HONG KONG Hong Kong police on Wednesday arrested two disqualified pro-independence legislators for unlawful assembly over an effort to force their way into a Legislative Council meeting in November, their political party said. Yau Wai-ching, 25, and Baggio Leung, 30, were picked up at their homes early in the morning and taken to a police station for questioning, their party, Youngspiration, said in a statement. Their assistants […]
The boss of Etihad Airways, which owns 49 percent of troubled Italian airline Alitalia, said he deeply regretted a decision by Alitalia staff to reject a last-ditch restructuring deal, blocking a recapitalisation and sparking fears that the carrier may be grounded for good. The future of Alitalia was in doubt on Tuesday, with James Hogan, president and CEO of the Etihad Aviation Group and vice chairman of […]
By Manuel Mogato | MANILA MANILA Southeast Asian nations would adopt a softer than usual tone about South China Sea disputes at a leaders’ summit on Saturday in Manila, and exclude references to militarisation or island-building, according to a draft of the chairman’s statement. Although some Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders will express “serious concern” over the “escalation of activities” in the disputed sea, […]
Authored by Gaius Publius via Down With Tyranny blog, “We don’t want a unified Korean peninsula … We [also] don’t want the North Koreans to cause more trouble than the system can absorb.” —Hillary Clinton, 2013, speech to Goldman Sachs Our policy toward North Korea is not what most people think it is. We don’t want the North Koreans to go away. In fact, we like them […]
BANGKOK Police in Thailand on Wednesday said they would discuss how to speed up taking down “inappropriate online content” after a man broadcast himself killing his 11-month-old daughter in a live video on Facebook. Two videos, which were available for nearly 24 hours before the were taken down, show the man hanging his daughter from a building on the southern Thai island of Phuket before he turned […]
Robo Wunderkind founding team: Yuri Levin, Anna Larotska, and Rustem Akishbekov. Image: Zoe Opratko As robots increasingly replace humans in the workplace, those who possess the skills to build and program robots will have a distinct advantage, according to Vienna-based startup Robo Wunderkind. As the “robotic revolution” beckons, Robo Wunderkind wants to take a proactive approach by equipping children as young as five years old with some […]
BEIJING The Chinese government said on Wednesday that a Taiwan rights activist detained on suspicion of endangering national security was in good health, and had reassured his family in a letter. The detention has put a strain on ties between Taiwan and China, which have cooled since Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen took power last year, because she refuses to concede that the self-ruled island is part of […]
Uber is planning to demonstrate a network of flying cars in Dallas-Fort Worth and Dubai by 2020, as announced by the ride-hailing company at the Uber Elevate summit. Similar to how Uber dispatches drivers and their cars, the company will not be manufacturing the flying cars, which will be vertical take-off and landing, or VTOL, vehicles. Rather, it will lead the formation of the network that will […]
It was one of the most memorable book reviews of last year. As our critic pondered the English translation of Mohammad Rabie’s award-winning tale of a futuristic Egyptian dystopia, she concluded by saying that “reading Otared is, by and large, like having a hand grasping the back of your head, forcing you to look through photos from hell”. Seven months later, Rabie is not only familiar with […]
As many as 1,000 Qatar World Cup construction workers are receiving health checks as part of a pilot programme agreed between the 2022 tournament organisers and Weill Cornell Medicine. In a statement Tuesday World Cup organisers said workers, selected at random, are being tested for such things as diet, blood pressure, and kidney function. Researchers say the results are primarily aimed at improving workers’ nutritional requirements and […]
3rd Internet of the Things Expo (ioTx) to highlight concerns in securing smart and connected cities Hyperloop Transportation Technologies to give visitors a sneak preview of high-speed, tube-based transportation system 25 April 20173rd Internet of the Things Expo (ioTx) to highlight concerns in securing smart and connected cities Hyperloop Transportation Technologies to give visitors a sneak preview of high-speed, tube-based transportation system Dubai, UAE – As […]
BEIJING China on Wednesday launched its first domestically built aircraft carrier, which will join an existing one bought second-hand from the Ukraine, amid rising tensions over North Korea and worries about Beijing’s assertiveness in the South China Sea. State media said the carrier, designed in China and built in the northeast port of Dalian, is not expected to enter service until 2020. The announcement by the official […]
ANKARA Turkey will not wait at Europe’s door forever and is ready to walk away from EU accession talks if rising Islamophobia and hostility from some member states persist, President Tayyip Erdogan told Reuters in a wide-ranging interview on Tuesday. Speaking at the presidential palace less than two weeks after winning sweeping new powers in a referendum, a relaxed Erdogan said a decision by a leading European […]
86 percent of the total attacks experienced by Australia during a 12-month period originated from within the country’s borders, a report from NTT Security has found. The United States was the source of 9 percent of the total attacks, while Germany accounted for 1 percent. According to the NTT Security Global Threat Intelligence Report 2017, remote administration was the top service used in attacks against Australia, with […]
By Andrew Cawthorne and Diego Oré | CARACAS CARACAS Two Venezuelan men died on Tuesday from gunshots at political demonstrations, bringing to 26 the number of fatalities around this month’s protests against President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government. The state prosecutor’s office said Orlando Medina, 23, was gunned down on a street in western Lara state during a protest local media identified as anti-Maduro. Luis Marquez, 52, died […]
Oil traders banking on a sustained market recovery in 2017 are growing impatient. As the price of Brent crude falls towards $50 a barrel, Opec, energy analysts and some of the most powerful banks in the commodities sector are urging traders to maintain their composure. After a production cut deal between the cartel and rivals such as Russia was agreed late last year, prices began 2017 $10 […]
By Dan Levine | SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO A U.S. judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to withhold federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities, dealing another legal blow to the administration’s efforts to toughen immigration enforcement. The ruling from U.S. District Judge William Orrick III in San Francisco said Trump’s Jan. 25 order targeted broad categories of federal funding for sanctuary governments […]
Pollution levels are increasing each day with new air and water pollutants being emitted into the environment via automobiles and large scale factories. However, it was thought that at least underground water or groundwater was unaffected. A new study reveals that this may not be the case. Scientists have found a baffling trace of present-day rain water in one particular groundwater reserve. Groundwater Pollution Groundwater contains rainwater and […]
Archaeological finds made on an island near the capital in 1959 proved pivotal in defining and promoting the UAE’s relics and antiquities. Sheikh Zayed, the nation’s Founding Father, was one of the first to spot their importance. In the spring of 1959, the Ruler of Abu Dhabi at the time, Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan, made one of several visits to an island 20 kilometres from his ancestral […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for April 26, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. Ellen Fortini rounds up 10 things to do today in the UAE. Want to see your event listed here? Email us with the details and contact information at [email protected] newslide Dubai Performance Get tickets now […]
American officials said Turkey had informed the United States less than an hour in advance that it intended to carry out the bombing raids in the crowded airspace over northern Syria and Iraq. American officials said that they had asked Turkey not to proceed without proper coordination, but that the request was ignored. Continue reading the main story Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, said the United […]
Several months ago, when it was still conventional wisdom that Trump wanted to replace Janet Yellen – at least until Trump’s famous WSJ interview in which he flipped on this and various other issues – with a hawk once her turn runs out in 2018, the financial punditry was busy coming up with potential replacement names, a practice which gradually faded away once it emerged that Trump […]
BRASILIA Indigenous people and police clashed in Brazil’s capital city on Tuesday, as officers fired rubber bullets and tear gas while tribe members shot arrows in return during a protest against farmers’ encroachment on reservations. The demonstration was peaceful until police blocked some of the indigenous people, their bodies painted and wearing colourful headdresses, from climbing a ramp that led into the congressional building, according to a […]
The public should be able to freely access the names of the people behind the ownership of assets and bank accounts in order to boost transparency and stop secret shell companies being used for criminal activity. This is the key contention of a host of submissions to Treasury as part of the federal government’s plans to increase transparency of the beneficial ownership of companies following the Panama Papers revelations. Play […]
