Photo Prince Alwaleed bin Talal in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2015. In a four-page letter posted on his personal website, the prince argued that “it is high time that Saudi women started driving their cars.” Credit Fayez Nureldine/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images A prominent Saudi prince and business magnate has added his voice to the debate over women’s rights in his country, urging it to abandon its […]
Ulster Bank Parent RBS Fails Bank of England Stress Test “Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)(RBS.L) will cut costs and sell assets to boost capital levels, it said on Wednesday after failing this year’s Bank of England stress test, which warned of a “challenging” outlook for Britain’s financial system. The state-backed lender rushed out a statement following the announcement to say it would take a range of actions, including […]
SHARJAH // Soldiers, students, police and taxi drivers were just some of those calling into the Sharjah Blood Transfusion and Research Centre in the build up to National Day celebrations to give blood to those who need it most. The centre extended its opening hours from 8am to 8pm for the public holiday to encourage more people to visit the clinic and top up the nation’s blood […]
While the attacks are currently targeting Tor users, the publication of the exploit code allows anyone to use it, potentially putting all Firefox users at risk. Image: Mozilla Users of online anonymity network Tor are facing a new attack that uses nearly identical code to a Firefox exploit used by the FBI in 2013. Tor co-founder Roger Dingledine says Mozilla is working on a patch for Firefox […]
Credit: Concordia University In the age of WikiLeaks, Russian hacks and increased government surveillance, many computer users are feeling increasingly worried about how best to protect their personal information—even if they aren’t guarding state secrets. Luckily, there’s a solution: Hypnoguard, powerful new software developed by Concordia University researchers to safeguard data even when computer is in sleep mode. Sweet dreams are made of this “Protecting […]
5774 25 by Shannon K. O’Neil October 14, 2016 Demonstrators chant slogans while flashing the Oromo protest gesture during Irreecha, the thanksgiving festival of the Oromo people, in Bishoftu town, Oromia region, Ethiopia, October 2, 2016 (Reuters/Tiksa Negeri). Fighting the Worst Kleptocracies Worse than kleptocracies are violent kleptocracies, as defined in a new report by advocacy group The Enough Project. In these, leaders run the state as […]
Oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday as Opec gathered in Vienna to try and clinch the first supply deal since crude prices plummeted two years ago. Ministers from the 14-member cartel held pre-meeting talks at the Park Hyatt hotel this morning a final attempt to bridge their differences. Iran’s oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said he was “optimistic” when asked by reporters if there would be an agreement […]
By Jack Kim and Ju-min Park | SEOUL SEOUL South Korean opposition parties vowed on Wednesday to push ahead to try to impeach President Park Geun-hye amid a growing influence-peddling scandal, rejecting her offer to resign, and called on members of her Saenuri Party to join them. In a dramatic move that shifted the burden of resolving the crisis engulfing her presidency, Park asked parliament on Tuesday […]
/By Maxwell Wessel/The term “big data” is ubiquitous. With exabytes of information flowing across broadband pipes, companies compete to claim the biggest, most audacious data sets. And businesses of all varieties — old and new, industrial and digital, big and small — are getting into the game. Masses of social, weather, and government data are being leveraged to predict supply chain outages. Enormous amounts of user data are being […]
Photo Yoenis Cespedes, who helped the Mets reach the wild-card game in 2016, agreed to a four-year, $110 million deal. Credit Al Bello/Getty Images This was the test, the proving ground for the Mets as annual playoff contenders. At some point, they would have to take a risk to keep their new identity. By agreeing to a reported four-year, $110 million contract extension with Yoenis Cespedes on […]
HANOI A high-profile Vietnamese activist on Wednesday lost a bid to overturn a 20-month jail term for protesting against illegal land grabs, her lawyer said, after a judge upheld a lower court ruling that had outraged human rights groups. Vietnam’s boom in real estate in recent years has spurred protests by small landowners evicted to make way for construction projects. Many say the evictions are illegal, with […]
By Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler | VIENNA VIENNA OPEC began on Wednesday debating a deal to curtail oil production and prop up the price of crude, with Iran and Iraq resisting pressure from Saudi Arabia to participate fully in any action. Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries started an informal meeting at 0700 GMT at the Vienna Park Hyatt hotel and were […]
You can jump right into the spirit of National Day almost anywhere in the UAE. Here’s our round up of some of the largest and most eye-catching events happening this weekend, to celebrate the country’s 45th birthday. City Walk Festival Dubai’s first outdoors mall is pulling out all the stops for National Day, hosting 30 international folk bands, as well as traditional fashion shows and art shows. […]
LONDON Outgoing CIA Director John Brennan has said it would be the “height of folly” for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to tear up Washington’s deal with Tehran because it would make it more likely that Iran and others would acquire nuclear weapons. “It could lead to a weapons programme inside of Iran that could lead other states in the region to embark on their own programmes,” Brennan […]
November 30, 2016 by: Anjli Raval and David Sheppard — Vienna What is happening?Opec oil ministers from the 14-member producer group start their official meeting around 10am (GMT) on Wednesday in Vienna as they attempt to secure the first supply deal in eight years. Meetings traditionally last for between two and eight hours, but trying to predict the duration of such a gathering is near impossible. Oil […]
Nov 30, 2016 10:58 am IST Electronic-payment company Euronet Worldwide Inc. cut its financial projections for the quarter, citing a cash crunch that is wreaking havoc through India’s economy. Shares, up 3% this year, fell 5.4% to $70.66 in after-hours trading. India, which is replacing its largest-denomination bank notes to fight corruption and counterfeiting, is the fifth-largest market by revenue for the Kansas-based company, accounting for $78.7 […]
Submitted by Kelli Sladick via Tenth Amendment Center, During the last eight years, the Obama administration failed to live up to its promise reverse the Bush era’s mass surveillance of American citizens. In fact, it was expanded and justified. If you were silent, the sweeping power controlled by the president may not be on your radar for the right reasons. While there is a deep fear resonating, […]
BEIJING China called on Wednesday on Taiwan to stay out of Hong Kong’s affairs, saying self-ruled Taiwan was “talking nonsense” about the former British colony and warning it not to damage Hong Kong’s stability. Chinese leaders are concerned about a fledgling independence movement in Hong Kong, which returned to mainland rule in 1997 with a promise of autonomy, and recent protests in the city. Beijing staged a […]
Replicas of R$100,00 banknotes are hung on a clothesline during a protest of the national union of prosecutors against money laundering in Brazil, at the Esplanade of Ministries in Brasilia March 18, 2015 (Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino). The Brazilian Federal Revenue Secretariat (SRF) has some good news to cheer: a big haul of fines and taxes from assets held offshore by Brazilians. The deadline for filing under Brazil’s equivalent […]
TAIPEI/BEIJING Taiwan has expressed its “stern opposition” to Malaysia’s deportation of 21 Taiwanese suspected of multi-million dollar telecoms fraud to China, the latest example of a problem that has strained cross-Strait ties. China’s official Xinhua news agency said the 21 Taiwanese were among 74 fraud suspects who were escorted from Malaysia by Chinese police and arrived in Wuhan in central China late on Tuesday. The other 53 […]
SHARJAH // Hundreds of Emirati families and residents from across Sharjah kicked off celebrations on Tuesday ahead of the 45th National Day. Boys dressed in army uniforms and girls wearing gowns in the colours of the UAE flag enjoyed traditional yola dancing and performances of plays at National Park on Airport Road. Families sat on the grass, drinking coffee and tea and revelling in the festivities. Emirati […]
Pokémon Sun and Moon players, you now have your first global mission: catch 100 million Pokémon in two weeks. The Event Schedule The challenge has already been issued, and you only have until Dec. 13 to accomplish it. Does catching 100 million Pokémon in just a few weeks’ time sound like an impossible task? Well, don’t you worry, as you’re not alone on this one. As the name […]
By Takaya Yamaguchi | TOKYO TOKYO Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 is likely to cost 22.6 trillion yen ($201 billion), slightly more than double a previous estimate, according to a source involved in government discussions on the issue. In 2013, Japan’s industry ministry estimated the disaster would cost about 11 trillion yen ($97.9 billion), including compensation to those forced to flee their homes or who lost […]
Beijing is launching an investigation into alleged corrupt dealings by the spouses and children of officials in the city’s municipal government, in a pointed reminder to more powerful residents of the city to rein in their relatives’ behaviour. An audit of their assets would take place next year and on a rotating basis in subsequent years, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday night. Like London […]
