BERLIN German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that openness, not populism, polarisation or isolation, was the answer to the world’s challenges of globalisation and digitalisation. “I think that, a quarter of a century after German unification, after the end of the Cold War, a new historical era will perhaps be replaced by another one,” Merkel said in a speech to church leaders in Wuerzburg. Even though […]
SYDNEY The dollar was under pressure in Asia on Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump’s focus on trade protectionism fueled suspicions his administration might seek a competitive advantage through a weaker currency. The talk of trade wars favored safe-haven Treasuries and the Japanese yen while leaving equities mixed. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.1 percent but Tokyo’s Nikkei slipped 0.3 percent. Sentiment […]
The proliferation of fake news on social media, particularly Facebook, and some websites on the internet is a growing concern. In an attempt to solve this problem, researchers developed a “vaccine” that can immunize people against fake news. Inspired By Vaccines Vaccinating a person against a virus exposes the body to a weakened version of the threat. The exposure is just enough to help build the body’s […]
ABU DHABI // Abu Dhabi has made official its bid to host the Special Olympics World Games in 2019, which is said to be the first sporting event in the region for athletes with special needs and disabilities. The official agreement for hosting the Games was signed on Monday at the Sea Palace, and witnessed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy […]
Now: The Best of Indie Arabia Various artists (Universal Music Mena) Five stars To expats of a certain age, the “Now..!” brand of music compilation albums are synonymous with the kind of plastic pop wheeled out at social gatherings in the days before iPods or YouTube. Since 1983, the brand has shifted more than 100 million copies across five continents. Compiling the biggest hits of the day […]
Three of the world’s largest textbook publishers have subpoenaed Amazon to reveal the names and financial accounts of online vendors who allegedly sell counterfeit books at “too good to be true” prices. Pearson Education, Cengage Learning and McGraw Hill Education are suing 100 unnamed Amazon marketplace sellers for copyright infringement. In a complaint filed in New York federal court earlier this month, the publishers accused the sellers […]
(Image: Project Zero) Cisco has closed a remote code execution vulnerability in its WebEx extension for Chrome, after Project Zero’s Tavis Ormandy alerted the networking giant to the issue on Saturday. According to Ormandy, the extension worked on any URL that matched against a magic pattern, and since it could be used in a non-visible iframe, the user need not be aware the extension was engaged. “The […]
Sean Spicer tried to go from combative to cuddly. And he almost made it. In his first actual press briefing, the new press secretary on Monday rebounded from an angry disaster of a monologue late Saturday by cutting a more traditional, measured pose that was still revealing about a new press order at The White House. He dispensed with again throwing down a gauntlet against a press […]
23 January 2017 Foursan Group, a leading Middle Eastern private equity firm, announced today the successful exit by its fund, Foursan Capital Partners (“FCP”), of its investment in Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank (“JDIB”), a premier Islamic banking institution listed on the Amman Stock Exchange. FCP was the second largest shareholder of JDIB and sold its stake to Bank Al-Etihad, a leading, publicly-listed financial services institution, realizing a […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for January 23, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. newslide Abu Dhabi Pre-natal event Register to attend My Pregnancy Arabia, a free half-day event for couples. It will feature a pre-natal yoga class with Bodytree Studio, market stalls and a series of talks on […]
The lead government negotiator, Bashar al-Jaafari, speaking to reporters after the opening session, responded by calling the opposition delegation “armed terrorist groups,” and accused them of “impertinent” and “provocative” behavior. Continue reading the main story The tension demonstrated the challenges that remain for Russia, the Syrian government’s most powerful backer, as the Russian government tries to show its approach can accomplish more than the largely fruitless efforts […]
Online media use such as social networking and gaming could be strongly influenced by our genes, according to a new study by researchers from King’s College London. Access to and engagement with online media continues to grow at an unprecedented speed, and it plays an increasingly important role in the development and experience of people across all age groups. Nonetheless, people differ substantially in their use of […]
By Roberta Rampton and Steve Holland U.S. President Donald Trump formally withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal on Monday, distancing America from its Asian allies as China’s influence in the region rises. Fulfilling a campaign pledge to end American involvement in the 2015 pact, Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office pulling the United States from the 12-nation TPP. “Great thing […]
America’s biggest, quietest tech monopoly has finally come under fire. If you made a cell phone call this year, you probably used a Qualcomm chip. The company makes the best modems to connect to cellular networks, but according to a federal complaint, it’s also spent years twisting arms and threatening partners to make sure that none of its competitors get a chance to do so. […]
LONDON Britain’s Guardian newspaper is considering becoming a tabloid and outsourcing printing to a rival such as Rupert Murdoch’s News UK as one of a series of options to cut costs, sources told Reuters. Publisher Guardian Media Group (GMG) said last year it needed to make savings of 20 percent to stem underlying losses that widened to 62.6 million pounds ($78 million) for the year to April […]
By Michael Georgy | MOSUL, Iraq MOSUL, Iraq Mohamed Mahmoud is relieved he no longer has to watch Islamic State militants hang corpses from electricity poles, now that Iraqi forces have cleared the group from his east Mosul district. But he still fears for his safety. Like other Iraqis, he worries that destructive forces like sectarianism, which already provoked one civil war since the fall of Saddam […]
Proscient to provide Process Safety and Operational Risk Management System (PSORMS) capabilities to reduce risk, improve productivity and lower costs Proscient to provide Process Safety and Operational Risk Management System (PSORMS) capabilities to reduce risk, improve productivity and lower costs Dammam, Saudi Arabia, 23 January 2017 Petrotechnics, the developer of Proscient – the hazardous industries’ first software platform for Operational Excellence – has been selected by Accenture […]
By Roberta Rampton | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump met with a dozen American manufacturers at the White House on Monday, pledging to slash regulations and cut corporate taxes, but warning them he would impose taxes on imports if they move production outside the country. Trump, who took office on Friday, promised to bring manufacturing plants back to the United States – an issue he said […]
Credit: Lancaster University The popular Pattern Lock system used to secure millions of Android phones can be cracked within just five attempts – and more complicated patterns are the easiest to crack, security experts reveal. Pattern Lock is a security measure that protects devices, such as mobile phones or tablets, and which is preferred by many to PIN codes or text passwords. It is used by around […]
Researchers from the University of Adelaide have developed a high-tech medical device in an effort to increase safety during brain surgery. Called a “smart needle,” the device is a small imaging probe. Fitted inside a brain biopsy needle, it provides surgeons a look at at-risk blood vessels when the needle is inserted, helping prevent potentially fatal bleeding in the brain. Aside from offering surgeons a view of […]
Shah Rukh Khan’s latest film, Raees, arrives in cinemas tomorrow, more than six months after its original July 2016 release date. Its journey to the screen was troubled, involving postponements, legal challenges and even an outright ban, following the Uri bombings in Kashmir, due to the presence of Pakistani actress Mahira Khan in the cast. At last, audiences can see what all the fuss was about. Khan, […]
US President Donald Trump has just days after taking office signed an executive order signalling that America will back-out of the Pacific trade pact that was a key tenet of Barack Obama’s pivot to Asia. Mr Trump had vowed on the campaign trail to dismantle the Trans-Pacific Partnership that the billionaire businessman-cum-politician has argued is bad for US workers and companies. The move is the administration’s first […]
At the 2009 Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, I recall a strong feeling of shame as I waited for then-Prime minister Stephen Harper and former President Barack Obama to emerge from a meeting. I was the designated pool reporter with The Canadian Press, killing time with my Associated Press counterpart. I sheepishly admitted that reporters were forbidden from asking the prime minister an unscheduled […]
In my 35 years covering the tech market, I have heard from executives—over and over—how their inventions will change the world. And while at times, this is true—the semiconductor, PC, and smartphone come to mind—I have been wondering lately if Silicon Valley should take stronger aim at solving the world’s major healthcare dilemmas. On cancer, Silicon Valley has been pretty active already. Nvidia, for example, […]
