But the Dutch government has committed to ensuring that some 14 percent of its energy comes from renewable sources such as wind and solar power by 2020 Dutch officials on Monday opened what is being billed as one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms, with 150 turbines spinning in action far out in the North Sea. Over the next 15 years, the Gemini windpark, which lies […]
Malta’s embattled prime minister, Joseph Muscat, is facing a growing rebellion in Brussels, where MEPs are openly calling for his departure amid a growing corruption scandal involving his wife, a Panamanian shell company and alleged payments from the president of Azerbaijan’s daughter. The Mediterranean island state’s presidency of the EU, which began in January, has been rocked by allegations of money laundering and kickbacks. Malta’s spell at […]
HARARE Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has left the country for medical checks in Singapore, the government said in a statement, about two months after his previous such trip to the south Asian nation. Aged 93, Mugabe is the only leader the southern African country has known since independence in 1980, and his health is a hot topic ahead of a presidential election scheduled for next year that […]
Sign up to receive FirstFT by email here Days after Donald Trump was elected, President Barack Obama warned his successor against hiring former general Michael Flynn as his security adviser. Mr Trump ignored the advice and Mr Flynn resigned after 17 days on the job amid the growing investigation of the Trump team’s ties to Russia. This is just one of the revelations to emerge following a Senate […]
By Elisabeth O’Leary | GALASHIELS, Scotland GALASHIELS, Scotland – Calum Kerr, a parliamentarian from the Scottish National Party (SNP), is having to work hard to get his message across. As he defends a wafer-thin majority in Britain’s June 8 election, he wants to focus on issues directly affecting his farming constituency bordering England, with its struggling economy that may suffer further when Britain leaves the European Union. […]
Authored by Jeff Thomas via InternationalMan.com, Recently, I published the comment that, when the present debt bubble eventually pops, “governments will lose the economic power to continue their advance against economic freedom.” The immediate reaction from one reader was, “What could we expect next?… The governments and Deep State aren’t going to ‘just go away.’” An excellent question—one which deserves an answer. We won’t need a crystal […]
By Nichola Saminather | SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian stock markets edged down on Tuesday following a flat close on Wall Street, as investors searched for the next catalyst following France’s presidential election, while oil inched higher on expectations OPEC supply cuts will be extended. Financial spreadbetters expect Britain’s FTSE 100 .FTSE, Germany’s DAX .GDAXI and France’s CAC 40 .FCHI to all open flat. The South Korean stock market, […]
The highly anticipated Xbox Project Scorpio is set to be released in the holiday season, and Head of Xbox Phil Spencer claimed that Microsoft is still on track to meet that target. The Xbox Project Scorpio, which is described as “the world’s most powerful console,” will be the highlight of Microsoft’s presentation and booth at the upcoming E3. Xbox Project Scorpio On Track For Holiday Season Release […]
By Venus Wu and Stefanie McIntyre | HONG KONG HONG KONG A former senior Hong Kong official and a billionaire property tycoon arrived in court on Tuesday to appeal against a corruption charge more than two years after they were jailed in one of the city’s most high profile corruption cases. Rafael Hui, who headed the Hong Kong government civil service from 2005 to 2007, was sentenced […]
Passenger waiting times at Dubai International Airport (DXB) have dropped by as much as 10 percent during the first quarter of 2017 thanks to the implementation of new technologies at the world’s busiest airport for international passenger traffic. Operator Dubai Airports said in a statement that recent results show that in the first three months of 2017, 84 percent of transfer passengers were processed within 5 minutes, […]
It was planned as a routine engagement for Martin Schulz — open a new children’s playground, say a few words, sign some autographs and pose for selfies. But the event in a drab suburb of the industrial western town of Hamm was anything but an easy ride for the German Social Democrat leader, who is challenging Chancellor Angela Merkel in September’s parliamentary election. What began as a […]
BOSTON When the Masjid Al-Kareem mosque in Providence, Rhode Island, received a threatening letter in November calling Muslims a “vile and filthy people,” its members were frightened enough they asked for and got extra police protection. The 42-year-old mosque was far from alone. The letter it received was one of 2,213 anti-Muslim bias incidents in the United States last year, according to a report released Tuesday by […]
JAKARTA An Indonesian court is expected to decide on Tuesday whether Jakarta’s Christian governor is guilty of blasphemy against Islam, in a trial that is widely seen as a test of religious tolerance in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. The government has been criticised for not doing enough to protect religious minorities but President Joko Widodo, a key ally of Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, has urged […]
PARIS Police gradually began reopening Paris’ Gare du Nord train station early on Tuesday morning after earlier evacuating the platforms and cordoning off the area because of a security alert, local police authorities said. A Reuters witness at the scene said there were between 20 to 30 police vans outside the station in central Paris with security forces wearing balaclavas and carrying assault weapons. “End of security […]
TOKYO The International Monetary Fund called on Asian economies to learn from Japan’s experience and act early to cope with rapidly ageing populations, warning that parts of the region risk “getting old before becoming rich.” Asia has enjoyed substantial demographic dividends in the past decades, but the growing number of elderly is set to create a demographic “tax” on growth, the IMF said in its economic outlook […]
Whether for passion or greed, hunting the bones and baubles of ancient rulers makes for great drama – and the true-life tale of archaeologist Howard Carter, who discovered the lost tomb of Tutankhamun in 1921, is as amazing as the treasures he found. It remains one of the greatest archaeological achievements, with more than 5,000 items found including the boy-king’s death mask and coffin. The story of […]
The former head of the US Department of Justice told Congress that she had warned the White House in January that Michael Flynn, the first national security adviser appointed by Donald Trump, could be blackmailed by Russia. Sally Yates, who served as acting attorney-general early in the Trump administration, told Congress that she had warned the White House that Mr Flynn had left himself open to being […]
There are about 60 such light sources in the world, which have been become increasingly valuable as tools in medicine and engineering. In April, for example, scientists using X-rays from a light source at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California discovered new details about the structure of proteins that regulate blood pressure, raising the possibility of better treatments for hypertension. Continue reading the main story Sesame, […]
WASHINGTON The U.S. Senate easily confirmed Heather Wilson, a former Republican member of the House of Representatives, on Monday to be President Donald Trump’s secretary of the Air Force. The vote was 76-22 in favor of Wilson becoming the top civilian overseeing the Air Force. The 22 “no” votes all came from Democrats. At her confirmation hearing in March, Wilson praised the stealth capability of Lockheed Martin […]
While the hedge fund world finds itself in a time of crisis, with a “great rotation” of capital away from active management which continues to largely underperform the broader market, and toward cheaper, passive strategies, nothing could spoil the mood at one of the industry’s biggest events held today at the Lincoln Center, the 22nd annual Ira Sohn conference, where a dozen of the hedge fund industry’s […]
By Shu Zhang and Matthew Miller | BEIJING BEIJING A Chinese government campaign to cut leverage in the banking system and limit some risky activities appears to be working, but it is also pushing borrowers back towards alternative funding sources that carry similar risks to the financial system. First-quarter official data shows banks cut the amount they lent to and borrowed from other financial institutions by 1.4 […]
GENEVA United Nations mediator Staffan de Mistura said on Monday that he was reconvening peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition in Geneva on May 16. In a statement, de Mistura voiced hope that the agreement reached last week in Astana among Russia, Iran and Turkey to set up “de-escalation” zones in Syria will be implemented in full “thus bringing about a significant de-escalation in violence, […]
Former U.S. President Barack Obama reportedly warned current President Donald Trump against hiring Mike Flynn as his national security adviser, former White House officials revealed. Obama warned Trump about Flynn in the days following the 2016 Presidential Elections, but the warning went under the radar so far. News now came to light just as former acting Attorney General Sally Yates is about to testify that Flynn made misleading […]
The Middle East & Africa region is a strategically important growth market for Sony Mobile Xperia XZ Premium, winner of several top industry awards including ‘Best Smartphone at MWC 2017’, leads innovation push Dubai, 08 May 2017 Sony Mobile Communications has shown strong global financial performance by reporting a profit of 10.2 Billion Yen (US$ 91 Million) this year, as per financial results from the company. […]
