Bloomberg Starship Technologies, the London-based company that has created six-wheeled self-driving delivery robots, will begin taking customers Domino’s pizzas in Germany and the Netherlands. Starship, launched in July 2014 by two former Skype co-founders, Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis, will whisk pizzas to customers’ doors if they live within a one-mile radius of certain Dominos pizza shops in “select ...
Read More »Sharers rather than authors more important on social media
NEW YORK / AP The person who shares a news story on social media is more important than the story’s actual source in determining whether readers believe it, a study by the Media Insight Project has found. In a previous study, consumers said they paid greater heed to where the story originated. But the Media Insight Project, a collaboration ...
Read More »UAE’s listed firms offer AED33.83bn dividends
ABU DHABI / WAM Dividends suggested by board of directors of 71 companies listed in Abu Dhabi and Dubai financial markets for the fiscal year 2016 have grown substantially to AED 33.83 billion. The dividends have already been approved by some of the general assemblies of the companies. The per share dividends are reckoned the highest in the Gulf ...
Read More »Russia general claims US-led coalition hit dam in Syria
MOSCOW / AP A senior Russian general on Tuesday criticized the US-led coalition fighting IS militants for allegedly targeting Syria’s infrastructure — including a key dam — in territory held by the Sunni extremist group. Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the military’s General Staff accused the coalition of trying to “completely destroy critical infrastructure in Syria and complicate post-war ...
Read More »Scottish parliament to defy UK, back independence vote
Bloomberg Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is expected to win backing for her plan to pursue a second independence referendum in a parliamentary vote that comes a day before the UK triggers two years of talks on withdrawing from the European Union. Lawmakers in Edinburgh will vote around 5 p.m. local tine on Tuesday, with the Greens already saying ...
Read More »German state warns Turkey against spying on Gulenists
BERLIN / AP German officials on Tuesday warned Turkey against spying on its territory, after Ankara allegedly sought Berlin’s help in eavesdropping on hundreds of Turks in Germany thought to be supporters of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The Turkish government claims Gulen supporters were behind a July coup attempt and has arrested 41,000 people in a crackdown on the ...
Read More »America is getting richer and sicker
Per capita gross domestic product is much higher in the US than in the other major developed economies, and no one really seems to be catching up. Life expectancy, on the other hand, is lower in the US than in those same peer countries — and the gap has been growing. In the past, one could argue that the ...
Read More »Wild sales show Hong Kong property curbs aren’t working
Few bigger challenges loom for Hong Kong’s new Chief Executive Carrie Lam than bringing down real-estate prices in the city, the world’s least affordable. Increasing the supply of available land may take time, so she could start with removing property curbs. They’ve done little to tame soaring prices and in fact have worked to create ever tinier apartments. Last ...
Read More »Trump can still wreck health care
In his very first executive order, directing federal agencies to “waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay” various parts of the Affordable Care Act, President Donald Trump stated his intention to repeal the law. Two months later, with that effort in shambles, the order has become the administration’s entire game plan on health care. That’s not only inadequate, but ...
Read More »Putin must address Russians’ grievances
Thousands of Russians protested in many cities across the country against official corruption. It was apparently the biggest anti-government demonstrations since 2012, when the wave of protests against alleged vote-rigging led Kremlin enforce harsher laws to suppress dissent. People heeded the call of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a bête noir of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Police have arrested hundreds ...
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