OAKLAND Victims of a fire that destroyed a converted warehouse in California this weekend, killing at least 33 people, included a woman working her way through culinary school, at least three musicians and a teacher. Their lives all ended suddenly when the performance space and artist community known as the Ghost Ship, which the city said was permitted only as a warehouse, turned into an inferno late […]
John Key has resigned as New Zealand’s prime minister, saying it felt like “the right time to go” and that he wanted to leave on his own terms ahead of next year’s general election. Mr Key, a former Merrill Lynch banker who won three consecutive elections and whose National party is ahead in opinion polls, said he would vote for Bill English, deputy prime minister, in a […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian government troops pushed deeper into the rebel-held section of Aleppo on Sunday, now controlling about half of what had been for years the rebels’ enclave in the divided northern city. Also on Sunday, airstrikes apparently carried out by the government or its ally Russia hit the towns of Maarat al-Noaman and Kafr Nabl in rebel-held Idlib Province. The strikes killed at least 20 […]
Small wind farm with several turbines. Credit: sprisi /www.pixelio.de Wind energy has been remarkably successful in providing an increasing share of cheap renewable energy. But can this trend continue to supply more and more renewable energy for decades to come? A new study published by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, Germany, lowers the expectations of wind energy when used at large scales. […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for December 5, 2016, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. newslide Abu Dhabi Heritage performance Attend Hekayah the Story, a multiple-artist event under the stars in celebration of National Day, featuring poetry, prose and songs by performers from diverse backgrounds selected through a collaborative curatorial […]
Every morning in the Philippines, a handful of bodies are found littering the streets. Their faces are often covered in black plastic tape. Sometimes there are signs of torture. Usually, they have been shot in the head. Few bother police – they are usually suspected of being responsible. No one, frankly, should be surprised that it is happening. The country’s democratically elected leader, after all, was elected […]
Beirut, Lebanon, December 4, 2016 : (ME NewsWire) During a special honoring ceremony held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Dubai, the publishers of Global Reinsurance and StrategicRISK announced the winners of the 2016 MEA Risk & Insurance Excellence Awards, honoring Mr. Farid Chedid, Chairman and CEO of Chedid Re, a Chedid Capital Holding company, as the ‘MEA Industry Achiever of the Year’. The prestigious title awarded […]
BEIRUT As Syrian government forces advanced into Aleppo’s rebel-held al-Sakhour district, Hasan al-Ali said he faced the choice of staying put and being caught by the army, or fleeing into a shrinking rebel enclave under relentless bombardment. A father of three children, he opted for the latter, though food, fuel, water and medicine are running critically low in rebel-held areas, such is his fear of the Syrian […]
By Tom Perry and Suleiman Al-Khalidi | BEIRUT/AMMAN BEIRUT/AMMAN As the Syrian government and its allies prepared to ramp up their attack on Aleppo in November, one of the rebel groups defending the opposition-held part of the city took up arms against another, seizing its stores of ammunition, fuel and food. The incident near an Aleppo frontline underlined the rebel rivalries that only worsened in the face […]
ABU DHABI // The president of Yemen visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and the newly opened Wahat Al Karama memorial on Sunday. Abdrabu Mansur Hadi visited the Abu Dhabi landmarks as part of his official visit to the UAE. He visited the memorial, which was inaugurated last Wednesday for Commemoration Day, to honour killed UAE heroes and their sacrifices in defending their country. Mr Hadi toured […]
New energy vehicles (NEVs) at Beijing Institute of Technology’s campus. Credit: Yu Hao Many Chinese cities are suffering from deteriorating environmental quality—particularly due to air pollution that contributes to fog and haze. Air pollutant levels now far exceed “safe” limits established by the European Union, and one of the main culprits behind it is the rapid increase in automobile ownership and usage. These rising environmental concerns are […]
PANAMA CITY: Getting rid of tax havens depends on the United States and Europe, but is unlikely to happen anytime soon, journalists behind the publication of the Panama Papers said Friday. “The biggest tax haven in the world today is probably in the United States,” Jake Bernstein, a US investigative reporter with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), told a conference in Panama hosted by anti-corruption […]
A new scientific approach uses a model inspired from Google’s algorithm to determine the degree of stability of the planetary systems. The researchers employed a machine learning technique in order to create a mechanism that is 1,000 times faster than traditional methods when it comes to predicting stability. The study, published Nov. 23 in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters, was carried out at the University of Toronto Scarborough […]
By Saif Hameed and Ulf Laessing | BAGHDAD/BARTELLA, Iraq BAGHDAD/BARTELLA, Iraq Islamic State fighters retreating in the face of a seven-week Iraqi military assault on their Mosul stronghold have hit back in the last two days, exploiting cloudy skies which hampered U.S.-led air support and highlighting the fragile army gains. In a series of counter-attacks since Friday night, the jihadist fighters struck elite Iraqi troops spearheading the […]
By Rory Carroll | OAKLAND, Calif. OAKLAND, Calif. Recovery teams found a 10th body early Sunday morning in the charred ruins of an Oakland, California, warehouse after a fire broke out during a dance party, triggering one of the worst disasters in the city’s history. Authorities confirmed at least nine fatalities soon after the blaze was brought under control early Saturday morning. But local media reported early […]
Bizarrely enough, it’s difficult to determine what constitutes a “small business” in the United States. The US Small Business Administration has a table of standards [PDF] that ranges from about 250 to over a thousand employees. On the other hand, the Affordable Care Act kicks in certain requirements for businesses with over 50 employees. So, what exactly is small? When I researched my book, How To Save […]
SANTIAGO, Cub Fidel Castro’s ashes were interred on Sunday in a private ceremony at the Santa Ifigenia Cemetery in the eastern city of Santiago, the website of Cuba’s state-run Radio Reloj reported. The ceremony was to be televised but Cuban officials announced it would be private just a few hours before it was set to begin at 7 a.m. EST (1200 GMT), cutting off live television coverage […]
Philippine Vice-President Leni Robredo said she will resign as housing secretary on Monday after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered her to stop attending Cabinet meetings, a development that could galvanise opposition to Duterte. Robredo said she received a text message from Cabinet Secretary Jun Evasco relaying the president’s instruction. Not attending the cabinet meetings would make it impossible for her to perform her duties as head of the […]
Emirates National Oil Co (ENOC) has announced plans to build 54 new service stations over the next four years. The expansion plan kicked off with the opening of a gas station in the Dubai International Academic City area, the company said in a statement. Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Group CEO of ENOC, said: “Our service station expansion programme is part of ENOC’s wider growth strategy over the […]
China’s state broadcaster CCTV, better known as a conduit for Beijing’s propaganda efforts, is growing an international network beaming soap operas and news to audiences as far afield as Africa, the Middle East and the US. China International Communications Co (CICC), the commercial arm of China Central TV, streams Chinese content from CCTV and provincial broadcasters to overseas Chinese audiences — and is now setting its sights […]
By Sanjeev Miglani | AMRITSAR, India AMRITSAR, India Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on Sunday that the Taliban insurgency would not survive a month if it lost its sanctuary in neighbouring Pakistan, urging its neighbour to take on militant groups on its soil instead of giving Kabul financial aid. Ghani’s remarks, made at an international conference in the northern Indian city of Amritsar not far from the […]
BEIRUT Syrian rebel groups have told the United States they will not leave Aleppo after Moscow called for talks with Washington over a full withdrawal of rebel fighters from the city’s besieged eastern districts, a rebel official said on Sunday. Speaking to Reuters from Turkey, senior rebel official Zakaria Malahifji said the message was delivered to U.S. officials in contacts on Saturday following the statement from Russia, […]
Expo to support 1 billion people with disabilities worldwide, 50 million in the Middle East Region’s largest dedicated event for disabilities to showcase latest technologies, robotics and services 04 December 2016 After the resounding success of its inaugural edition, AccessAbilities Expo, the largest dedicated event for disabilities in the Middle East, is back with its second edition from November 7-9, 2017, at the Dubai International Convention […]
Beijing’s infamous smog spiked on Sunday despite draconian measures in surrounding cities to reduce persistent pollution during the winter in northern China. The thick layer of haze has become a political liability for the ruling Communist party and has driven China’s participation in the Paris climate accord to limit emissions of carbon and other greenhouse gases. An air monitor index released by the US embassy in Beijing breached 600 […]
