For a glimpse into just how insane modern finance and capital markets are, look no further than Italy’s thrice insolvent (in three years) bank Monte Paschi, which after failing to finalize a private, is finalizing the terms of its nationalization with the Italian government: a rescue which will cost Italian taxpayers at least €6.6 billion, and likely more. The bailout, however, is not the punchline. What is, […]
By Selam Gebrekidan | TOREKOV, Sweden TOREKOV, Sweden For more than a year, Girmay Mehari dreaded his 18th birthday next February. The teenager escaped from an Eritrean jail two years ago after he was sentenced to an indefinite term for evading national service or plotting to escape the country. The police never spelled out the charges. With money his brothers raised in New York and Israel, Girmay […]
A team of researchers made a significant breakthrough which will help patients with heart problems all over the world. The scientists managed to create synthetic stem cells, which can help the heart tissue regenerate just as well as normal stem cells, while also avoiding the complications associated with them. Promising Results A team of American and Chinese researchers joined efforts in order to provide a better treatment […]
By Polina Nikolskaya and Svetlana Reiter | MOSCOW MOSCOW President Vladimir Putin ruled out on Friday expelling anyone in retaliation for Washington’s decision to throw out 35 Russian diplomats and impose sanctions on two of the country’s intelligence agencies. RIA news agency quoted Putin as saying he would consider the actions of President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next month, when deciding on further steps in Russia-U.S. […]
As 2017 approaches, people are encouraged to be positive and ask Allah for a year of happiness and prosperity, worshippers will hear on Friday. Friday’s sermon emphasises the importance of having a good omen. As a hadith by Prophet Mohammed says: “Allah, the Most Exalted, says ‘I am as my servant thinks of me, so let him assume about me whatever he wishes.” So if one thinks […]
Trade between the UAE and China is expected to increase to $60 billion by the end of this year, up from $54.8 billion in 2015, according to the Dubai Economic Council. It said the UAE is now China’s second largest trading partner in the Middle East and the region’s biggest market for Chinese goods, news agency WAM reported. China, whose trade with the UAE stood at only […]
As we live through it, every year seems packed with significant events and key players who, for better or worse, seize our attention on the world stage. But as 2016 draws to a close and the white noise of 24-hour news cycles and transient Twitter storms fades into the background, it is already clear that history will remember only a handful of those people, each of whom […]
Vladimir Putin said Russia will not expel any US diplomats in response to sanctions imposed by Washington, in an extraordinary move aimed at limiting the fallout from the Kremlin’s clash with the Obama administration over the hacking of this year’s US presidential election. The Russian president made his announcement on Friday despite foreign ministry proposals for the expulsion of 35 US diplomats. Sergei Lavrov, foreign minister, said […]
Financial markets in 2016 endured an escalation of negative interest rates, the collapse and subsequent rebound in commodity prices and fluctuating stock market valuations. The test for investors began in week one, as fears of a China slowdown roiled stock indices weeks after the Federal Reserve began to normalise policy. Over the ensuing months, the Brexit vote and US election would prove significant mile markers, shift thinking […]
By Stephen Kalin | NEAR MOSUL, Iraq NEAR MOSUL, Iraq Iraqi forces faced car bombs and fierce resistance from Islamic State militants in southern Mosul on Friday, the second day of a renewed push to take back the city after fighting stalled for several weeks. An officer in the federal police forces, which joined the battle on Thursday, said there were heavy clashes in the southeastern Palestine […]
BERLIN Martin Schulz, the European Parliament president who is returning to German politics, does not expect to run as the Social Democrats’ (SPD) candidate for chancellor next year, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Friday. Schulz’s decision not to run, if confirmed, would likely clear the way for SPD chairman Sigmar Gabriel to be the party’s candidate to challenge conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bid for a fourth term […]
Microsoft’s Surface Studio offers a new angle on the desktop PC Image: Microsoft Microsoft’s high-priced Surface Studio may be selling better than expected, if we can believe a recent report from Digitimes. The Taiwanese company – which publishes a Chinese daily newspaper on IT and high-tech supply chains – reports that “Microsoft has ordered 30,000 units to be shipped in the first quarter of 2017, according to […]
BEIJING China’s Ministry of Agriculture said on Friday the recent outbreaks of bird flu have been handled in a “timely and effective” manner without spreading and have not affected chicken products or prices. In an emailed statement to Reuters, the government department said the situation in the world’s second-largest poultry consumer was “stable”. The comments come as South Korea and neighbouring countries battle outbreaks of various strains […]
Dubai’s transport authority has announced the roll-out of the Smart Mall concept to four new metro stations. The expansion to Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Station, Damac Station, Dubai Internet City Station and Emirates Towers Station is part of the Road and Transport Authority’s (RTA) plan to rank Dubai as the smartest city in the world. Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the RTA, said: “The Smart […]
TAIPEI Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen will transit through Houston and San Francisco during her January visit to allies in Latin American countries, her office said Friday, a move certain to anger China which a day earlier urged the U.S. to block a stopover. Tsai is transiting in the United States on her way to and from visiting Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador in that order. She […]
Photo John Kerry speaking at the State Department on Wednesday. Credit Zach Gibson/Getty Images In a speech this week laying out the Obama administration’s parameters for a final peace agreement between Israel and Palestine, Secretary of State John Kerry stated what has been obvious to most observers for many years: that Israel’s construction of Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian land has all but destroyed the two-state solution. […]
BEIJING Prosecutors in China’s violence-prone far western region of Xinjiang have set up a special team to handle terror-related cases, state news agency Xinhua said on Friday. Hundreds of people have been killed in recent years in resource-rich Xinjiang, on the borders of central Asia, in violence between the Muslim Uighur people who call the region home and ethnic majority Han Chinese. The government has blamed the […]
BEIRUT A ceasefire deal between Syrian government forces and rebels that took effect at midnight held early on Friday, after initial isolated clashes and gunfire, a monitoring group and a rebel official said. The truce was violated almost immediately after it came into effect as the warring sides clashed in the northwest of the country. However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said hours later that the […]
UAE-based construction firm Arabian Construction Company (ACC) has signed a joint venture contract to build a 170-metre luxury residential tower called ONE in Cyprus. ACC and its joint venture partners, Joannou & Paraskevaides Group, said in a statement that upon its completion in 2019 the project will be the tallest residential seafront tower in Europe. The new tower will be located on 28th October Avenue, Limassol’s prime […]
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; December 30, 2017 As the 10th anniversary year of Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, draws to a close, industry watchers can reflect on 12 months that have marked a historic milestone for the company and a pivotal moment for the renewable energy sector as a whole. During the decade since Masdar was established, the UAE has cemented a global reputation for […]
Dec 30, 2016 11:20 am IST From an incarcerated pigeon to luxury car owners who have nowhere to drive, here are some interesting articles from India that you could have missed this year. Why the Vast Majority of Women in India Will Never Own a Smartphone Eric Bellman and Aditi Malhotra reported on why technology, promoted as a social equalizer, is having the opposite effect in one […]
BHUBANESWAR, India At least three men were killed and nearly two dozen trapped when a pile of mine waste collapsed in a mine in Jharkhand run by state-run miner Coal India Limited, state police said on Friday. Several vehicles engaged in the mining operation were also trapped in the mishap that took place on Thursday evening at the Lalmatia mines owned by Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), a […]
HONG KONG China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL], one of the world’s largest telecom equipment makers, said on Friday it expects 2016 revenue growth to slow slightly to 32 percent and forecast greater uncertainties next year. The Shenzhen-based company, which competes with Sweden’s Ericsson (ERICb.ST) for the top spot in the global market for telecoms equipment, sees 2016 revenue hitting 520 billion yuan ($74.8 billion), said Eric […]
BEIJING Two Beijing police officers have been punished following the death of an environmentalist in custody in May, state media said on Friday, a case that sparked public disquiet about China’s law enforcement methods. Lei Yang, 29, was arrested in a massage parlour as part of a police operation against prostitution and died hours later after choking on his own vomit. While prosecutors decided last week not […]
