BEIRUT The Syrian army declared a ceasefire in several areas around Damascus and the northwestern province of Idlib beginning on Friday evening, but did not say how long the pause in fighting would last. There was no immediate comment from rebels on the truce. The areas affected included the government-besieged town of Madaya near Damascus and Kefraya and al-Foua in Idlib, which are surrounded by insurgents. (Reporting […]
The epidemic of heroin and opioid related deaths in the US continues to grow, surpassing gun homicides in 2015 for the first time ever. As RT reports, a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report shows. Nearly 5,000 more people died from opioids in 2015 than in 2014. Both heroin and opioid use have exploded in the US, after decades of doctors over-prescribing painkillers in the […]
Video Deadly Blast in Cairo A bomb exploded on Friday at a security checkpoint on the outskirts of Cairo, killing six police officers and wounding three others. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS and REUTERS on Publish Date December 9, 2016. Photo by Khaled Elfiqi/European Pressphoto Agency. Watch in Times Video » CAIRO — A bomb ripped through a security checkpoint on the outskirts of Cairo on Friday, killing […]
By Gabriela Baczynska | BRUSSELS BRUSSELS Eastern European Union states remain at loggerheads with “frontline” countries such as Greece and Italy over sharing the burden of caring for asylum-seekers reaching EU frontiers, officials said on Friday. Largely uncontrolled arrival of some 1.4 million people from the Middle East and Africa in the past two years, many fleeing Syria’s civil war, has triggered bitter EU infighting. Dispute centres […]
AMSTERDAM Police acting on a tip-off from the Dutch intelligence agency arrested a 30-year-old “terrorist” suspect and seized an arsenal of weapons in the port city of Rotterdam on Friday afternoon, prosecutors said. Detectives found a Kalashnikov AK-47 rifle, four boxes of illegal highly explosive fireworks, a large depiction of the Islamic State flag, several mobile phones and 1,600 euros in cash when they searched the suspect’s […]
ZAMBOANGA CITY: Malaysian police forces clashed with suspected Abu Sayyaf rebels killing three of them off Semporna City in Sabah after they attacked at least two sea trawlers. The Malaysian media said police captured two more gunmen and rescued a fishing boat captain, believed to be a Filipino holding a special identity card. Another skipper, however, was abducted by the two gunmen who escaped at the height […]
Photo Residents fleeing the violence in Aleppo, Syria, gathered at a government checkpoint in the city on Thursday. Credit Youssef Karwashan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images GENEVA — Hundreds of Syrian men escaping rebel-held areas of Aleppo to go to government-controlled parts of the city are missing, and there were reports of government reprisals, including numerous arrests and several cases of summary killings of people perceived to be […]
TUNIS Libyan forces are trying to secure the city of Sirte after ousting Islamic State from its former North African stronghold in a battle that lasted nearly seven months. Here are some facts about Islamic State in Libya: ORIGINS Islamic State drew on existing pockets of militancy in Libya, establishing its first major presence in Derna, an eastern city with a strong Islamist tradition. It also profited […]
Friday 06:00 GMT Overview Markets across Asia were mostly higher as investors reflected on record highs for Wall Street and the European Central Bank’s decision to tweak its asset purchase programme. European bourses are expected to open little changed, with spreadbetters predicting the UK’s FTSE 100 will be flat at 6,932 and Germany’s Dax to add 7 points to 11,186. US index futures suggest the S&P 500 […]
Breaking News, the popular alert app from NBC News, is shutting down at the end of the year. The entire staff at Breaking News — more than 20 editors, developers and administrative staffers — will stay on payroll at NBC News until Jan. 20, a spokesperson for NBC News told Poynter. Meanwhile, an effort is underway at the company to try to find jobs for as many […]
Photo Syrian civilians, in eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo retaken by government forces, returned to their homes on Thursday under military supervision. Credit George Ourfalian/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images BEIRUT, Lebanon — Russian officials said Thursday that the Syrian Army had stopped combat operations in the divided city of Aleppo in order to evacuate civilians, but residents of the rebel-held enclave reported that after a day of intense […]
Two days after the Mayor of Dallas, Mike Rawlings, filed a lawsuit against the Dallas Police and Fire Pension system to block withdrawals, which he referred to as a “run on the bank” of an “insolvent” pension system in “financial crisis, the Pension’s board has finally taken steps to halt further withdrawals. Of course, this delayed action has come only after $500 million in deposits have been […]
By Laila Bassam and John Davison | ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT The Syrian army’s advance in Aleppo slowed on Thursday but a victory was still firmly in sight after President Bashar al-Assad vowed that retaking the city would change the course of the six-year-old war. Russia’s RIA news agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying the Syrian army, which has captured territory including Aleppo’s historic […]
By Amanda Becker and Robert Iafolla | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump named fast-food executive Andy Puzder to head the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday, drawing criticism from labour advocates worried about his opposition to a higher minimum wage and government regulation of the workplace. Puzder, chief executive of CKE Restaurants Inc [APOLOT.UL], which operates the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s fast-food chains, has frequently argued in […]
By Will Dunham John Glenn, who became one of the 20th century’s greatest explorers as the first American to orbit Earth and later as the world’s oldest astronaut, and also had a long career as a U.S. senator, died in Ohio on Thursday at age 95. Glenn, the last surviving member of the original seven American “Right Stuff” Mercury astronauts, died at the James Cancer Hospital at […]
By freelance contributor Ben Bohane in Ly Son Island Posted December 09, 2016 05:35:32 Photo: Ly Son island, looking out towards the Paracels and Spratlys. (ABC News: Ben Bohane ) Related Story: Vietnam moves rocket launchers into disputed South China Sea: report Related Story: Vietnam expanding South China Sea runway: reports Sparkling on the horizon as our boat navigates the swell is one of the world’s most […]
The deals, if finalized, would bring much-needed expertise and foreign investment to Iran’s ailing energy sector. Continue reading the main story Just as important, the agreements provide a lifeline to the rest of the world, experts say, critical to keeping dollars flowing and in cementing relations with European and Asian countries. Few Iranian officials like to acknowledge that in public, insisting that the country is immune to […]
He said that he was speaking from a makeshift medical clinic and that doctors were working in secret basement locations after being driven from hospitals. There were dozens of wounded and dead around him, including children, he added. Continue reading the main story “My neighbors have died; they were brought here,” he said. “I couldn’t ask them, ‘Where is my family?’ ” The latest round of fighting […]
European Parliament president Martin Schulz does not believe the Panama Papers scandal has cast doubt on Malta’s ability to push through the EU anti-money laundering laws. Mr Schulz was fielding questions at a joint conference with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat during his visit to the island before Malta assumes the EU presidency. The EU’s anti-money laundering directive was enacted in June 2015, and with a two-year window […]
Can you imagine a bank where artificial intelligence runs checking accounts, debit cards, and wire transfers? Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto The Milan-London startup connection is getting stronger. After MoneyFarm and Soundreef, yet another promising Italian startup, Euklid, is opening up shop in the UK capital, moving its headquarters to be part of the city’s vibrant ecosystem. The team selected London’s Level39 fintech accelerator as its new center of […]
In a glass cube inside a MK2 cinema near France’s national library in Paris, viewers can choose between HTC Vive, Playstation VR and Oculus Rift headsets, or they can go for “full body immersive” simulators The first wave of virtual reality cinemas, heralding what their creators claim will be an entertainment revolution, rolls out across the world this month. The first screening room in France opened Wednesday […]
BAGHDAD Iraq’s parliament speaker called on Thursday for a government inquiry into air strikes on a western border town which killed around 60 people, mostly civilians. Hospital sources and local parliamentarians said three air strikes killed dozens of civilians, including 12 women and 19 children on Wednesday in a market district of the Islamic State-held town of Qaim, close to the border with Syria. A spokesman for […]
Dubai, UAE, 8 December Bollywood Parks™ Dubai, part of Dubai Parks and Resorts, the largest integrated theme park destination in the region, unveils Jaan-e-Jigar, the regions first Broadway-style Bollywood show in all its grandeur at the Rajmahal Theatre, which is located in the heart and soul of the park. Dubai’s answer to world-class entertainment, Jaan-e-Jigar is the biggest Bollywood style show to ever hit the region, where […]
Britain plans to deepen security cooperation with Gulf Arab countries and work with them to counter Iranian actions in the region, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday. Addressing a meeting on the sidelines of the Gulf Cooperation Summit in Bahrain, May said Britain would invest more than 3 billion pounds in defence spending in the region over the next decade. “Gulf security is our security,” May […]
