Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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The logo of Microsoft company is seen in Paris, France, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen

Microsoft Spends Big to Build a Computer Out of Science Fiction

by John Markoff | Dec 27, 2016 | Technology

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft is putting its considerable financial and engineering muscle into the experimental field of quantum computing as it works to build a machine that could tackle problems beyond the reach of today’s digital computers. There is a growing optimism...

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A man uses a smartphone in New York City, in this picture taken November 6, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Make Your Phone a Valuable Holiday Shopping Companion

by Kit Eaton | Dec 27, 2016 | Technology

GIFT-BUYING season has arrived, and you might as well save some money while you’re at it. Plenty of apps can help make you a smarter shopper. It may seem obvious, but the Amazon app is an excellent tool to have on your phone as you peruse the offerings at your local...

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The police raiding the 1MDB office in Malaysia in 2015. The government has said that no 1MDB funds were misappropriated. Credit Mohd Rasfan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

1MDB Case Hangs Over Goldman Sachs as Investigators Dig for Answers

by Nathaniel Popper and Matthew Goldstein | Dec 27, 2016 | Business

Even as Goldman Sachs is gaining a more prominent profile in the administration of Donald J. Trump, the Wall Street investment firm is undergoing scrutiny in an investigation in a sprawling international money laundering and embezzlement scheme. Prosecutors have said...

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Trump rally, Houston, Texas, June 17, 2016. Trish Badger / Reuters

Populism, Real and Phony

by Paul Krugman | Dec 27, 2016 | Opinion

Authoritarians with an animus against ethnic minorities are on the march across the Western world. They control governments in Hungary and Poland, and will soon take power in America. And they’re organizing across borders: Austria’s Freedom Party, founded by former...

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a news conference after the talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Moscow, Russia, December 20, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Syrian Opposition Says not Part of Talks that Moscow Said Are Underway

by Asharq Al-Awsat English | Dec 27, 2016 | Middle East

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that the Syrian regime was holding talks with the opposition ahead of possible peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, the Interfax news agency reported. Lavrov did not say where the current talks were being held and...