October, 2016

• 26 October

  Google puts expansion of fiber optic network on hold

  

    SAN FRANCISCO / AFP Alphabet, the parent of internet giant Google, on Tuesday announced it was halting the rollout of its Google Fiber — 1 Gbps fiber optic wireless service, in some markets. In cities where service started or is being developed, work will press ahead, said Craig Barratt, head of the Access division that covers the Google Fiber …

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• 26 October

  Smartwatch sales nosedive worldwide

    Relaxnews Global smartwatch sales reportedly stand at 2.7 million units for Q3 2016, down from 5.6 million in Q3 2015 (-51.6%), according to the latest figures from IDC. Could this be a passing dip or a genuine lack of enthusiasm for the product itself? Consumers seem to be snubbing smartwatches of all makes and models. Although Apple hasn’t released …

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• 26 October

  Apple to develop car operating system in Canada

  

    Bloomberg Apple Inc. has dozens of software engineers in Canada building a car operating system, a rare move for a company that often houses research and development projects close to its Cupertino, California headquarters, according to people familiar with the matter. Many of the engineers working in Canada were hired over the past year and about two dozen came …

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• 26 October

  Driverless cabs to kick mass transit to the curb

  

    Bloomberg Mass transit, the lifeblood of cities worldwide, is under threat from the biggest innovation in automotive technology since Henry Ford’s assembly line first flooded streets with cars. The self-driving vehicles being pioneered by Tesla Motors Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and others are poised to dramatically lower the cost of taxis, potentially making them cheaper than buses or subways, …

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• 26 October

  Africa clad in ‘secondhand’ boom

  

    Nairobi / DPA Sewing machines clatter and fumes from charcoal-burning irons fill the narrow aisles hung about with lengths of fabric in the Gikomba Market in Nairobi, one of the largest second-hand clothing markets in Africa. It is 7 am, and traders are already heaving large wooden carts fully laden with second-hand clothes pressed into plastic-covered packs weighing some …

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• 26 October

  ‘Giant’ secrets from the past

  

    Gross Pampau / DPA Amateur palaeontologist Wolfgang Hoepfner painstakingly removed all the dirt surrounding some fossilized bones, gradually revealing the skeleton of a 6-metre baleen whale, 11 million years after it had died in the North Sea. “For a palaeontologist like me, it was almost like winning the lottery,” he later explained with pride. Fossil hunting is a hobby …

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• 25 October

  Alabbar plans ‘app’ for Mideast

    ABU DHABI / Reuters Billionaire Mohamed Alabbar, one of Dubai’s most prominent businessmen, plans a phone messaging service for the Middle East that aims to compete with services such as WhatsApp. Alabbar, who made his fortune as the chairman of Dubai’s largest listed property developer, Emaar Properties, has been moving into other areas, in particular technology. Asked on the …

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• 25 October

  DCCI at ‘Dubai Week in China’

    DUBAI / WAM As part of its efforts to attract foreign investments to Dubai, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) is participating as an official partner in the Dubai Week in China: Shanghai, running from October 27-29. The three-day event, being held for the second year, will put the spotlight on Dubai-China ties and celebrate a dynamic …

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• 25 October

  Financial institutions sign sustainable financing declaration

    DUBAI / WAM The UAE’s financial institutions participating at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Finance Initiative’s 14th Global Roundtable, signed the Dubai Declaration on Sustainable Financing. With the signing of the declaration they have also confirmed their support for the UAE Vision 2021, and for transforming the national economy to a green economy in accordance with the UAE …

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• 25 October

  UAE, Greece seek to boost cooperative ties in tourism

    Abu Dhabi / WAM HE Engineer Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Minister of Economy, recently met with Elena Kontoura, Greek Minister of Tourism. The meeting saw the discussion of how to reinforce more cooperation for the tourism industry of the UAE and Greece—especially in the exploration of potential investment opportunities and the creation of joint ventures to help bolster …

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