Last year was truly unforgettable. It is the year we celebrated Mara’s 20th anniversary and launched three new businesses: an infrastructure investment vehicle for Africa; an online jobs portal, Mara Jobs; and a last-mile delivery business, Mara Xpress. It is also the year we launched the inaugural Ashish J Thakkar Global Entrepreneurship Index 2016 to better understand entrepreneurial environments around the world. But perhaps what will stick […]
The Matrix PowerWatch is charged by body heat. The market for wearable devices grew steadily in the past year, but one category of wearables — fitness bands — overwhelmingly dominates the market. Within that segment, Fitbit is the clear leader. Yet exhibitors and hosts at CES 2017 sounded optimistic that there will soon be plenty of room in the marketplace for more than just Fitbit. More than […]
A predicted collision of two stars may just give us a spectacular show in the year 2022. A thorough observation that began in 2013 led Larry Molnar, a Calvin College Professor, along with his students and his colleagues Karen Kinemuchi and Henry Kobulnicky to predict that a binary star is most likely going to collide and explode into a red nova in 2022, give or take a […]
In October 1938, the one-hour adaptation of H G Wells’s The War of the Worlds, directed by Orson Welles, was broadcast on CBS Radio in the United States. A story of aliens invading rural New Jersey rendered as news broadcasts and authentic-sounding updates, it was a little too convincing. There are legends of panic in the streets, mass hysteria and heart attacks. That may have been the […]
Our round-up of the week’s best comment and analysis from the Financial Times focuses on debunking misleading parallels between Reaganomics and Trumponomics and what changes the new US president’s policies will force in investor behaviour. The selection is taken from our Markets Insight and Smart Money columns, written by industry contributors and FT commentators. The world is too different from the 1980s for Donald Trump to achieve […]
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. Even when it comes to brutality, little is left to the media imagination these days. The latest example of the decline in consensus about the acceptable involves the Facebook video of a mentally disabled Chicago man who was attacked and […]
How’s your weekend going? Redditor, Law School Graduate, and nimble navigator William Craddick (/u/PleadingtheYiff / brand new Twitter handle @williamcraddick) has made quite the name for himself on Reddit’s “The_Donald” forum. In just three short months, Craddick has managed to rack up over 153,000 “post karma” and 48k “comment karma,” which (if you’re not familiar) is impressive. The guy is an incredibly effective dot-connector, perhaps owing it to his legal training – often posting lengthy reads that […]
Sources within the Office of the Prime Minister speaking to The Malta Independent on Sunday have indicated that the audit commissioned into the financial affairs of Minister Konrad Mizzi will be published next month to coincide with a fact-finding mission to Malta by the European Parliament’s Panama Papers committee. The committee, named the PANA Committee, is due to visit Malta on 20 February. The […]
The shooting rampage at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport – which left five people dead – has shaken America. In the midst of this nightmare unfolding for unsuspecting travelers, there was an unsung hero – the MacBook Pro. For the unfamiliar, on Friday, Jan. 6, 26-year-old Esteban Santiago pulled out a gun from his checked-in luggage and suddenly opened fire on innocent people who were collecting their […]
ABU DHABI // Traffic was smooth in the capital on Sunday morning as hundreds of thousands of pupils returned to school after a three-week holiday. Abu Dhabi Police monitored roads around schools to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion and there were no reports of major road accidents. “Traffic was manageable and everything was under control,” Col Jamal Al Ameri, head of public relations at Abu Dhabi […]
By Joe Brock | JOHANNESBURG JOHANNESBURG The chances of South African President Jacob Zuma’s ex-wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, becoming the next leader of the African National Congress were given a boost on Saturday with the endorsement of the ruling party’s women’s division. The ANC will pick a new leader at a conference in December and, given its national dominance since coming to power at the end of apartheid […]
Russia has demanded Apple and Google to take down the app of LinkedIn, the professional social networking website that was blocked in the country last year, from local app stores. The move mirrors China’s request for Apple to remove apps by The New York Times from the country’s App Store. LinkedIn Taken Down From App Stores In Russia Smartphones users in Russia, whether they are using iOS or Android […]
Photo The Raiders’ Connor Cook, the first quarterback in N.F.L. history to make his first start in a playoff game, was hit by Jadeveon Clowney. Credit Eric Gay/Associated Press HOUSTON — Brock Osweiler redeemed himself after last month’s benching. Jadeveon Clowney established himself as a postseason force. And the Houston Texans got their first playoff victory since the 2012 season, beating the Oakland Raiders, 27-14, on Saturday. […]
Oil started the first week of 2017 with a bang but ended it with a whimper, as the Opec fireworks that dominated the last quarter gave way to the more mundane reality of monitoring if the cartel will make good on its pledged cuts. Brent crude oil briefly touched an 18-month high above $58 a barrel on the first day of trading but there was little fresh […]
On the heels of Czech President Milos Zeman’s warnings of a possible “super-Holocaust” carried out by Muslim terrorists, urging citizens to arm themselves, WaPo reports the country’s interior ministry is pushing a constitutional change that would let citizens use guns against terrorists if police are delayed or unable to make their way to the scene of an attack. Czech president Milos Zeman had previously proposed that economic […]
Qualcomm At CES 2017, Qualcomm has demonstrated a number of ways its technology will support the 5G future, from powering autonomous drones to connected health care. Giving weight to its investments and innovations, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf on January 6 shared new research commissioned by Qualcomm to show the impact 5G will have on the future economy. By 2035, when 5G’s full economic benefit should be realized, […]
This year will doubtless throw up even more global-scale curveballs than the tumultuous previous 12 months. But whatever happens, at least there’s solace to seek from some tantalising fresh metal due to roll out between now and the end of December. Here are seven debutants we’re keenly anticipating. newslide Alfa Romeo Stelvio The Italian serpent brand is the latest to join the SUV horde, but its new […]
Saudi Arabia is a historically entrepreneurial country. Jeddah has been a mercantile centre for centuries. Even Riyadh and the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah began as trading stations on the spice and silk trails. What has changed since the rise of the oil industry? Not the entrepreneurial spirit of the country but the institutional environment for entrepreneurship to flourish. As we contemplate the country’s future as […]
Submitted by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.com, Yes, the narrative of the “new normal” has been around for so long now that many people have simply grown used to it. The assumption is that the fiscal “new normal” has become the fiscal “normal,” and though the fundamentals continue to strain under the weight of poor global demand and historic debt levitated by extraneous fiat stimulus, the masses feel […]
By Christine Murray | SAN LUIS POTOSI, Mexico SAN LUIS POTOSI, Mexico Ford Motor Co’s (F.N) abrupt move to scrap a planned $1.6 billion car plant in central Mexico has spooked a network of suppliers who bet on a growing customer base and dramatized the risk that Donald Trump’s agenda poses to the country’s broader economy. Many auto parts makers had started to expand in anticipation of […]
An expert panel has issued new guidelines on Thursday to reduce the likelihood of babies to develop potentially deadly food allergy. Peanut Allergy Peanut allergy affects about 2 percent of children in the U.S. Those who are allergic to peanuts need to avoid a wide range of peanut-containing food for risk of developing unwanted reactions. Although relatively common, peanut allergy can be potentially deadly. In 2014, a nursing […]
By Laith Agha | LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES A witness fearing retribution in the murder trial of wealthy real estate scion Robert Durst, whose ties to several slayings were chronicled in HBO’s documentary “The Jinx,” will be allowed to testify without revealing his or her identity, a Los Angeles judge ruled on Friday. Durst, 73, who attended the hearing in a wheelchair, pleaded not guilty in November […]
5 January 2017 The General Authority for Regulating the Telecommunications Sector (TRA), represented by the aeCERT, has won membership in the general assembly board for computer emergency response teams (CERTs) in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The announcement came during the TRA’s participation in the agenda of the annual conference and meeting of the general assembly of CERTs in the OIC, entitled “Toward a responsive nation […]
To understand the Xperia XZ, you need to understand the genesis of its name, and therefore the weird rollercoaster ride that has been Sony’s Xperia line of phones in recent years. In February 2016, the Japanese electronics behemoth announced that its flagship Z-line of Xperia phones had ended, and in its place would be the more mainstream X-line of devices. Essentially, this meant that Sony was going […]
