For Iranians whose icons since the Islamic Revolution have been hardline clerics, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani widely represented a figure of national resilience in the face of four decades of U.S. pressure. For the U.S. and Israel, he was a shadowy figure in command of Iran’s proxy forces, responsible for fighters in Syria backing President […] Read more
Global stock markets have been on a torrid run in 2019, adding more than $17 trillion in total value, according to Deutsche Bank calculations. The value of global equities began the year just under $70 trillion but has now surpassed $85 trillion, according to a chart from Deutsche Bank’s Torsten Slok. Data provided by Deutsche […] Read more
Emaar Properties is selling the observation decks of the world’s tallest skyscraper the Burj Khalifa, four sources told Reuters, potentially raising $1 billion for Dubai’s biggest developer amid a real estate downturn. Two of the sources said Emaar had appointed Standard Chartered to advise it on the sale of the popular “At The Top” tourist […] Read more
Facebook’s sharing of data on its European users with the U.S. is legal and provides sufficient protections, the legal advisor to the EU’s top court said Thursday. In a symbolic win for the social network, Henrik Saugmandsgaard Oe, advocate general to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), said the use of so-called […] Read more
At the Dead Sea, travelers slather thick, mineral-rich mud onto their bodies and bake under the sun. In India, hot stones are strategically placed along the spine. From Iceland to New Zealand, people luxuriate in steaming natural hot springs. And in Morocco? Travelers are buried alive in sweltering hot sand in the name of health […] Read more
Thousands of people have marched through Madrid to demand more action be taken against climate change. It comes as the COP25 climate change conference continues in the Spanish capital on Friday. Greta Thunberg also joined the protest as it got underway after she spoke on a panel earlier in the day. The Swedish teenager said […] Read more
BEIJING — China’s official spokespeople are keeping quiet on trade talks with the U.S. amid growing uncertainty on when even a phase-one agreement can be reached. “China believes if both sides reach a phase-one agreement, relevant tariffs must be lowered,” Gao Feng, Ministry of Commerce spokesman, said Thursday, according to a CNBC translation of his […] Read more
Derived from the Swedish term “flygskam” where the movement originated, “flight shame” is having a notable effect on the way people think about traveling. The concept aims to get people to stop traveling by plane in order to lower carbon emissions and has gained momentum thanks to environmental activists like Greta Thunberg, who opted to […] Read more
Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed the creation of an online “Russian encyclopedia” with “reliable information” to replace Wikipedia. Putin made the comments at a meeting of the Russian Language Council held at the Kremlin on Tuesday. “It’s better to replace it with a Big Russian new encyclopedia in electronic form…here it will be in […] Read more
Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese tech giant Alibaba saw yet another stellar trading day following a blockbuster Tuesday listing in the city. Alibaba stock in Hong Kong rose 2.99% on Wednesday, adding to its first day gains of 6.6% on Tuesday. That puts the current stock price around 9.6% above the initial listing price of 176 Hong […] Read more
