Photo Syrians in the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital, Damascus, last week. Credit Abd Doumany/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The top United Nations diplomat working to resolve the civil war in Syria reported some progress Friday after nearly 10 days of talks, saying both sides finally had agreed on what he described as a “clear agenda” for further negotiations. The diplomat, […]
By Michael Martina and Philip Wen | BEIJING BEIJING Defying pressure for a strong increase in defence spending, China said on Saturday its military budget this year would grow about 7 percent, its slowest pace since 2010. Last year, with China’s economy slowing, the defence budget recorded its lowest increase in six years, 7.6 percent, the first single-digit rise since 2010, following a nearly unbroken two-decade run […]
Speaking to American state governors this week in the state dining room of the White House, Donald Trump hit on a point that is of no surprise to investors: healthcare is “an unbelievably complex subject”. The Affordable Care Act, one of the two key pillars of the healthcare reform signed into law by former US President Barack Obama in 2010, is 906 pages long — the table […]
Image: Cobalt This week Cobalt came out of stealth mode and introduced a mobile security robot. Just like a real security guard, the robot’s main job is to patrol a building to watch for any unusual activity and report anything suspicious to the appropriate authorities. “A fleet of Cobalt robots is comparable to an extremely competent guard with superhuman capabilities and omnipresent situational awareness across an entire […]
WASHINGTON U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Friday said there was “no comparison whatsoever” between his use of a private email account for state business while he was governor of Indiana and the email woes of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton’s use of a private email server during her time in government became a major point of criticism against her as the Democratic nominee during […]
Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage couldn’t get elected member of UK parliament, so he became a member of European Parliament. He also couldn’t get knighted by the Queen of England, so he naturally opted for the next best thing: Being knighted by a young girl with a plastic sword on Russia-funded television network RT. You can watch the heartwarming ceremony here: The ceremony didn’t stop with the plastic sword, […]
More than two hours of TV per day affects early academic skills in kindergartners, according to a new study by NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development in collaboration with Université Sainte-Anne (Canada). The research revealed too much TV decreases school readiness especially in children from low-income households. The alarming discovery urges parents to limit the time children spend on watching TV, with emphasis on […]
NBCUniversal has ramped up its partnership with Snap, investing $500m in the owner of disappearing messaging app Snapchat’s initial public offering. The Comcast-owned television group bought shares at $17 apiece this week. With shares jumping 44 per cent in their first day of trading on Thursday, and rising a further 14 per cent on Friday, NBCU’s stake is now worth more than $820m. The stake is the […]
Most experts advise against taking prescription drugs during pregnancy, if at all possible, especially in the first three months when the baby’s important organs are still developing. Ironically, pregnancy is also a challenging time in which a woman experiences almost all sort of aches and pains in her body. There’s soreness of the breasts, nausea, cramping, and vomiting. The terrible triad of pregnancy pains, however, would arguably […]
YANGIZABAR, Uzbekistan A newspaper editor jailed for 18 years in Uzbekistan says he was subjected to such harsh torture that he forgot the names of his daughters, but was kept alive by the support of human rights groups. Muhammad Bekjanov, 63, was released in February, months after the death of president Islam Karimov who had run the Central Asian nation for 27 years. Editor of the opposition […]
Alzheimer’s is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. Globally, nearly 47 million people are affected by the degenerative disease and that is likely to reach 131 million by 2050. Hindustan Unilever (HUL) might not have considered these stats. Or perhaps, they did… before creating this ad for the Indian market. There are more than 4 million Alzheimer’s patients in India. And a […]
March 3, 2017 by: Jamie Chisholm, Global Markets Commentator Friday 08:35 GMT Overview Stock markets are retreating as Wall Street equity futures dip further from this week’s record high as investors cash in some of their bullish bets on stronger growth following the election of US president Donald Trump. The pullback comes amid heightened expectations that the improving economic scenario will encourage the Federal Reserve to increase […]
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) appeared on Fox’s First 100 Days Thursday evening after a closed door briefing earlier in the day by FBI director James Comey concerning the agency’s investigation into claims of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The interview begins with host Martha MacCallum mentioning that Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), who attended the same meeting, was “rattled” over the lack of information Comey gave concerning Russian involvement in the election. Gowdy, on the other […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for March 3, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. Ellen Fortini rounds up 10 things to do today in the UAE. Want to see your event listed here? Email us with the details and contact information at listings@thenational.ae newslide Abu Dhabi Yoga class Start […]
Why Georgetown? Georgetown was there long before Washington, DC was, and it still has some pretty stern objections to being regarded as just another district of the American capital. Formerly a port town, it has now become Washington’s most obviously moneyed-up area – where people come to dine and mooch around shops and galleries. Part of the appeal comes from the architecture. Many 18th- and 19th-century buildings […]
ABU DHABI // Jet fighters soared across the skies and tanks rolled along the beaches to the delight of the thousands who turned out for the largest military spectacle yet seen in the UAE. Complete with paratroopers, helicopters, surveillance aircraft, fighter jets and ground combat troops, Union Fortress – an Armed Forces event that included a mock hostage rescue from a ship off Abu Dhabi Corniche – […]
Uber’s US rival Lyft is seeking $500m in a new fundraising round to provide fresh ammunition as the transportation company takes its fight with Uber to a growing number of US cities, according to two people close to the process. The fundraising comes at a time when Uber has been struggling with a series of public relations crises, including allegations of sexual harassment and a video of […]
GENEVA The Syrian opposition declined to congratulate Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on retaking historic Palmyra from Islamic State militants on Thursday and suggested the sight of the city changing hands again was risible. “It is the second time that we see this handover and this is obviously being used for political reasons,” chief opposition negotiator Nasr al-Hariri told reporters in Geneva, adding that he considered both sides […]
By Lauren Hirsch | NEW YORK NEW YORK Snap Inc’s (SNAP.N) shares continued to defy doubts about the company’s early-stage business model and slowing user growth, jumping nearly 50 percent in their first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The owner of the Snapchat messaging app raised $3.4 billion in its initial public offering on Wednesday night, more than the $3 billion Facebook (FB.O) […]
All branches of the Armed Forces participated, including the Quick Reaction Force of the Presidential Guard, supported by the UAE Joint Aviation Command, the Navy, the Air Force, Air Defence and the Army. Antonie Robertson / The National The event was attended by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and sheikhs, military commanders and officials. Ryan […]
The US broke its long drought of hot technology initial public offerings on Thursday as shares in Snap soared more than 40 per cent in their market debut despite questions about corporate governance and profitability at the owner of vanishing messaging service Snapchat. A pack of traders huddled around the desk of Snap’s designated market maker for more than an hour after the opening bell at the […]
The Fitbit Blaze The wearables market is under constant scrutiny for its growth potential, but despite a few moments of uncertainty, 2016 turned out to be a blockbuster year for the category overall. According to the latest data from IDC, Wearable shipments globally hit an all-time high of 33.9 million units in Q4 2016, an increase of nearly 17 percent year over year. Shipments for the entire […]
Having warned that “everything will grind to a halt on March 5th” due to the under-appreciated debt-ceiling debacle that looms over Washington, and exclaiming that “what is going on today is complete insanity,” former Reagan Budget Director David Stockman is rapidly losing faith that anything can be done… “I’ve thrown in the towel because he’s not paying attention and he’s not learning anything and he’s making ridiculous […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for March 2, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. Ellen Fortini rounds up 10 things to do today in the UAE. Want to see your event listed here? Email us with the details and contact information at listings@thenational.ae newslide Al Ain Cultural event As […]
