Scientists criticise EU’s Human Brain Project

Almost 200 neuro-scientists say $1.6b bid to recreate human-brain function on supercomputers will waste too much money. Almost 200 neuro-scientists are protesting Europe’s $1.6bn attempt to recreate the functioning of the human... Read more »

NZ share gains lag Asia-Pacific

NEW Zealand shares have risen on the coat-tails of offshore markets. THE NZX 50 Index rose 21.511 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 5188.905 on Friday. Within the index, 27 stocks rose,... Read more »

CM Sindh announces Rs683bn provincial budget

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly’s session for presentation of budget proposals for fiscal year 2014-2015 was under way here on Friday. The session was being chaired by Speaker Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Durrani.... Read more »

Geo News to sue ISI for defamation

ISLAMABAD: Geo News is suing the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for defamation over accusations of being anti-state, it said on Friday. Geo News, part of the privately-owned Jang Group, has also given the... Read more »

Pirate Bay fugitive Peter Sunde arrested in Sweden

The co-founder of notorious piracy listings site The Pirate Bay has been arrested in Sweden after two years on the run. Peter Sunde, 35, had been sentenced to eight months in prison... Read more »

China and Russia ink $400 billion gas deal

CHINA signed a landmark $400 billion deal Wednesday to buy natural gas from Russia. The deal binds Moscow more closely to Beijing at a time when President Vladimir Putin’s relations with the... Read more »

eBay tells users to change passwords

Online giant asks users to reset passwords after hackers broke its database containing clients’ information. US online giant eBay has asked its users to change their passwords after the company announced that... Read more »

Credit card 101: How to make the most of your interest-free days

CREDIT card customers are getting stung with exorbitant charges by failing to maximise the interest-free days on their cards correctly. Failing to pay off a card’s balance in full each month and... Read more »

Volkswagen to invest over Rs 800cr on new models, localisation in India

New Delhi, May 18: German auto giant Volkswagen Group is planning to invest about 100 million euros (over Rs 800 crore) in India to expand business, including launches of sedan and SUV... Read more »

Asian shares take cue from Wall Street

Tokyo – Asian shares were supported on Tuesday after Wall Street stocks extended gains into a fifth day, though investors continued to see tensions in Ukraine as a threat to risk appetite.... Read more »

Qatar Airways to increase flights to Saudi

Qatar Airways will double the number of weekly flights to Gassim from four to eight from May 15, while Madinah flights were recently increased from five to seven per week.The airline has also... Read more »

Europe rejects UK’s financial transaction tax challenge

Europe’s top court has rejected the UK’s challenge to the introduction of an EU financial transactions tax (FTT), which ministers have said will damage British firms. The European Court of Justice (ECJ)... Read more »

Microsoft raises cloud pitch, targets Dropbox, Box

Microsoft Corp said it will increase its cloud storage offering for business users by 40-fold as the world’s largest software company makes a case for businesses buying an all-in-one product from itself... Read more »

UAE Telecom Etisalat signs multi-currency deal

Etisalat, the leading telecommunications operator in the UAE, said it has signed a multi-currency club deal worth 3.15 billion euros ($4.35 billion) with a group of seventeen international, regional and local banks.The move is aimed... Read more »

Saudi Arabia to build world’s biggest desal plant

Saudi Arabia has commissioned the first phase of the world’s largest desalination project, being built at a cost of SR27 billion ($7.2 billion) in Ras Al Khair, a report said.The plant for production... Read more »

Nokia’s era ends with Microsoft’s $7.5 billion takeover

Nokia said it has completed the 5.44 billion-euro ($7.5 billion) sale of its troubled cellphone and services division to Microsoft Corp., ending a chapter in the former world leading cellphone maker’s history that... Read more »

IBM inks deal with Polaris FT for social software solutions

Technology giant IBM has signed a contract with IT services firm Polaris Financial Technologies (FT) for using the US-based company’s social software for a superior digital experience, improve workforce productivity and accelerate... Read more »

Boeing revenues rise on commercial aircraft deliveries

Boeing’s total revenues rose 8% to $20.5bn in the first quarter, driven by an increase in commercial aircraft deliveries. The company delivered 161 commercial aeroplanes in the three months to 31 March,... Read more »

Kraft recalls 96klb of hot dogs over wrong labels

Kraft Foods is voluntarily recalling 96,000lb (43,545kg) of its Oscar Mayer hot dogs in the US because they may have been sold in the wrong packaging. The US food safety authority said... Read more »

Asian shares mostly up in quiet trade

HONG KONG: Asian markets mostly rose while the dollar edged up in holiday-narrowed trade on Friday following a mixed lead from Wall Street and news of a deal between Russia and the... Read more »

PepsiCo’s profit rises on snack sales

PEPSICO has reported a stronger-than-expected first-quarter profit as the company slashed costs and sold more snacks around the world. The company, which makes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Mountain Dew and Tropicana, said global snack... Read more »

Samsung’s profit falls as smartphones get cheaper

SEOUL: Declining smartphone prices hit profit at Samsung Electronics Co. for a second straight quarter. The consumer technology heavyweight said on Tuesday that it expects operating income of about 8.4 trillion won... Read more »

EU banking union gets final approval from MEPs

MEPs have backed rules for a banking safety net to minimise the risk of further EU taxpayer-funded bailouts. A new European authority will have the power to wind up or restructure failing... Read more »

Citigroup profit rises from troubled assets

Citigroup Inc reported a better-than-expected quarterly net profit as a smaller loss on its troubled assets made up for weakness in its core trading and lending businesses, pushing up the bank’s shares... Read more »