Humans have changed the world’s oceans in ways that have been devastating to many marine species. But, according to new evidence, it appears that the change has so far been good for cephalopods, the group including octopuses, cuttlefish, and squid. The study shows that cephalopods’ numbers have increased significantly over the last six decades. (via WSJ Blogs)
SAN FRANCISCO When Google introduced its Google Glass smart glasses four years ago, it turned to Glass-sporting sky divers buzzing a San Francisco convention center, Glass-adorned models at a glitzy fashion show and a Twitter campaign to notify early “Glass Explorers” of their luck in snagging a pair. This year, when Microsoft showed off an early edition of its HoloLens augmented-reality goggles, it took the opposite approach: […]
If just 2.5 per cent of the world’s annual brick production incorporated 1 per cent cigarette butts, we could completely offset annual worldwide cigarette production. (via WSJ Blogs)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Two teams of suicide attackers waged coordinated assaults on Monday deep inside Syrian government territory, killing scores of people and piercing a sanctuary for supporters of President Bashar al-Assad. Merely pulling off the bombings was a logistical feat that calls into question the effectiveness of Syria’s defenses. To reach the areas attacked, the jihadists would have had to move large quantities of explosives and […]
YISHUV HADAAT, West Bank — With shoulder-length hair tumbling from beneath his knit skullcap, Hanamel Dorfman, a radical young Israeli settler, explains matter-of-factly on camera how hilltop settlement outposts like his own will continue to proliferate across the West Bank. From there, he says bluntly, Israelis will cross the Jordan River and start building on the other side. Reminded that beyond the river there is another sovereign […]
UAE. According to EY’s latest Global Fraud Survey, Corporate misconduct – individual consequences, only 29% of executives in the Middle East recognize cybercrime risk, compared to 47% globally. T he survey found that many respondents maintain the view that fraudulent activity is not their problem, despite recognizing the prevalence of the issue in their own countries. Michael Adlem, EY’s MENA Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services (FIDS) Leader, […]
UAE. Cyber-crime is not a new phenomenon, but it’s hitting the headlines as never before. According to PwC Middle East’s latest report, there is a renewed willingness among organizations to invest in security, with many organizations incorporating strategic initiatives to improve security and reduce risks. PwC Middle East’s Global State of Information Security survey 2016 looks at how the survey results from over 300 Middle East companies […]
INTERNATIONAL. Global inclusion in the internet could bring seven percent of the world’s population – 500 million people – above absolute poverty levels, and add US$6.7 trillion (£4.6 trillion) to global economic output, according to a new study by Strategy&, PwC’s strategy consulting business. The study, for Facebook, encompassed 120 countries over a 10-year period and examines how barriers to accessing the internet could be removed, and […]
Although the health implications are not certain, dysfunction of the gut microbiome has been associated with several diseases New York: An antimicrobial agent found in many consumer products, from hand soaps to toys and even toothpaste, can rapidly disrupt bacterial communities in the gut, new research shows. Although the health implications are not certain, dysfunction of the gut microbiome has been […]
ABU DHABI // The Armed Forces team that reached the summit of Mount Everest this week has arrived back safely at base camp. The 13-strong group of soldiers raised the UAE flag on top of the world’s highest mountain on Thursday morning, having received a message of goodwill from Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the previous night. Ahead of the final […]
ABU DHABI // Solar Impulse 2 landed Sunday morning in Dayton, Ohio, the birthplace of the legendary aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright. The solar-powered plane took off from Tulsa, Oklahoma on the third leg of its journey across the United States on Saturday afternoon. Pilots Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard have been taking turns flying the craft since the mission began in Abu Dhabi in March […]
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI Apple Inc chief Tim Cook met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, concluding a four-day trip to India that could set the stage for Apple’s expansion plans in one of the world’s fastest growing smartphone markets. Modi and Cook met for an hour in central Delhi and discussed Apple’s plans for its India business, including the possibility of manufacturing and retailing in the country. Apple […]
The logo of Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market index listed company Microsoft (MSFT) is seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 22, 2016. Reuters/Lucy Nicholson/Files SAN FRANCISCO With the world growing more concerned about attacks by militant groups on civilians, Microsoft Corp on Friday outlined new policies to crack down what it called “terrorist content” on some of its consumer services. In a blog post, […]
The SWIFT logo is pictured in this photo illustration taken April 26, 2016. Reuters/Carlo Allegri/Illustration/File Photo LONDON/CHICAGO Shortly after 7 p.m. on January 12, 2015, a message from a secure computer terminal at Banco del Austro (BDA) in Ecuador instructed San Francisco-based Wells Fargo to transfer money to bank accounts in Hong Kong. Wells Fargo complied. Over 10 days, Wells approved a total of at least 12 […]
A new developer portal and Android SDK (software developer kit) for SoftBank’s robot platform are aimed at convincing developers to build apps for the Pepper humanoid robot. Although the platform was first announced two years ago, the decision to open it up to Android apps should help greatly expand the base of app developers working on Pepper programs. “By making Pepper compatible with Android, Android application developers […]
To help Skype continue making inroads into the enterprise, Microsoft has launched Skype for Business SDK (software developer kit). The new product is a set of tools that lets iOS and Android developers integrate Skype’s messaging, audio and voice capabilities into their mobile applications. The goal of Microsoft’s Skype for Business SDK is to allow Skype to power the communications experience inside applications, so developers can focus […]
Spotting native alligators and crocodiles in Florida is common, but anyone who sees a large reptile may want to take a second look — human-eaters that can grow to 18 feet long and weigh as much as a small car have been found in the Sunshine State. Using DNA analysis, University of Florida researchers have confirmed the capture of multiple Nile crocodiles in the wild. The ancient […]
Reuters/Kim Hong-Ji/Files SEOUL Samsung Electronics said it had struck a deal with a Alibaba Group Holding for owners of its phones to be able to more easily make payments with Alipay accounts – a move it hopes will boost sales in the world’s biggest smartphone market. Users of Samsung Pay will also have the option of paying with their Alipay accounts without having separately access the Alipay […]
At its I/O Developers Conference this week, Google announced a new product that had been an open secret for several months. The Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) is named after the TensorFlow software it uses for its machine learning programs. In announcing the chip, Google referred to the TPU as an accelerator chip, able to speed up a given task, like data analysis or voice translation. When he […]
|By Matein Khalid| If ever there was a year to win or lose money big time in emerging markets, 2016 was it. As an investor in the world’s dark alleys (the Third World rebranded as EM!), I am forced to dissect geopolitical, government/monetary policy, foreign exchange, flows, positioning and current account, volatility and credit cycle trends across emerging markets to develop money making strategies. It helps that I […]
Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma attends the opening ceremony of the second annual World Internet Conference in Wuzhen town of Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, China, December 16, 2015. Reuters/Aly Song/Files SHANGHAI Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s chief Jack Ma has cancelled a speech at an anti-counterfeiting conference in the United States after the trade group behind it suspended the e-commerce giant’s recently gained membership. Alibaba has been dogged for […]
The Firefox Web browser has overtaken both of Microsoft’s browsers put together when it comes to market share, according to a new report. That’s the good news for Mozilla, which develops Firefox. The bad news is that Google’s Chrome browser is leaving both Mozilla and Microsoft in the dust. According to the latest figures from Statcounter, 60.5 percent of worldwide users opted for Chrome as their browser […]
Tripoli: Libya’s new unity government said Tuesday it wants warplanes and helicopters to fight terrorists as it hailed international support for lifting a longstanding embargo on weapons sales. International backing to lift the embargo, in place since 2011, is “fundamental to the creation of a strong army… capable of fighting the jihadist Islamic State group and other extremist groups”, Deputy Prime Minister Mussa Al Kony said. On […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Saudi Arabia ranks among the top dozen foreign holders of U.S. debt, the Treasury Department disclosed, breaking its silence on the issue for the past four decades. “The stockpile of the world’s biggest oil exporter stood at $116.8 billion as of March, down almost 6 percent from a record in January, according to data the Treasury disclosed Monday in response to a Freedom-of-Information […]
