June, 2016

• 4 June

  ECB Prez urges policy makers to focus on implementation

  

    BLOOMBERG Mario Draghi’s insistence that his stimulus programme is only half done brings with it a worrying thought. What if its best effects are already spent anyway? At least four times at Thursday’s press meet in Vienna, the European Central Bank president emphasised how policy makers need to see the ‘full impact’ and must ‘focus on implementation’ of their ...

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• 4 June

  Fed’s Guv urges caution amid mixed data, global risks

  

    Bloomberg Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said a ‘sobering’ US employment report suggested the labour market has slowed, as she continued to warn against moving too quickly to raise interest rates. “In this environment, prudent risk management implies there is a benefit to waiting for additional data to provide confidence that domestic activity has rebounded strongly and reassurance that ...

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• 4 June

  Farewell to king of the square ring

  

    Los Angeles / AFP He called himself “The Greatest,” and few disagreed. Muhammad Ali — who died on Friday in Arizona at age 74 — was one of the iconic sporting heroes of the 20th century, the three-time heavyweight champion of the world who said he could “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” Ali, who came of ...

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• 4 June

  2017: More modular smartphones in store

  

    Relaxnews There has been much talk of modular smartphones this spring, after LG released its G5 handset and Google presented a near-final version of its Project Ara. Modular smartphones differ from regular mobiles thanks to their “building block” design, made up of various interchangeable modules containing different hardware components. These can be switched quickly and easily to boost performance ...

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• 4 June

  Google upgrades My Account features

  

    Relaxnews Google is celebrating My Account’s first birthday with new features and better ways to try to find out if your phone is lost or stolen. The three new features, announced on Google’s official blog on, are intended to improve users’ My Account experience and help locate and control missing or stolen phones. Find your phone is a new ...

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• 4 June

  Apple users experience technical glitch

  

    AFP An array of Apple services including the App Store and Apple TV were knocked offline for several hours due to an unexplained technical glitch. An official Apple status webpage confirmed the outage, which appeared recently. However the issue was resolved in California, Apple’s online shops and game center were back in operation, but its iCloud online data storage ...

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• 4 June

  Sequel platform launches chatbots with personality

    Relaxnews The developers announced that the Sequel chatbot platform has launched out of beta. The bot’s advantage over other competitors is that it promises customisable personae. These days, content creators can engage with their users on a large scale with the help of chatbots —computer programmes engineered to simulate conversation, typically over the internet. Sequel has become the first ...

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• 4 June

  Microsoft aids global internet access projects

  

    Tribune news service Microsoft is lending a hand to a dozen companies working to spread affordable Internet access to underserved communities around the world. The initiative is related to Seattle-based Microsoft’s commitment, announced earlier this year, to donate US$1 billion in services over three years primarily to nonprofits. As part of that effort, Microsoft said it would seed projects ...

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• 4 June

  Parisian haute couture ramps up Britain’s countryside

  

    AFP Dior staged a catwalk show of its “Cruise collection” at the majestic Blenheim Palace in the Oxfordshire countryside, in a lavish event reflecting the growing importance of between-seasons collections. The fashion event at the 18th century stately home, the birthplace of Britain’s wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill, was a nod to the past for the French design house, ...

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• 4 June

  Curtains down on Ebriez fashion expo

  

    DUBAI / Emirates Business The Sharjah Ladies Club (SLC) concluded the third edition of its annual Ebriez Fashion Exhibition on Friday. Themed ‘Shop for Charity,’ the show enabled women to shop for stylish accessories before Ramadan and showcased the talents of designers. It also fulfilled an important charity function, with a portion of its proceeds going to The Big ...

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