NEW YORK: US Boeing shareholders have reached a $225 million out-of-court settlement with the aircraft manufacturer’s current and former directors in a 737 MAX aircraft safety negligence case, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Shareholders had accused Boeing board members and several executives, as well as current CEO David Calhoun of failing to ensure that control and … Read more
LISBON: Russian chess legend Garry Kasparov was beaten by a supercomputer — but when it comes to artificial intelligence, he is firmly convinced that it’s the humans who pose the real threat. Kasparov has remained fascinated by technology since his famous matches against IBM’s Deep Blue computer in the 1990s. When he wasn’t busy taking on … Read more
SINGAPORE: Singapore has banned a book on censorship over “offensive images” including blasphemous sketches of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), authorities said. The city-state is majority ethnic Chinese but has a sizeable Muslim minority, and has strict laws to curb hate speech and actions promoting ill-will between religious or racial groups. The book, “Red Lines: Political Cartoons … Read more
BASRA, Iraq: In Iraq’s southern province of Basra, the oil flows freely but little of the wealth trickles down to the people, and many struggle to make ends meet. Sajad, 17, who lives in Basra city, says he “has no future” and no present. Like other young people, he says he just survives, a living … Read more
Tech evangelists habitually brim with enthusiasm over artificial intelligence’s potential to transform our lives, and the crowds at this year’s Web Summit were no exception. Here are five uses for AI showcased at one of the world’s largest technology conferences, which returned to Lisbon this week after the 2020 edition was called off due to … Read more
UNITED NATIONS: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called on the international community to raise awareness about tsunami threats and share innovative approaches to decreasing risks. “We can build on progress achieved — ranging from better outreach to tsunami-exposed communities around the world, to the inclusion of a Tsunami Programme in the UN Decade … Read more
LONDON: A British coroner will on Friday deliver the conclusions of his inquest into the 2004 sinking of a French trawler in UK waters, which killed five people. Judge Nigel Lickley heard weeks of evidence last month on how the Bugaled Breizh sank suddenly off Cornwall, southwest England, despite good weather 17 years ago. The … Read more
LOS ANGELES: When vaccine mandates were announced in the United States, there were dire warnings they would cause mass layoffs or walkouts. But they didn’t. In fact, figures show they are working. There are pockets of resistance to rules requiring employees be protected against Covid-19, notably among police and firefighters, but they have nudged more … Read more
HONG KONG: From Bangladesh to Britain to Nigeria, many young campaigners on the frontlines of the global fight for climate justice now face a new problem: the impact the crisis is having on their mental health. As thousands of delegates converged at the COP26 summit in Glasgow to discuss ways to tackle the environmental emergency, … Read more
Democratic leaders announced the US House would vote Friday on President Joe Biden’s $3 trillion blueprint to transform transport networks and expand the welfare safety net. House Democratic leaders had been hoping for a procedural vote on Biden’s $1.75 trillion Build Back Better social spending plan and to rubber-stamp the Senate-passed $1.2 trillion infrastructure package on Thursday but outstanding differences … Read more
KHARTOUM: General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on Thursday issued a decision to release four ministers of the recently dissolved transitional government, official Sudan TV reported. The released officials included Communications Minister Hashim Hasabal-Rasoul, Transport Minister Ali Jiddo, Youths and Sport Minister Yousif Adam, and Information Minister Hamza Balol. A number … Read more
MADRID/LILLE: Spanish police have dismantled a smuggling ring suspected of bringing hundreds of Pakistani migrants into the European Union overland in “life-threatening conditions”, officials said on Thursday. The smuggling group took Pakistanis from camps in Bosnia to Italy or Spain, said a statement from Europol, which was involved in the Spanish operation. “Transported in life-threatening … Read more
LONDON: Yorkshire were suspended from staging international matches after the England and Wales Cricket Board strongly condemned their handling of a racism row involving Azeem Rafiq, with ex-England captain Michael Vaughan later denying allegations he had abused his one-time team-mate. The 30-year-old Rafiq has accused Yorkshire of failing to deal adequately with his allegations of … Read more
TEHRAN: Iran will not leave the negotiating table, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Thursday, after the announcement that the Vienna nuclear talks will resume on Nov 29. “As Iran has previously stated, we will not leave the negotiating table, but we will stand up to excessive demands that cause damages on the interests of … Read more
COPENHAGEN: The rising number of cases of Covid-19 in Europe is of “grave concern” and the region could see another half a million deaths by early next year, the World Health Organisation warned on Thursday. With 78 million cases in the WHO’s European region — which spans 53 countries and territories and includes several nations in Central Asia — … Read more
KABUL: The supreme leader of the Taliban warned Thursday against the danger of turncoats and infiltrators in the movement that has taken charge of Afghanistan. Reflecting the seriousness of the threat, the reclusive Haibatullah Akhundzada issued a rare written public statement to urge Taliban commanders to purge their ranks. In it he says “all those elders of their groups must … Read more
TOKYO: Toyota upgraded its full-year profit forecast on Thursday after a strong quarter that saw it weather production cuts caused by a chip crunch and supply chain issues in pandemic-hit Southeast Asia. The world’s top-selling automaker has recovered quicker than its competitors from some of the impact from Covid, but has been unable to avoid the … Read more
ZURICH: Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Roche said Thursday that it will buy back around one third of its voting capital currently held by rival Novartis as the two groups disentangle their ties for greater strategic flexibility. The two drug-makers said in separate statements that Roche would repurchase 53.3 million of its own shares currently held by Novartis … Read more
SAO FELIX DO XINGU, Brazil: Seen from the sky, the Amazon is an endless expanse of deep green, a place where life explodes from every surface, broken only by the blue rivers snaking across it. Endless, that is, until it isn’t. Fly toward the edges of the world’s biggest rainforest, and you will come to the … Read more
SYDNEY: Trying to figure out how the stock markets work? These days you’re as likely to turn to a social media influencer for advice as a financial adviser dressed in a suit. Across the globe, baby-faced investment gurus in their twenties are building huge followings on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok by offering tips on how … Read more
PERTH, Australia: The man suspected of abducting a four-year-old Australian girl “acted alone”, police said on Thursday, as they released an audio recording of the touching moment she was rescued. Cleo Smith disappeared from her family’s tent in remote Western Australia last month, sparking a frantic air, land and sea search. She was missing for 18 days until being rescued … Read more
GARDANNE, France: The Gardanne smokestack is the highest in France at 295 metres (975 feet) but the mood at the power station beneath the once-proud chimney has reached an all-time low. Gardanne is one of the last remaining French coal-fired stations. Ever since the government announced the closure of its coal plants three years ago to help meet climate … Read more
PARIS: Britain’s Brexit minister is due in Paris on Thursday for talks on the fishing rights crisis that has further strained already tense relations between the two countries. The meeting comes a day after a French court released a British trawler impounded for a week as part of the deepening dispute. David Frost will sit down with French … Read more
MEXICO CITY: Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday slammed participants in a major UN climate summit for their “hypocrisy,” accusing them of failing to address the root causes of the crisis and pointing to their use of private jets. The world’s top business and political figures are gathered in Glasgow this week for COP26, … Read more
PORT RENFREW, Canada: Guarding road blockades, digging trenches, and sleeping under the leafy canopy — for the past year, protesters on Vancouver Island have battled to halt logging in one of Canada’s last ancient cedar and fir forests. Working in relays to ensure activists are present at all times, they’ve faced off against police armed with … Read more
STARA ZAGORA, Bulgaria: Nikolay Dinev, 34, has worked as a coal miner for 12 years but now faces an uncertain future as an EU-wide exit from coal is being discussed at the UN’s COP26 climate conference in Glasgow. “It will be a disaster… The closure is inevitable,” Dinev told AFP on the outskirts of the Maritsa … Read more
CAIRO: The Egyptian banking sector has pumped EGP 2.8 trillion ($178 billion) in the Egyptian economy this year, Head of Egypt’s Banque Misr said in an interview with Al-Arabiya. Mohamed El-Etreby said that the Federation of Egyptian Banks (FEB), headed by Mohamed El-Etreby, has contributed EGP 500 million ($31.824 million) towards Egypt’s purchase of vaccines for … Read more
RIYADH: The economic activity across the globe is gathering pace with major economies showing signs of growth, Arab News reported. The US Purchasing Managers’ Index, which measures private sector activity in different countries, reached 57.6 in October, jumping from 55 in September. This was the highest growth in private sector activity since July. The services sector expanded … Read more
