The Waymo driverless car is displayed during a Google event, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in San Francisco. The self-driving car project that Google started seven years ago has grown into a company called Waymo. The new identity announced Tuesday marks another step in an effort to revolutionize the way people get around. Instead of driving themselves, people will be chauffeured in robot-controlled vehicles if Waymo, automakers and […]
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has advised the Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield that an allocation limit be placed on the upcoming April auction of remaining 700MHz spectrum. In advice released by the Department of Communications on Wednesday, the ACCC recommended the minister limit each mobile carrier to no more than two 20MHz spectrum blocks in the 700MHz band. “Given Telstra currently holds over 50 […]
13 December 2016 Dubai, United Arab Emirates – DAMAC Properties today announced that it has awarded 15 major construction and consultancy contracts valued at AED 1.26 billion during the period between August and November 2016, bringing the total value of contracts awarded so far in 2016 to AED 6.51 billion for projects in Dubai and the UK. The awarded contracts are for the provision of services related […]
By Marc Jones | LONDON LONDON A quarter of a century after the collapse of the Soviet Union, life satisfaction in Russia and other ex-Soviet states remains stubbornly low, and enthusiasm for democracy and open market economics is wavering, a survey published on Tuesday showed. The study found that only 15 percent of Russians think their households have a better quality of life, compared with 30 percent […]
ERBIL, Iraq — The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that a United States airstrike had killed three Islamic State operatives who were involved in mounting terrorist attacks in Europe, including the deadly assault in Paris in November 2015. The three men were killed on Dec. 4 in an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria, the Islamic State’s declared capital, said Peter Cook, the Pentagon press secretary. He described the men […]
By Steve Holland | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump named the head of Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), Rex Tillerson, as his choice for U.S. secretary of state on Tuesday and won backing from some Republican foreign policy figures ahead of a possible Senate fight over the oilman’s ties to Russia. The Exxon CEO potentially faces difficulties getting confirmed in the Republican-controlled Senate. Some lawmakers worry about his […]
IBM Chief Executive Ginni Rometty pledged to hire and train workers in the United States ahead of a Wednesday gathering where she and other technology executives will meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. “We have thousands of open positions at any given moment, and we intend to hire about 25,000 professionals in the next four years in the United States,” Rometty said in a USA Today editorial […]
ABU DHABI // The Arab world is entering a new era, involving reform and changes in its mindset, according to the former Egyptian foreign minister and secretary general of the Arab League. In an interview with The National, Amr Moussa said the region’s young citizens, who make up about 70 per cent of the population, are better educated and have aspirations for the future. “They reject what […]
Microsoft launched officially its latest chat bot, Zo.ai, along with a new external AI web site with information on its various AI-related projects. Credit: Microsoft Microsoft officials talked up the company’s momentum across its various AI projects and initiatives at its AI day in San Francisco on December 13. A week ago, word leaked that Microsoft was providing early access to users on Kik to Zo. Zo […]
The Abu Dhabi government has signed an agreement with a US-based research firm to study the feasibility of a Hyperloop transport system between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. The Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport (DMAT) announced in a statement on Monday that it had inked a deal with Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (Hyperloop TT) – one of several companies working to bring the technology first conceived by […]
In this July 20, 2015 file photo, a pedestrian crosses in front of a vehicle as part of a demonstration at Mcity on its opening day on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, Mich. Cars that wirelessly talk to each other are finally ready for the road, creating the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths, improve the safety of self-driving cars and someday maybe even […]
Qualcomm said it will work with Google to combine Android Things, an Internet of things operating system, and its Snapdragon processor. The move could give Google a much larger ingredient brand play in the smart home, Internet of things and smart city deployments. If the collaboration is successful, Android will be embedded with the processors in the IoT food chain. Keep in mind that Qualcomm recently acquired […]
By Alexandria Sage | SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google self-driving car project will become an independent entity within the technology company called Waymo, executives said on Tuesday, signaling a willingness to finally monetize its valuable research amid fierce competition from rivals. The announcement marks a crucial step in the development of Google’s high-profile program, now in its seventh year. It has been at the […]
ABU DHABI // Security and economic and cultural integration will help the Arab world build a prosperous future, experts from the region said on Tuesday. They were speaking on the second day of the Fikr 15 conference, which is aimed at finding solutions to the risks, challenges and threats facing Middle East unity and identity. “The threats that face the security of the Arab world are external […]
The 13th Dubai International Film Festival draws to a close on Wednesday, with the regional premiere of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Whether you are a film buff, a casual movie fan, an industry guru or an aspiring filmmaker, it is safe to say that this year’s edition was one of the best. The number of films was up on last year, to 156, after a […]
When I first moved to Mexico, I started working with a really cool organization called Palabra Radio, which is a community radio organization here in Oaxaca. I was really impressed with how communities were operating, owning, and sort of dealing with everything that comes with operating their own low power FM radio station. That gave me the idea to try and do something similar with mobile communication, […]
Hamil Harris, who has been a staff writer at The Washington Post for more than two decades, is leaving the newsroom. The departure was announced on Tuesday in a memo by local editor Mike Semel, who called Harris “a presence at virtually every major news event in the Washington area for the past 24 years.” Harris covered the attack on the Pentagon on 9/11, anchored coverage of […]
Information and Education In the past 10-20 years, a massive increase in mobile computer processing power changed the way the world consumes and digests information. More and more people around the globe have access to education, almost in real-time. People in the East can see how people in the West live. Lifestyles of people in the Northern hemisphere are visible to people living in the South. Being […]
ANKARA Turkish authorities have detained 568 people over alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group in the last two days, the interior ministry said on Tuesday. The operations, which followed the twin bombing in Istanbul on Saturday that killed 44 people outside a soccer stadium, were launched in 28 provinces across Turkey from the northwest to the southeast, the ministry said in a statement. […]
DUBAI // Experts are trying to determine the cause of a fire that swept through a Palm Jumeirah apartment block, leaving residents stranded and waiting to get back into their homes. Pictures of the blaze in the Adriatic building, which is part of the upscale Oceana complex, flooded social media on Monday night, and Dubai Media Office said the building was safely evacuated and no major injuries […]
13 December 2016 HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz AlSaud, Chairman of Alwaleed Philanthropies, announced supporting the Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) with $50 million, through joining Bill Gates and members of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition (BEC) in their commitment to invest more than $1 billion in energy technologies. Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) is an investor-led fund that will finance emerging energy breakthroughs to deliver affordable and […]
Salesforce on Tuesday outlined LiveMessage, a conversational service available for Service Cloud that aims to connect consumers and enterprise via text messaging and apps. The gist of LiveMessage is that companies should be able to connect to customers and service them as a friend-to-friend interaction would occur via an app like Facebook Messenger. Salesforce acquired HeyWire in September for the underlying technology behind LiveMessage. Salesforce said LiveMessage […]
With Christmas just a few weeks away, of course gingerbread is on our minds, so we have rounded up some of the best places to learn how to make the sweet festive treat and where to enjoy the savoury teatime bite. Wilton Gingerbread Workshop Book yourself into a Tavola/Wilton gingerbread house decorating workshop this season. The four-hour workshop teaches guests how to assemble and decorate their own […]
An untold number of Syrians trapped in an ever tightening patch of rebel territory in Aleppo are desperately seeking a way to safety as the opposition’s final foothold in a major city looked on the verge of collapse. The International Committee of the Red Cross called for all sides to urgently agree a deal to evacuate people as it warned that time was running out for trapped […]
