John Key has resigned as New Zealand’s prime minister, saying it felt like “the right time to go” and that he wanted to leave on his own terms ahead of next year’s general election. Mr Key, a former Merrill Lynch banker who won three consecutive elections and whose National party is ahead in opinion polls, said he would vote for Bill English, deputy prime minister, in a […]
In late July, Moussa Aksar, the director of Niger’s L’Évènement newspaper, answered his phone and heard a familiar voice warning him that he was, once again, in danger. “Be careful,” a friendly source told Aksar. “Look out for yourself and be careful what you say on the phone.” Aksar had just published Niger’s first exposé from the Panama Papers, the investigation based on a leak of documents […]
By Ernest Scheyder and Valerie Volcovici | CANNON BALL, N.D./WASHINGTON CANNON BALL, N.D./WASHINGTON The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Sunday it turned down a permit for a controversial pipeline project running through North Dakota, in a victory for Native Americans and climate activists who have protested against the project for several months. A celebration erupted at the main protest camp in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, […]
By Crispian Balmer and Gavin Jones | ROME ROME Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said he would resign after suffering a crushing defeat on Sunday in a referendum on constitutional reform, tipping the euro zone’s third-largest economy into political turmoil. His decision to quit after just two and a half years in office deals a blow to the European Union, already reeling from multiple crises and struggling […]
The Department of Human Services (DHS) has implemented an online compliance system that is using automation to help locate funds owed to the Commonwealth. Approximately AU$4.5 million that has gone awry is being pointed to each day by the online compliance system, allowing DHS to kick off the process to reclaim the funds. Before the new system, only AU$295,000 in missing funds was highlighted every 24 hours. […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian government troops pushed deeper into the rebel-held section of Aleppo on Sunday, now controlling about half of what had been for years the rebels’ enclave in the divided northern city. Also on Sunday, airstrikes apparently carried out by the government or its ally Russia hit the towns of Maarat al-Noaman and Kafr Nabl in rebel-held Idlib Province. The strikes killed at least 20 […]
Mercedes will not punish triple world champion Lewis Hamilton for defying orders at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix, the team’s non-executive chairman Niki Lauda has said. In the wake of team mate Nico Rosberg’s dramatic retirement five days after winning the title, the Austrian recognised the situation had changed. “There is no need to say anything to Lewis,” he told the Mail on Sunday. […]
The cashless society is catching up to all of us. As SHTFPlan.com’s Mac Slavo notes, Most of Europe has shifted that way, and now India is forcing the issue. In the United States, people are being acclimated to it, and may soon find that no other option is practical in the highly-digitized online world. Once that takes hold, the banksters, bureaucrats and hackers will have total […]
By Nichola Saminather and Wayne Cole | SINGAPORE/SYDNEY SINGAPORE/SYDNEY The euro was under the gun on Monday, skidding to a 20-month low after Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said he would resign following a stinging defeat on constitutional reform that could destabilise the country’s shaky banking system. The single currency, which slumped to as low as $1.0505 EUR= in early Asian trade after opening at around $1.0685, […]
ABU DHABI // A panel from 12 government agencies has designed a plan of attack against childhood obesity. Measures range from promoting healthy foods and exercise to improving the health care of women before and after they become pregnant. The head of the panel, Health Authority Abu Dhabi chairman Dr Mugheer Al Khaili, presented statistics from the World Health Organisation showing that 15.1 per cent of pupils […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for December 5, 2016, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. newslide Abu Dhabi Heritage performance Attend Hekayah the Story, a multiple-artist event under the stars in celebration of National Day, featuring poetry, prose and songs by performers from diverse backgrounds selected through a collaborative curatorial […]
Beirut, Lebanon, December 4, 2016 : (ME NewsWire) During a special honoring ceremony held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Dubai, the publishers of Global Reinsurance and StrategicRISK announced the winners of the 2016 MEA Risk & Insurance Excellence Awards, honoring Mr. Farid Chedid, Chairman and CEO of Chedid Re, a Chedid Capital Holding company, as the ‘MEA Industry Achiever of the Year’. The prestigious title awarded […]
Don’t worry about the robots, worry about the humans. Image: iStock There’s a huge difference between the modest aims of the artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning being used today, and the grand ideas of creating an artificial general intelligence that could match — and then rapidly exceed – the capabilities of a human mind As they develop, AI and machine learning will be able to […]
BEIRUT As Syrian government forces advanced into Aleppo’s rebel-held al-Sakhour district, Hasan al-Ali said he faced the choice of staying put and being caught by the army, or fleeing into a shrinking rebel enclave under relentless bombardment. A father of three children, he opted for the latter, though food, fuel, water and medicine are running critically low in rebel-held areas, such is his fear of the Syrian […]
Boston Dynamics has already developed a robot that can maintain its balance in uneven terrain involving a four-legged robot called BigDog. Now, the company through a third-party technology has just achieved the same feat but this time it involves a humanoid robot. IHMC Algorithm The new development is attributed to an algorithm developed by the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition Robotics Lab in Florida, which allows humanoid […]
GENEVA Europe’s trade negotiator blamed China on Sunday for scuppering a global environmental trade deal by submitting impossible late demands at World Trade Organization talks aimed at scrapping import tariffs on exports worth more than $1 trillion. “China came in with their list, bringing in totally new elements of perspective, which was very late in the process,” European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told Reuters. The change of […]
When you think of the UAE Army’s special forces, you might imagine specialists in desert warfare, hiding behind sand dunes in camouflage as they sneak up on the enemy while a sandstorm rages across the landscape. You probably wouldn’t think of them in minus-60°C temperatures, 2,438 metres above sea level, as they attempt to conquer the slopes of Mount Everest. But that is exactly what we see […]
New energy vehicles (NEVs) at Beijing Institute of Technology’s campus. Credit: Yu Hao Many Chinese cities are suffering from deteriorating environmental quality—particularly due to air pollution that contributes to fog and haze. Air pollutant levels now far exceed “safe” limits established by the European Union, and one of the main culprits behind it is the rapid increase in automobile ownership and usage. These rising environmental concerns are […]
A new scientific approach uses a model inspired from Google’s algorithm to determine the degree of stability of the planetary systems. The researchers employed a machine learning technique in order to create a mechanism that is 1,000 times faster than traditional methods when it comes to predicting stability. The study, published Nov. 23 in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters, was carried out at the University of Toronto Scarborough […]
Apple CarPlay, Image: Ford Apple in a November letter to US regulators publicly acknowledged work on autonomous vehicles for the first time, after years of reports surrounding Project Titan. Steve Kenner, Apple’s director of product integrity, sent a five page letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, urging regulators not to impose too many restrictions on self-driving as the iPhone maker begins testing the technology. “The […]
By Saif Hameed and Ulf Laessing | BAGHDAD/BARTELLA, Iraq BAGHDAD/BARTELLA, Iraq Islamic State fighters retreating in the face of a seven-week Iraqi military assault on their Mosul stronghold have hit back in the last two days, exploiting cloudy skies which hampered U.S.-led air support and highlighting the fragile army gains. In a series of counter-attacks since Friday night, the jihadist fighters struck elite Iraqi troops spearheading the […]
DUBAI // A national survey to measure happiness and positivity was announced by the Government on Sunday. Starting on December 12, about 14,000 people – including nationals, expatriates, visitors and tourists – will be polled across the country. The survey will be conducted with the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority as well as the Abu Dhabi and Dubai statistics centres, said Ohood Al Roumi, Minister of State […]
By Rory Carroll | OAKLAND, Calif. OAKLAND, Calif. Recovery teams found a 10th body early Sunday morning in the charred ruins of an Oakland, California, warehouse after a fire broke out during a dance party, triggering one of the worst disasters in the city’s history. Authorities confirmed at least nine fatalities soon after the blaze was brought under control early Saturday morning. But local media reported early […]
Italians and Austrians headed to the polls in closely watched votes on Sunday that will gauge the strength of Europe’s populist and extreme right political parties. Italy’s constitutional referendum on Sunday will determine the political future of prime minister Matteo Renzi and test anti-establishment parties in the eurozone’s third-largest economy. The plebiscite on Mr Renzi’s flagship overhaul — which would shrink the powers of the Italian senate […]
