By Robin Emmott | BRUSSELS BRUSSELS European NATO allies agreed on Thursday to jointly buy planes and submarines and possibly open a new command headquarters for elite troops as Europe seeks to show the United States it is serious about its own security. In signing ceremonies at NATO, defence ministers from France and Germany said they will buy Lockheed Martin C-130J transport planes, while Germany, Belgium and […]
BEIJING The rate at which human cases of bird flu are being reported in China is declining, health authorities said on Thursday, vowing to stiffen controls on markets and transport of live poultry to battle the spread of the virus. Eight new human infections of the H7N9 avian flu were reported between Feb. 12 and Feb. 14, indicating the rate of new cases had clearly declined compared […]
VIENNA Austria filed a lawsuit on Thursday against Airbus (AIR.PA) and the Eurofighter consortium, alleging them of wilful deception and fraud linked to a 2 billion euro ($2.1 billion) order for Eurofighter jets in 2003, the defense ministry said. A recently completed ministry investigation found that Airbus and Eurofighter (BAES.L) (LDOF.MI), with fraudulent intent, misled Austria about the purchase price, the deliverability and the equipment of the […]
At almost two metres tall, the Woman From The Mangroves is life-size and imposing. Her body is made from fishing-net wire, traditionally used by the portside fishermen of Ras Al Khaimah, and her head is fashioned from part of an old mangrove tree taken, after it had already died, from the natural landscape along the emirate’s thriving coast. It is one of 41 pieces of art, and […]
BEIRUT Syrian Islamist fighters have executed scores of insurgents in the west of the country in an increasingly bloody battle between different militant groups, the SITE Intelligence Group said. An offshoot of the Jund al-Aqsa group killed more than 150 members of rebel factions in the village of Khan Sheikhoun in southern Idlib province, the U.S.-based monitoring service reported on Wednesday. Dozens of those executed were members […]
By Lisa Baertlein and Paul Ingram | NOGALES, Arizona NOGALES, Arizona For up to 16 hours a day, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and mangoes grown in Mexico flow north through a border checkpoint into Nogales, Arizona, helping to ensure a year-round supply of fresh produce across the United States. This is a city built on cross-border trade. Each year, some 330,000 trucks and 75,000 train cars carrying $17 […]
Joo Kim Tiah, the son of one of Malaysia’s wealthiest tycoons, sat on stage in the summer of 2013 as his new business partner announced their plans for a C$360m luxury condominium-hotel project on Vancouver’s most prestigious downtown thoroughfare. With characteristic salesmanship, Donald Trump bragged that the 63-storey glass tower on West Georgia Street would be “one of the great buildings, not only in Canada and the […]
For the tattered Rashidiya neighborhood here, the recent battle never ended. It just shifted course along the river. Rashidiya was the last district in eastern Mosul declared liberated in late January, but army officers say Islamic State sleeper cells remain entrenched. Continue reading the main story And those are not the only troubles here. Even as American-backed Iraqi forces prepare an offensive against the Islamic State stronghold […]
By Roberta Rampton and Noah Barkin | WASHINGTON/BERLIN WASHINGTON/BERLIN U.S. Vice President Mike Pence heads to Europe this week to meet with allies seeking clarity on the Trump administration’s foreign policy strategy and its stance towards Russia after the resignation of the top White House national security aide. Pence, who has hewn more closely to Republican orthodoxy than his boss President Donald Trump, will attend the Munich […]
By Ayat Basma | NORTH OF MOSUL, Iraq NORTH OF MOSUL, Iraq Islamic State will put up a tough fight in the western side Mosul that remains under its control despite the losses the group suffered so far in the battle for the Iraqi, a U.S. commander said on Wednesday. “It is hard and hard every day here,” Colonel Patrick Work, commander of the 2nd Brigade, 82nd […]
The Resident Evil franchise is on a roll this 2017. Following on the heels of the successful Resident Evil 7 game and the Resident Evil: Final Chapter film, Capcom released the second trailer for CG movie Resident Evil Vendetta. The film is due for release on May 27 in Japan, with the U.S. release coming soon after. This is the third CG-animated movie for the franchise; Resident Evil: Degeneration was released […]
MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan Gunmen in Afghanistan kidnapped 52 farmers on Wednesday, most of them members of the minority Uzbek community in the remote northern province of Jowzjan, regional officials said, but the motive for the abductions was not immediately clear. Afghanistan’s once-stable north has become a hotbed of kidnappings and shootings in recent years, as the militant Taliban gains ground, along with small groups loyal to Islamic State, […]
Since then the barriers to peace have grown even more formidable, and attitudes like Mr. Gatshan’s more entrenched. Continue reading the main story When President Trump and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, meet in Washington on Wednesday they are likely to discuss a change of tactics, relying on Arab states like Qatar to help secure a two-state solution, under which Israel and an independent Palestinian state would […]
Last year, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation had come under criticism for shutting down its Fact Check unit after the government halted funding. Before the shutdown, ABC Fact Check was one of the most notable TV fact-checking efforts worldwide. On Tuesday, ABC News announced the operation would relaunch, thanks to a new partnership with RMIT University. This relaunch could reinvigorate other efforts to bring fact checks on air. […]
Texas Republican Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said Tuesday that “creating backdoors into secure platforms would be a huge mistake.” “Instead, we need to find a way to keep our countries safe while also keeping our data safe and secure,” McCaul said at the RSA Conference in San Francisco. The remarks, geared for the presumably pro-encryption audience of cybersecurity professionals, indicate that the […]
By Andrew Osborn | MOSCOW MOSCOW Russia’s parliament applauded on learning that Donald Trump had won the U.S. election. But prospects for better relations with Washington have suffered setbacks since then and the resignation of Trump’s national security adviser is the biggest blow yet. The Kremlin still believes a rapprochement is feasible, even if it might take longer than initially thought. But the clock is ticking: Vladimir […]
ADEN: The Saudi Arabia-led Arab coalition supporting the legitimacy in Yemen has made the protection of civilians its top priority and is taking all measures to minimize losses.The coalition leadership, which reaffirms its commitment to international human rights and humanitarian law, has taken steps to protect civilians, members of medical units and humanitarian organizations as well as journalists.The coalition works extensively with UN organizations and the International […]
Good morning. Here’s our morning roundup of all the media news you need to know. Want to get this briefing in your inbox every morning? Subscribe here. The Tuesday morning news shows were dominated by word that Michael Flynn is out as national security adviser. “Stunning” was the call by the Trump home team at “Fox & Friends.” It proceeded to quote its usual media pinatas in […]
Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers is one of the games that will be coming to the Nintendo Switch, which will be launched globally on March 3. The title, which is a new version of Street Fighter 2, will feature two new characters in the form of Evil Ryu and Violent Ken, and will also add a new game mode for 2-versus-1 fights inspired by Street Fighter Alpha‘s […]
A few days before the retreat, I met up with the man who, perhaps more than any other figure in the conservative movement, had maneuvered the party toward complete and unbending opposition to Obamacare: Michael Needham of the Heritage Foundation. Needham, 35, is the chief executive of Heritage Action for America, a feral cur of a lobbying organization established by the venerable conservative think tank in 2010 […]
GENEVA Soldiers targeting the Kamwina Nsapu militia group in central Democratic Republic of Congo killed at least 101 people between Feb. 9 and Feb. 13, including 39 women, the U.N. said on Tuesday. The soldiers fired indiscriminately with machine guns when they saw the militia fighters, who were armed mainly with machetes and spears, human rights spokeswoman Liz Throssell said, citing sources in the country. “We are […]
ANKARA Turkey-backed rebels have largely taken control of the Syrian town of al-Bab from Islamic State militants, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Tuesday. “Al-Bab has been largely taken under control. Our aim is to prevent the opening of corridors from territories controlled by terrorist organisations to Turkey,” he said while speaking to members of his ruling AK Party in parliament. The Syrian rebels, backed by […]
By Ned Parker and Ju-min Park | UNITED NATIONS/SEOUL UNITED NATIONS/SEOUL The U.N. Security Council denounced North Korea’s weekend missile launch, urging members to “redouble efforts” to enforce sanctions against the reclusive state, but gave no indications of any action it might take. Pyongyang’s test of the intermediate-range ballistic missile on Sunday was its first direct challenge to the international community since U.S. President Donald Trump took […]
BEIJING Senior officials need to “build a fence” to ensure neither they nor those around them abuse power, and must practice greater self-discipline, state media cited President Xi Jinping as saying as he drives home his anti-corruption message. Since assuming office four years ago, Xi has waged war on deep-seated graft, warning like others before him that the problem is so bad it could affect the party’s […]
