How long ago it seems — that post-referendum panic in the UK stock market. The pound plunged and the crowd ran into “safe havens” in the form of government debt, ditching those risky, tricky shares. On July 13, this column pointed out the folly of this strategy. At that moment, buying and holding the UK government’s 10-year bond guaranteed an annual return of just 0.9 per cent. […]
Roy Zipstein | Apple Apple has given app developers more time to turn on App Transport Security (ATS) after originally insisting that software submitted to the App Store utilize the feature by the beginning of 2017. According to a brief note posted on the Apple developer website on Wednesday, ATS, first introduced in iOS 9 and OS X v10.11, will now not become mandatory for apps to […]
BEIJING China told its companies on Friday they need to pay attention to the latest U.N. sanctions on North Korea, especially those related to coal, to avoid any unnecessary economic losses. The U.N. Security Council imposed new sanctions on North Korea last month aimed at cutting its annual export revenue by a quarter, after Pyongyang carried out its fifth and largest nuclear test so far in September. […]
RAK National Hotels, a subsidiary of RAK Hospitality Holding, and Hilton Worldwide have announced that Hilton’s first mid-market hotel in Ras Al Khaimah is scheduled to open by the second quarter of 2017. The announcement was confirmed ahead of the 2016 Ras Al Khaimah Finance and Investment Forum, which took place this week. Hilton Garden Inn Ras Al Khaimah is to be located on the site of […]
BERLIN/MILAN The suspect in the Berlin Christmas market truck attack was killed in a shoot-out in a suburb of the northern Italian city of Milan on Friday, Italy’s interior minister said. Marco Minniti told a news conference that “without any shadow of a doubt” the man was 24-year-old Tunisian Anis Amri, wanted for the attack in Berlin. A police source said earlier Amri was identified by fingerprints. […]
For 15 years, Chandran Nair led a top Asian environmental consultancy that was active in China. In 2006, he founded the Global Institute for Tomorrow, a Hong Kong think tank focused on a shift of global power from the West to Asia, at a time when China’s rise is changing the geopolitical balance. Mr. Nair, who was born in Malaysia to a large South Indian family, is the […]
By Manuel Mogato | MANILA MANILA The United States provided the Philippines with $127 million in security assistance in the 12 months ended in September, the biggest sum in about 15 years, overlapping with a stream of angry threats from President Rodrigo Duterte to sever their defence alliance. The U.S. embassy in Manila on Friday confirmed its longtime Asian ally had received a 154 percent increase in […]
From the Panama Papers to the impeachments of presidents of Brazil and South Korea, 2016 was a year marked by corruption scandals, and by rising public outrage over graft. The question is, will that translate into a lasting demand for cleaner politics? “A new phenomenon” is being seen, said Jose Ugaz, a renowned Peruvian lawyer and the chairman of Transparency International, a Berlin-based anti-corruption watchdog, who expressed […]
The same researchers who pioneered the use of a quantum mechanical effect to convert heat into electricity have figured out how to make their technique work in a form more suitable to industry. In Nature Communications, engineers from The Ohio State University describe how they used magnetism on a composite of nickel and platinum to amplify the voltage output 10 times or more — not in a […]
By Tom Westbrook | SYDNEY SYDNEY Australian police said on Friday they had foiled a plot to attack prominent sites in the city of Melbourne with a series of bombs on Christmas Day that authorities described as “an imminent terrorist event” inspired by Islamic State. Police laid terrorism charges against one man, and were expected to charge at least three others, after authorities conducted overnight raids on […]
MOSCOW: A US-based Muslim cleric on Thursday condemned the killing of Russia’s envoy to Turkey and rejected accusations that his movement was behind the attack.Ambassador Andrey Karlov was shot dead by an off-duty policeman in front of stunned onlookers at a photo exhibition in Ankara earlier this week. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has implicated Fethullah Gulen in the killing, saying the policeman had links to his […]
Qatar is set to launch a new shopping festival in January, targeting regional visitors from the UAE, which forms the second largest source market for the country. Under the slogan A Brand New Tradition, the first edition of Shop Qatar will start on January 7 with discounts on popular brands, cash prizes worth up to QR4 million, a schedule of entertainment featuring Cats the Broadway musical, live […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for December 23, 2016, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. newslide Abu Dhabi Festive fun Visit Al Maryah Island for the Winter Wonderland, featuring cosy winter cottages hosting activities including bauble-decorating, cracker-making and gingerbread-house-decorating. A skating rink and snow park offer a wintry feel, while […]
Photo Basel Ghattas, an Arab member of Israel’s Parliament, in 2015. Mr. Ghattas was accused of smuggling cellphones to Palestinian prisoners. Credit Ahmad Gharabli/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images JERUSALEM — An Arab member of Israel’s Parliament was arrested on Thursday after being accused of smuggling cellphones to Palestinian prisoners, capping days of fractious debate that raised questions about the nature of loyalty and identity in a predominantly […]
Nearly a decade ago, Warren Buffett bet Protege Partners, a fund of hedge funds, that over the course of 10 years the S&P would outperform Protege’s returns net of all fees, costs and expenses. To make it real, the loser agreed to pay $1 million to the charity of the winner’s choice. At this past year’s annual meeting, Warren Buffett provided an update on the now […]
By James Pearson | SEOUL SEOUL As hundreds of thousands of South Koreans poured into the streets every weekend for two months to call for President Park Geun-hye to resign, the opposition’s leading contender to replace her appeared reluctant to seize the moment. That is changing as Moon Jae-in, a 63-year-old human rights lawyer who lost the 2012 election to Park by more than a million votes, […]
Dec 23, 2016 10:30 am IST Sri Lanka is getting ready to join dozens of other countries that have broken festive records by building the world’s tallest artificial Christmas tree. A Wall Street Journal article explains why the tree nearly didn’t get made. Below are a few other holiday records that remain unbroken, according to the Guinness World Records. Tallest artificial tree Sri Lanka looks set to […]
By Timothy Mclaughlin A racist, expletive-filled rant caught on camera at a Louisville, Kentucky, mall has led to a permanent ban for a shopper and prompted an apology from the city’s mayor. The video shows a white woman standing in a checkout line at a JCPenney department store in the Jefferson Mall and berating two women who shopper Renee Buckner, who posted the footage on Facebook on […]
By Lisa Maria Garza | DALLAS DALLAS A video showing a white Fort Worth police officer in an escalating argument with a black woman he took into custody along with the woman’s daughters touched off a social media storm on Thursday, stoking a debate on race and U.S. policing. The woman identified by relatives as Jacqueline Craig, 46, was put on the ground and the officer held […]
Good morning. Here’s our morning roundup of all the media news you need to know. Want to get this briefing in your inbox every morning? Subscribe here. It could be a dinner akin to the disastrous ones in “Meet the Parents,” “Talladega Nights” and “Wedding Crashers.” Or maybe “American Beauty,” where newly unemployed Kevin Spacey turns to his wife (Annette Bening) and daughter (Thora Birch) and says […]
By David Stanway | SHANGHAI SHANGHAI China has publicly named more than 20 enterprises it says broke environmental rules during this week’s outbreak of hazardous smog in the country’s north, its latest attempt to bring lawbreaking firms to account by shaming them. The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) accused steel and paper mills, cement plants, power generators and chemical producers of a range of offences, including ignoring […]
For Lindsay Lohan, adopting new roles and changing her image seems to have become as much a part of her personal life as it was in her acting career. Following well-documented struggles with addiction, turbulent relationships and a somewhat chequered history as an actress, the 30-year-old is embracing her latest real-life role. She has become a self-proclaimed humanitarian campaigner for Syria and Turkey, in addition to reportedly […]
More than four decades after a sweeping British military withdrawal from bases “east of Suez”, the UK is scaling up its defence engagement in the Gulf and Asia in what analysts regard as a recognition of the region’s growing global importance. Britain is reopening a naval support facility in Bahrain, creating a permanent army presence in Oman and establishing new defence staff centres in Dubai and Singapore. […]
Photo An Airbus A321 featuring the Iranian flag at an Airbus plant in Hamburg, Germany, this week. The acquisition of modern planes is an important achievement for President Hassan Rouhani of Iran. Credit Fabian Bimmer/Reuters The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus completed a deal on Thursday to sell 100 jetliners to Iran, a move described by both sides as a major step toward revitalizing Iran’s aged commercial fleet […]
