A Blackberry sign is seen in front of their offices on the day of their annual general meeting for shareholders in Waterloo, Canada June 23, 2015. Reuters/Mark Blinch/Files TORONTO BlackBerry Ltd named Carl Wiese as head of global sales on Monday, an appointment that comes at a critical juncture for the smartphone industry pioneer, which needs to spur top-line growth in order for its turnaround efforts to […]
Tonight we here in the US of A bid a fond farewell to Top Gear when the last show featuring the trio of Jeremy “The Orangutan” Clarkson, Richard “The Hamster” Hammond, and James “Captain Slow” May airs on BBC America. I’m sure I don’t need to go into the details about how their run on the show came to an end, but there was some doubt whether […]
Secretary of State John Kerry in Vienna on Sunday. By MICHAEL R. GORDON and DAVID E. SANGER July 12, 2015 VIENNA — Negotiators from Iran and six world powers are getting closer to a landmark agreement that would limit Tehran’s nuclear ability for more than a decade in return for sanctions relief, diplomats said on Sunday. Although the talks adjourned for the day with no agreement, negotiators said they would renew their efforts […]
The White House is seen covered by snow in Washington February 21, 2015. Reuters/Yuri Gripas/Files WASHINGTON The federal government could find more cyber intrusions as it takes a close look at its sprawling and sometimes creaky systems in the wake of massive hacks, the nation’s chief information officer told Reuters. “I think it’s a realistic chance, and I think this is true no matter where you go. […]
If you read the news regularly, you read about data breaches and massive hacks just about every week. That can make you a little nervous about safeguarding your financial information. A new MasterCard survey reveals you are not alone. Seventy-seven percent of consumers are anxious about their personal and financial information being hacked. In fact, the fear of a hack is higher than the fear of compromised […]
The mother of Avraham Mengistu, who is said to be held in Gaza by Hamas, before a news conference in Ashkelon, Israel, on Thursday. By ISABEL KERSHNER July 9, 2015 JERUSALEM — Two Israeli civilians are being held by Hamas in Gaza, one of them a man who walked into the Palestinian coastal territory in September, the Israeli authorities said on Thursday. Lifting a 10-month news blackout on the […]
An unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket explodes after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida, June 28, 2015. Reuters/Mike Brown/Files CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla SpaceX is still homing in on why its Falcon 9 rocket exploded after liftoff last week, unable to resolve conflicting data radioed back to the ground before the explosion, CEO Elon Musk said on Tuesday. “It’s a huge blow to SpaceX. We take these missions incredibly […]
SAN FRANCISCO When it comes to dashboard displays that are more like smart phones, two things are clear: Customers want them, and automakers are intent on supplying them. But are they really a good idea? Car companies answer with an emphatic yes. They say outsized dashboard displays that behave more like smart phones will boost revenue and attract buyers. And they also insist the new screens will […]
Metallic seals like this one have long been used to prevent unauthorized access to nuclear equipment. New electronic and fiber-optic seals beam back confirmation that they remain intact. By DAVID E. SANGER and WILLIAM J. BROAD July 6, 2015 VIENNA — On the outskirts of this graceful city, the Iran Task Force of the International Atomic Energy Agency is preparing to move quickly if American and Iranian negotiators here manage to cut a […]
Metallic seals like this one have long been used to prevent unauthorized access to nuclear equipment. New electronic and fiber-optic seals beam back confirmation that they remain intact. By DAVID E. SANGER and WILLIAM J. BROAD July 6, 2015 VIENNA — On the outskirts of this graceful city, the Iran Task Force of the International Atomic Energy Agency is preparing to move quickly if American and Iranian negotiators here manage to cut a […]
A ball boy holds a ball on Court 18 at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, July 3, 2015. Reuters/Henry Browne Deep in the bowels of the All England Club, an army of employees from one of the world’s technology giants are teaching a computer named Watson to master tennis. Seven-times Wimbledon champion Roger Federer can relax though. A silicon-chipped cyborg is not about to wreak havoc […]
INTERNATIONAL. Greece’s seeming hour-by-hour descent into chaos at the end of the second quarter has fashioned an intensely uncertain framework casting markets at the mercy of headline risk. It is with that ever-changing caveat that Saxo Bank publishes its Q3 Outlook ahead of the Greek referendum on EU membership which, as things stand, will take place July 5. The outlook for Q3, therefore hangs in the balance, […]
ABU DHABI // After paying nearly Dh60,000 in annual tuition fees, parents at Raha International School have been told that they must also foot the bill for expensive textbooks. On June 22, the school issued a notice to parents of pupils entering the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma programme, saying they had until the end of last month to place an order with the school to purchase the […]
According to a recently published white paper, cable boxes have the potential to become protocol-agnostic Internet-of-Things (IoT) hubs and in the process begin to address the competing protocols and closed systems that continue to hold back the IoT industry. The paper was written by Susan Crouse, director of product management for Alticast, which sells products and software for multi-screen viewing and TV interactivity. In the white paper, […]
Under a new 10-year agreement that starts in 2016, AOL will be taking over a large part of Microsoft‘s display ad sales for numerous sites and services, including MSN, Xbox, Outlook.com and Skype. As part of the partnership, announced Monday, AOL will adopt Microsoft’s Bing as its exclusive provider of search and search advertising services across all of its properties. In a separate deal, first reported Monday […]
DUBAI // Ramadan is a less stressful time despite the late nights, poor sleep and grumpy mornings, a survey shows. The Sleep Cycle survey of 1,000 residents looked into the sleeping patterns of residents during the holy month. Only 34.7 per cent of respondents said they felt stressed, compared with 37.9 per cent who felt under pressure the week before Ramadan. › View the results: Hours slept […]
In a memo to employees on Thursday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella spelled out his mission for the company: “to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.” Microsoft will also aim to “reinvent” productivity and business processes, build an intelligent cloud platform and create a more personal computing experience for its users, he said. Nadella’s vision statement comes just a week after the […]
As the civil war in Yemen continues, many families say they are living in constant fear. Parents say that their older children have been wetting their beds at night, and that younger ones are so traumatized that they are sent running for cover by the sound of a door slamming. The fighting between Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed government forces has displaced a million people, destroyed cultural heritage […]
A BlackBerry Passport smartphone is shown at its official launching event in Toronto, September 24, 2014. Reuters/Aaron Harris/Files WATERLOO, Ontario BlackBerry (BB.TO) shares fell on Tuesday as doubts surfaced about the sustainability of the sharp growth the former smartphone pioneer reported in crucial software revenues, an area BlackBerry’s CEO said he will augment via acquisitions. The company’s shares were down 3.5 percent in afternoon trading. They had […]
Many reporters have developed an ad hoc system of using Google-related tools in their work. Now the tech giant wants to consolidate those tools and make them easier for journalists to use. On Monday, the company announced the launch of a new site called News Lab, which intends to connect journalists with programs, data and other resources — all from Google — to help in their reporting. […]
JERUSALEM — A United Nations investigation found “serious violations of international humanitarian law” that “may amount to war crimes” by both Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip during their bloody battle last summer, according to a report released on Monday in Geneva. The report, written by a two-member independent commission of inquiry and submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council, said that “impunity prevails […]
Windows users, rejoice. Over the weekend, Microsoft announced that its latest operating system, Windows 10, will be free for anyone who wants it. Previously, the company said that it would make the new OS available as a free upgrade, but only to certain users who were currently running Windows 7 or 8. That arrangement would have excluded anyone still running Windows XP, Vista, or even Windows 7 […]
ABU DHABI // In her first Ramadan in the UAE, trainer and triathlete Roisin Thomas has pledged to fast Ramadan both to challenge herself, to become a better athletic professional and to empathise with others. “Living here I see the workers on the streets and the carwash boys that go through hours of sweating, so I can really empathise with them,” said Ms Thomas. “I want to […]
SANTIAGO, Chile — A haunting, yellowish glow radiates from the tiny section of empty wooden benches and crumbling concrete behind the north goal at Estadio Nacional. All around this space there is noise: 47,000 soccer fans screaming and jumping in delight as Chile’s national team plays Ecuador in the opening game of the Copa América. But no one sits on those wooden benches. They are reserved in […]
