Nov
8
2023
Laura Panza looks to the past to understand the growth of economic development in various nations, largely in the near East: Egypt, Turkey, Syria, and Palestine, with a particular focus on Palestine. It’s difficult work because usable data is hard to come by in the Near East, she says. “There are very few sources; it’s …read more
Apr
5
2023
With an Oscar for best feature documentary now linked to his name, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is one of the world’s better-known victims of a chemical weapons attack. Poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in 2020 by Russian operatives, Navalny was airlifted in a coma from Russia to Germany where he spent months recovering.
Oct
11
2022
Ukraine has been battered by Russian cyber-attacks since Russia’s illegal annexation of the Ukrainian territory of Crimea in 2014, with the barrage surging in the weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine in February and continuing in the months since. Including data theft, disinformation, deep fake technology, distributed denial-of-service attacks, phishing, and data-wiper malware, the wide-ranging attacks targeted …read more
Oct
11
2022
Social media can be an effective way of staying on top of trends, staying in touch with friends and family and staying abreast of professional developments: yet there are any number of criminals lurking on the various platforms, ready to snap up the unwary. Users’ data is constantly sought and monetised and social media has …read more
Sep
30
2022
Russia’s aggressive cuts to natural gas exports and landmark US legislation have jointly boosted the global pursuit of carbon-free green hydrogen in recent months, firming a widespread resolve to find green hydrogen solutions to the climate change crisis. The US Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August, authorises US$369 billion in spending on energy security and climate …read more
Aug
2
2022
Thirty-five years after he first clenched his jaw as a daring jet pilot in a tight white t-shirt, Tom Cruise is Top Gun again. The Jurassic world is back, 28 years after those dinosaurs first raked in millions at the movies. Nearly four decades after her song first soared into the charts Kate Bush is …read more
Dec
10
2021
Three sleek and gleaming second-hand watches are presented on a simple tray for a customer’s perusal. Luxury, artisanal pieces, their value is astronomical – collectively worth just over $1 million and increasing by the day – elegant symbols of a world awash with Covid recovery cash with prices for prestige real estate, cars, jewels, art and …read more
Dec
9
2021
A slightly marked white sofa bed; a pair of cream-coloured patent leather shoes (size 40); boxes of N95 masks; bags of peanuts in the shell (‘no expiry date, consume at your own risk’), tiny rocks for a fish tank or plant pot – all free items recently listed on Hong Kong’s private Reduce Reuse Recycle …read more
Sep
13
2021
A diamond ring can signal joy, love, commitment and, maybe these days, environmental awareness. The global demand for ethically-sourced and environmentally-sound jewellery is steadily growing and big names, from the world-famous Tiffany brand to the massive Asia-based Chow Tai Fook group, have developed deep sustainable jewellery policies.
Aug
3
2021
Lung Lung Thun is one of the rare breed of women watch collectors. She researches the history of individual watches. She discusses watches, she understands watches and she buys watches – often larger men’s watches with complicated mechanical movements. She recently bought her first vintage Patek Philippe – the 3970 – a wildly expensive perpetual …read more