Dublin among top five cities in world experiencing retail rental growth

Dublin was one of the EMEA cities to experience a higher than average increase in high street retail rents in the year to the end of Q1 2017, up 10.5% in the period, according to CBRE’s half yearly research report Global Prime Retail Rents.

The report is based on the retail rent per square foot that retailers have to pay every year to occupy a shop in a prime location. Europe was the only region to register rental growth in Q1 2017 with an increase of 4.3% year-on-year.

The return of prosperity to the Irish and Spanish economies has led to Dublin and Madrid registering rental growth of 10.5% and 6.4% respectively, in the past year.

"Demand for quality retail space in Dublin remains robust and the arrival of brands such as Victoria’s Secret and & All Other Stories onto Grafton Street has further underlined the importance of these prime shopping destinations," said Bernadine Hogan, Senior Director in CBRE Ireland’s retail team.

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"We expect to see some further upward pressure on Prime Zone A rents on streets such as Grafton Street over the coming months. The retail sector is rapidly evolving and is a highly competitive market, therefore, retail brands must focus on targeting consumers across multiple channels."

Since 2013, there has been close to €442 million of investment transactions on Grafton & Henry Street. The largest proportion of these occurred in 2015 when assets such as Sovereign Portfolio traded. This portfolio was acquired by Irish Life for €154.8 million.

Irish institutions have been the most dominant buyers of prime high street assets acquiring 62% of Grafton & Henry Street assets since 2013.

Meanwhile London’s New Bond Street has taken the top spot for the fastest growing prime retail location in the world. It recorded prime rental growth of 39.1% in Q1 2017, compared to the same period last year.

St.Petersburg ranked second in the top 10 fastest growing retail locations and reported a 15.4% year-on-year growth; this was largely driven by an increase in tourism in the city. Auckland and Sofia were third with 12.5%, Dublin was fifth with 10.5% and Glasgow was sixth with 9.4%.

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Brexit already making London's economy 'wobble', says think tank

Brexit is already causing a "wobble" in London's economy, according to new analysis from an independent think tank.

Research by the Centre for London suggests the UK's looming withdrawal from the EU may be having an impact on reducing numbers of Europeans coming to the capital to work, a slowdown in job creation, declining business confidence and decelerating house price growth.

The think tank found that registrations for new national insurance numbers by foreign workers have fallen by 15% in the capital over the last year, with three-quarters of the fall accounted for by a drop in EU migration.

And its research found that job growth was slowing for the first time since 2015 to lag behind the rate in the rest of the UK.

Year-on-year house price growth was under 3% for the three months to April 2017, the lowest level in London since 2012, while increases in private rental values dropped below 2% to their lowest rate since 2010.

The research, released to coincide with the first edition of the Centre's new London Intelligence publication, noted that the capital's unemployment rate was at an historic low of 5.5% and that there had been a reduction in the number of young people not in education, employment or training.

Centre for London director Ben Rogers said: "London has shown remarkable resilience in the years following the recession. But its growth has not been painless. Levels of inequality have soared. Congestion, pollution and the housing shortage have all worsened.

"While no-one knows how Brexit will play out, this new analysis suggests that London's economy is beginning to wobble. It also highlights the need to tackle London's critical challenges to ensure it is in the best possible position to deal with Brexit.

"Through The London Intelligence, Centre for London will continue to deepen our understanding of how London is changing in real-time, and identify whether these are bumps in the road or changes in direction for London."

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Samsung to recover gold from recalled Galaxy Note 7 smartphones

Samsung plans to recover gold and other metals and components from recalled Galaxy Note 7 smartphones to reduce waste.

The South Korean company said that it expects to retrieve 157 tons of gold, silver, cobalt, copper and other metals from millions of smartphones that were recalled and discontinued last year after their batteries were found to be prone to catching fire.

It did not say how it would use the retrieved metals.

The phones' display modules, memory chips, camera models and other components will be separated from the Note 7 for sale or recycling, Samsung said.

In another effort to reduce waste, Samsung has begun selling 400,000 units of Galaxy Note FE phones in South Korea made from unused parts of recalled Note 7 smartphones.

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The Note 7 crisis was one of the biggest setbacks in Samsung's recent history, costing the company more than $5bn.

Airlines banned passengers from carrying Note 7s on flights due to safety concerns and millions of smartphones were shipped back to Samsung.

The phone recall fiasco prompted Greenpeace to urge the South Korean tech giant to sell longer lasting electronics products that are easier to repair and upgrade.

Environmentalists fault smartphones for increasing the amount of tech waste, though some experts note that by replacing other appliances they may actually decrease the amount of tech-related rubbish overall.

Samsung is the world's largest smartphone maker.

AP

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White House says Iran complying with nuclear deal but defying its spirit

The Trump administration has again told Congress that Iran is complying with the nuclear deal, but insisted Tehran would face consequences for breaching "the spirit" of the agreement.

President Donald Trump, who attacked the 2015 pact as a candidate, gave himself more time to decide whether to end it or let it stand.

Instead, senior Trump administration officials sought to emphasise their deep concerns about Iran's non-nuclear behaviour and vowed that those transgressions will not go unpunished.

In a shift from Mr Trump's previous threat to "rip up" the deal, officials said the administration was working with US allies to try to fix its flaws, including the expiration of some nuclear restrictions after a decade or more.

The officials also said the US would slap Tehran with new sanctions penalising it for developing ballistic missiles and other activity.

Mr Trump, secretary of state Rex Tillerson and "the entire administration judge that Iran is unquestionably in default of the spirit" of the agreement, one official said.

That assessment carries no legal force, while Mr Trump's certification that Iran is technically complying clears the way for sanctions to remain lifted.

The certification is a quarterly requirement, and Mr Trump first told Congress in April that Iran was indeed complying, while announcing new sanctions for non-nuclear behaviour to show there was no softening of his stance toward the Islamic Republic.

"We receive contradictory signals," Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday at the Council on Foreign Relations before the decision was announced.

"So we don't know which one to interpret in what way."

For Mr Trump, a vocal critic of the deal, the obligation to report to Congress on Iran's conformity has created an unwelcome headache every three months.

Still undecided about whether to withdraw from the deal, he must either vouch for Tehran's compliance or try to claim Iran is breaching it - even though the International Atomic Energy Agency that monitors the pact says it is not.

Under the deal struck by President Barack Obama and other world leaders, Iran agreed to roll back its nuclear programme - long suspected of being aimed at developing atomic weapons - in return for billions of dollars in sanctions relief.

The deal does not address global concerns about Iran's non-nuclear activities, but also does not prevent the US and others from punishing Iran for those activities.

Iran remains on the US State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism for its support of anti-Israel groups.

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Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte wants martial law to continue for another five months

President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has asked Congress to extend martial law in the south of the country until the end of the year.

He said the rebellion there will not be defeated by Saturday, the end of his original 60-day martial law proclamation.

Mr Duterte declared martial law on May 23 following a bloody siege of the southern city of Marawi by Islamic State group-aligned militants, the most serious security crisis he has faced since assuming power in June last year.

In a letter to Congress on Tuesday, Mr Duterte said after consulting security officials, he concluded that it will take more time to quell the rebellion.

He asked Congress to extend martial law until December 31.

Under the constitution, the president can declare martial law for 60 days, and can ask Congress to extend such a proclamation to a period of time to be determined by the politicians.

More than 550 people, including 411 militants, have been killed in nearly two months of fighting in Marawi, a bastion of Islamic faith in the south.

AP

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Amnesty calls arrest of six human rights activists in Turkey 'a new low'

An Istanbul court has ordered six human rights activists - including Amnesty International's Turkey director - to be formally arrested pending a trial on charges of aiding an armed terror group.

Four other activists were released from custody on Tuesday pending the outcome of a trial.

They have been barred from travelling abroad and have to report regularly to police.

The group was detained earlier this month at a hotel on Buyukada island while attending a training workshop, adding to concerns over human rights in Turkey.

It is not clear which terror organisation they are accused of helping.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had made vague accusations, saying the group was involved in a meeting that had the "nature of a continuation" of last year's failed coup attempt.

Amnesty International said the arrests are "an appalling affront to justice and a new low in Turkey’s post-coup crackdown".

The group said all 10 are suspected of "committing crime in the name of a terrorist organisation without being a member".

The six who were remanded in custody join Amnesty International Turkey’s Chair, Taner Kiliç, behind bars.

Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland, said: "Turkish prosecutors have had 12 days to establish the obvious: that these ten activists are innocent. The decision to proceed shows that truth and justice have become total strangers in Turkey.

"This is not a legitimate investigation, this is a politically motivated witch-hunt that charts a frightening future for rights in Turkey."

The group said the "bizarre accusations" include attempts to link Idil Eser with three unrelated and opposing terrorist organisations through her work for Amnesty International.

The prosecutor's request that she be remanded in pre-trial prison custody references two campaigns by Amnesty International, neither of which were authored by Amnesty Turkey, one of which was conducted before she joined the organisation, they said.

They also claimed that an accusation levelled against İlknur Üstün of the Women's Coalition, who was released on bail, is that she requested funding from “an embassy” to support a project on “gender equality, participation in policy making and reporting.”

Mr O'Gorman said: "Today we have learnt that standing up for human rights has become a crime in Turkey. This is a moment of truth, for Turkey and for the international community. Leaders around the world must stop biting their tongues and acting as if they can continue business as usual.

"They must bring pressure to bear on Turkish authorities to drop the investigation and to immediately and unconditionally release the rights defenders."

AP

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International experts to meet doctors about Charlie Gard case

Medics from Great Ormond Street Hospital in England are meeting two international experts and Charlie Gard's mother to discuss the 11-month-old's condition.

The meeting has been set up after Michio Hirano, a professor of neurology at the Columbia University Medical Centre in New York, spent around four-and-a-half hours inside the hospital on Monday.

He was given full access to Charlie's medical records and hospital and clinical facilities, including diagnostic images.

Dr Hirano was also given an opportunity to examine Charlie.

The identity of a second international expert is subject to media reporting restrictions.

The meeting on Tuesday is being attended by the team currently caring for Charlie, including a consultant paediatric intensivist, a consultant paediatric neurologist, a consultant in paediatric metabolic medicine, and a consultant neuroradiologist.

Charlie's mother, Connie Yates, is also attending, alongside an independent chairman.

A structure agreed by all parties is in place for the meeting, with key questions agreed by all parties.

All doctors and researchers in the meeting are bound by patient confidentiality.

Great Ormond Street said it would be for the court to decide next steps regarding Charlie.

Charlie's parents are fighting for the right to take the 11-month-old to the US for a therapy trial for his rare genetic condition, overseen by Dr Hirano.

Great Ormond Street Hospital specialists say that treatment will not work, and the little boy's life support should be turned off.

His parents, from Bedfont, west London, have already lost battles in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

They also failed to persuade European Court of Human Rights judges to intervene.

Mr Justice Francis has considered the couple's latest claims at preliminary hearings in the Family Division of the High Court in London.

He is due to stage further hearings later this month following this week's meetings.

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