 bn by the middle of this year, according to a study The number of mobile phone users globally will surpass five billion by the middle of this year, according to a study released Monday by GSMA, the association of mobile operators. With populations in Asia, and notably India, on the rise, the number, which stood at 4.8 […]
In a Facebook post, Barbara Tyler is merciless. “Hey, did anyone think of proofreading your headline today before the paper went to press? I am pretty sure Trump did not replace his vice president. Fake news at its best. Sometimes I wonder why I continue to subscribe to your paper.” Tyler was responding to an extraordinary slip-up by The Bryan College-Station Eagle. The Texas newspaper’s top headline […]
Saudi Arabia may increase its domestic gasoline prices by 30 percent from July, industry sources said, part of a reform plan by the world’s top oil exporter to align its fuel prices with global benchmark levels. In December 2015 the kingdom raised the price of 95 octane gasoline to 0.90 riyal ($0.24) per litre from 0.60 riyal. However, that still kept Saudi Arabia among the countries with […]
On Tuesday evening, Donald Trump will head to Capitol Hill to deliver an address to both houses of Congress. Such speeches have provided the US president’s predecessors with the opportunity to convey three main messages: their assessment of the country’s overall situation, the domestic legislative programme they hope Congress will pass in coming months and the main areas of global focus — all this in the context […]
LONDON The threat of a new Scottish independence referendum is creating unnecessary uncertainty and division, a government spokesman said on Monday, responding to media reports that Scottish nationalists were preparing to demand one. “The question is not whether there could be a second referendum, it is whether there should be one – and the clear answer to that is no,” the spokesman said. “The decision to remain […]
By Marton Dunai | BUDAPEST BUDAPEST Hungary has begun building a second line of fence along its southern border with Serbia, a government spokesman said on Monday, a move likely to exacerbate criticism from some of the country’s European Union partners. Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s right-wing government considers migration to be one of the largest threats to the status quo in the EU. But officials in Brussels […]
Good morning. Here’s our morning roundup of all the media news you need to know. Want to get this briefing in your inbox every morning? Subscribe here. Anti-Trump fervor is especially rampant along the Acela Corridor, and now our most famous paper surfaces with a provocative — if belated — ad campaign at a time of marketing need. On Thursday, The New York Times announced a campaign […]
Submitted by Alex Gorka via The Strategic Culture Foundation, The rifts within the EU continue to widen as Poland and Hungary join together in opposition to the EU bureaucracy. Soon after Poland’s ultra-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party came to power in October 2015, the Polish parliament passed a law allowing the government to appoint the judges of its choosing to the highest court and not recognize […]
In the previous episode of the currency wars, a few years ago, the Euro-Dollar exchange rate was in the spotlight. This has now completely disappeared to the background and whilst the countries of the Eurozone must be pretty happy with the weak currency (which boosts the export and increases the demand for domestically produced goods), the United States are less than happy as it weakens the position […]
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Jonathan Stempel | NEW YORK NEW YORK Billionaire Warren Buffett, whose stock picks over several decades have enriched generations of Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) shareholders, delivered a black eye to the investment industry on Saturday, urging ordinary investors to buy plain-vanilla index funds. “When trillions of dollars are managed by Wall Streeters charging high fees, it will usually be the managers who reap […]
Top executives at some of the world’s biggest banks and insurers will have to vouch for their companies’ resilience to cyber attacks, under tough rules laid down by New York’s state regulator. A new regulation, which takes effect on March 1, requires companies supervised by New York’s Department of Financial Services to establish and maintain a cyber security programme that can protect consumers’ private data and “ensure […]
In a break with more than three decades of tradition, President Trump on Saturday announced he would not attend the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2017 The dinner will still proceed as scheduled, according to a statement […]
Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering (IPO) could encourage other Gulf countries to list their oil assets, a leading regional economist said, but the oil giant must clear uncertainties over taxation, OPEC policy and ownership of crude. Nasser Saidi, a former economy minister of Lebanon, told Dubai Eye Radio in an interview that Aramco has to address how the company will separate its assets and liabilities from those […]
GENEVA A United Nations peace envoy said a militant attack in Syria on Saturday was a deliberate attempt to wreck peace talks in Geneva, while the warring sides traded blame and appeared no closer to actual negotiations. Suicide bombers stormed two Syrian security offices in Homs, killing dozens with gunfire and explosions including the head of military security, prompting airstrikes against the last rebel-held enclave in the […]
Back pain affects about 700 million people and is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Now, a new study shows that it is not just uncomfortable and debilitating, but also a potential indicator of early death. Examining the health and death records of 4,390 older Danish twins, a team of researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia found that those who reported lower back pain had a […]
By Tom Miles and Yara Abi Nader | GENEVA GENEVA Syria’s opposition is impatient for face-to-face peace talks in Geneva, but things could fall apart if Russia does not pressure President Bashar al-Assad on holding talks and push it to abide by a ceasefire, an opposition member said on Saturday. The United Nations opened the peace talks with a symbolic ceremony on Thursday, attended by representatives of […]
Appearing on TV is nerve-wracking enough, but would you be willing to try breastfeeding while you were on the air? One brave mom gave it a try, and the result is fantastic. Rachel Sklar, feminist media figure and founder of The Li.st, appeared a few weeks back as a guest on CBC news to talk about Barbie’s recent makeover. At first glance, you’d think she was just […]
Akamai has published its Q4 2016 State of the Internet/Security report As always, an interesting read and an opportunity to look at trends in attacks. Not all trends are up and to the right. As the report states, Q4 2016 was “the third consecutive quarter where we noticed a decrease in the number of attack triggers”. Still, “the overall 2016 attack count was up 4% as compared […]
Saudi Arabia’s economy is forecast to continue slowing this year, dragged down by negative growth in the oil sector, according to Jadwa Investment. Its latest report said growth in the oil sector will turn negative due to the kingdom’s compliance with OPEC production cuts, while non-oil sector growth should rebound but “remain subdued” during 2017. Jadwa forecast that growth in the non-oil private sector will accelerate from […]
Donald Trump delivered a vehement and sometimes contradictory screed against the press during his appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday, calling media reports “fake news” while expressing his support for the First Amendment. During the speech, which came on the penultimate day of the CPAC conference, Trump was especially critical of news organizations that use anonymous sources, saying that reporters “shouldn’t be allowed to use […]
