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US Adds 311,000 Jobs in February, Lagging Behind Six-Month Average
BY PYMNTS | MARCH 10, 2023
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Job growth continued but slowed as the U.S. added 311,000 jobs in February.
That gain was lower than the revised 504,000 added jobs reported for January and the average monthly gain of 343,000 seen over the prior six months,...
As Silicon Valley Bank Folds, Can FinTech Outrun the Bank Runs?
BY PYMNTS | MARCH 10, 2023
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Silicon Valley Bank has collapsed. The regulators have circled the wagons.
The damage is contained.
Maybe.
Maybe just for a day, because who knows what comes next?
As Friday’s stock market roller-coaster ride ended, no one could answer...
Defence spending is likely to get a boost this week – but it won’t be anywhere near enough
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Analysis
Defence spending is likely to get a boost this week - but it won't be anywhere near enough
Rishi Sunak will deliver some tough remarks about the importance of defence spending and the need to stand up to Russia and China, but his own military looks set to remain as hollow as his words.
Deborah Haynes
Security and Defence Editor @haynesdeborah
Saturday 11...
Ukraine must embrace the West’s ‘manoeuvre warfare’ instead of being dragged into traditional Russian-style combat
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Analysis
Ukraine must embrace the West's 'manoeuvre warfare' instead of being dragged into traditional Russian-style combat
Volodymyr Zelenskyy faces a choice: fight Russia in a traditional gladiatorial manner where Russia's size would give it the advantage, or adapt to survive.
By Sean Bell, military analyst
Saturday 11 March 2023 02:01, UK
Ukraine war.
Why you can trust Sky News
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been brutal...
Hamburg shooting: Ex-congregation member took his own life after killing six people and unborn baby – police
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Hamburg shooting: Ex-congregation member took his own life after killing six people and unborn baby - police
Police also revealed they had received an anonymous letter in January saying the attacker, named as 35-year-old Philipp F, should not be allowed to have weapons.
Niamh Lynch
Sky News reporter @niamhielynch
Friday 10 March 2023 15:43, UK
Member of Bundesrat for Hamburg, Andy Grote1:11
Play Video -...
Avatar: The Way Of Water – how gaming tech helped bring Oscars nominee to life, and could change filmmaking forever
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Avatar: The Way Of Water - how gaming tech helped bring Oscars nominee to life, and could change filmmaking forever
Avatar: The Way Of Water was the highest-grossing film of 2022 and is one of the front-runners in several categories at the Academy Awards. It has already been heralded for its visual effects, which were developed as artists get to...
NHS: England’s top doctor says emergency care will be prioritised during biggest strike disruption to date
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NHS: England's top doctor says emergency care will be prioritised during biggest strike disruption to date
The NHS has warned strike action by junior doctors across England next week will see major disruption of services, with thousands of patients facing postponements to routine care.
Faye Brown
Political reporter @fayebrownSky
Saturday 11 March 2023 00:43, UK
Junior doctors protest outside the Department of Health
Image:
Junior doctors...
Blockchain News
Core DAO Announces Strategic Partnership with OKX, Gets Tracked by DefiLlama
By
Utulu Hope
March 10, 2023
Core DAO partners with OKX to expand ecosystem growth and equip builders. Further, the decentralized blockchain is now supported by leading DeFi TVL tracker, DefiLlama.
Promoting Core Ecosystem Growth and Accessibility
Core DAO has announced its strategic partnership with OKX, a leading exchange in the blockchain...
Blockchain News
Pi Chain Mall Seals Partnership with EduGPT on Pi Network
By
Utulu Hope
March 10, 2023
EduGPT brings a powerful AI bot for students and teachers on Pi Network. The partnership with PCM will promote its capabilities to numerous Pioneers in the industry.
Promoting AI Bot on Pi Network
Pi Chain Mall (PCM) has partnered with EduGPT to promote its Artificial Intelligence...
Blockchain News
Vertex Integrates with Arbitrator Offer More Scalable Trading for Institutional Investors
By
Soumen Datta
March 10, 2023
1
MINS
Vertex beta testing began on March 8, with a select group of clients testing the order book and other components of the DEX.
Crypto trading protocol Vertex announced deploying contracts on Arbitrum mainnet with a target to attract institutional traders. The protocol on March 8...
Mexico kidnapping: A twisted moral code explains cartel's apology
Published
3 hours ago
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The five suspects were paraded in front of cameras by Mexican police
IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS
Image caption,
The five suspects were paraded in front of cameras by Mexican police
By Will Grant
BBC Mexico correspondent
Four Americans were kidnapped by a drug cartel, and two of them were murdered, when they visited the town of Matamoros,...
POLITICSMIDDLE EAST Saudi Arabia rebrands as Ramadan approaches Jennifer Holleis 8 hours ago8 hours ago A commercial Kaaba-style building, new national holidays and a strict new set of Ramadan...
administratoir -
CONFLICTSGERMANY
Most Germans want compulsory military service return — poll
03/09/2023March 9, 2023
Compulsory military service was suspended in 2011. A recent survey suggests 61% of Germans want it reintroduced, with over a third saying it should apply to women as well as men.
https://p.dw.com/p/4OSdD
The majority of Germans want to restore compulsory military service, which was scrapped in 2011, a survey revealed on...
POLITICSMIDDLE EAST
Saudi Arabia rebrands as Ramadan approaches
Jennifer Holleis
8 hours ago8 hours ago
A commercial Kaaba-style building, new national holidays and a strict new set of Ramadan rules point toward a national identity less anchored to religion. Observers say Saudis won't likely resist the changes.
https://p.dw.com/p/4OT27
The symbolism of the latest megaproject for Saudi Arabia sought by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is...
Did state media drive a teen to suicide in Poland?
Jacek Lepiarz
6 hours ago6 hours ago
Government-controlled media in Poland reported that an opposition politician's son had been the victim of child sexual abuse. Members of the opposition say the coverage drove the teenager to suicide.
https://p.dw.com/p/4OT79
On March 3, Magdalena Filiks posted an obituary on social media, stating that "on February 17,...

















![POLITICSMIDDLE EAST Saudi Arabia rebrands as Ramadan approaches Jennifer Holleis 8 hours ago8 hours ago A commercial Kaaba-style building, new national holidays and a strict new set of Ramadan rules point toward a national identity less anchored to religion. Observers say Saudis won’t likely resist the changes. https://p.dw.com/p/4OT27 The symbolism of the latest megaproject for Saudi Arabia sought by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is even grander than its dimensions. The New Mukaab, which translates to “New Cube,” will be 400 meters (1,320 feet) high, 400 meters wide and 400 meters long. The inside will hold entertainment options, hotels and restaurants. Though the costs remain undisclosed, construction is set to start soon, and completion is scheduled for 2030. The new cube resembles the most important landmark in Saudi Arabia, the Kaaba, Islam’s most sacred site in Mecca. Muslims around the world pray toward the Kaaba or travel there during Hajj or Umrah pilgrimages and during Ramadan. Bruno Schmidt-Feuerheerd, a political analyst at the University of Cambridge, told DW that “in the Saudi public sphere, religion is increasingly replaced by culture.” He said the cube-shaped architecture was not unique to the Kaaba. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a table with the Saudi flag in front of him.Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a table with the Saudi flag in front of him. Prince Mohammed bin Salman set the country’s new national flag holiday for March 11Image: Royal Court of Saudi Arabia/AA/picture alliance Saudi national makeover The plan for the commercial Kaaba is not the only step toward a new national identity no longer so tied to religion. According to a royal decree by the crown prince’s father, King Salman, in 2022, February 22 was introduced as a holiday to celebrate the foundation of the first Saudi state. Up until then, the country’s National Day was celebrated on September 23. In February, Saudi Arabia celebrated its second Founding Day over a four-day weekend with events and fireworks across the country. “February 22 is an arbitrary date that has no historical basis, and the intention behind this is a nationalist push to celebrate its own, nonreligious holidays,” Schmidt-Feuerheerd said. In 2022, the crown prince announced that the founding date of the country had been changed from 1744 to 1727. Until then, the founding date had been linked to an agreement in 1744 between the ruling Saud family and the cleric Mohammed Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, who inspired the term Wahhabi Islam, or Wahhabism, which has been dominant in Saudi Arabia since the mid-18th century. The Saud family had promised to fund Wahhabism and grant the movement authority over education and public morality, and, in turn, al-Wahhab promised to legitimize the rule of the Saudi family from a religious point of view. In 1727, though, Mohammed bin Saud rose to power as the founder of the first Saudi state after taking over the emirate of Diriyah, which is north of Riyadh. “The new interpretation of the state’s birth clearly downplays the role of religion,” Schmidt-Feuerheerd said. This month, a National Flag day was announced as holiday for March 11. “The value of the national flag extends throughout the history of the Saudi state, since its founding in 1139 AH [on the Islamic lunar calendar] -1727 AD,” Saudi Arabia’s national news agency SPA reported — highlighting the new founding year. Smiling woman drives in 2018 and sticks her left arm, thumb extended, out the windowSmiling woman drives in 2018 and sticks her left arm, thumb extended, out the window Women were granted driving privileges in 2018 after activists were jailed for driving carsImage: The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP Images/picture alliance Activism ‘is criminalized’ None of these introductions have led to a major outcry from the Saudi population of about 36 million. Schmidt-Feuerheerd said there were several explanations for the high level of acceptance. Tens of thousands of Saudis have studied abroad, supported by the fully funded King Abdallah Scholarship. “Upon their return, they were anything but culturally overwhelmed by the country’s modernization,” Schmidt-Feuerheerd said. Education and the creation of jobs for the demographically young Saudi population has become a priority for the kingdom, and is part of the major economic overhaul dubbed Vision 2030, which was introduced by the crown prince in 2016. The wide set of reforms seek to diversify the Saudi economy from oil and to modernize the country. Since then, women were granted more rights, cinemas have reopened, and the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, known as mutawa or morality police, was abolished. In turn, mixed audiences and dating in public have become possible, even normal. “At the same time, while there are more social liberties, the state wants to remain the only agent of change,” Schmidt-Feuerheerd said. “Any form of political activism is discouraged, and a new language depicts critics as traitors of the nation,” he added. There are enough examples of repercussions after dissent or calls for reform. The women’s activist Loujain al-Hathloul spent three years in prison after advocating for the right to drive in 2018, and remained there long after women were officially permitted to take the wheel. In 2022, 34-year-old Salma al-Shahab was sentenced to 34 years in jail for liking human rights tweets on Twitter and Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani received a sentence of 45 years in prison for the same reason, the longest term for such an offense yet. Kaaba, in the center of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, surrounded by worshippersKaaba, in the center of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, surrounded by worshippers Located in the center of Mecca’s Grand Mosque, the original Kaaba is Islam’s holiest siteImage: Hani Alshaer/AA/picture alliance Clipped Ramadan rules This week, the Saudi Islamic Affairs Ministry announced a major change of rules for Ramadan, which starts on March 22. For analyst Sami Hamdi, this marks the next step towards a new Saudi identity without Islam as major pillar. He said on Twitter that “MBS continues to drive Islam out of the public sphere.” As of this year, donations for mosques are banned, as is the after-sunset iftar, or meal to break the fast, in mosques. Furthermore, prayers have to be kept short, children are forbidden to pray in mosques, and believers have to bring their IDs. In all but the main two mosques in Mecca and Medina, volume has to be kept low, and prayers are banned from broadcast. DW has reached out to the Saudi authorities for comment but hasn’t received a reply by the time of the publication. Edited by: M. Gagnon](https://welcomeqatar.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/64748554_1005-696x385.jpg)
















