ABU DHABI // Dealing with Iran, the conflict in Yemen and finding a viable outcome to the Syrian crisis are the main challenges the United States will face in the Middle East this year, according to a report by an American think-tank. The 2017 Global Forecast by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies found that the US will also have to work on rebuilding its partnerships […]
BEIRUT Syrian warplanes resumed their bombardment of the rebel-held Wadi Barada valley northwest of Damascus on Sunday after nearly 24 hours with no air raids, a rebel official and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. Rebels threatened on Saturday to abandon a Russian- and Turkish-backed ceasefire deal, which took effect on Friday, if the Syrian government and its allies continued to violate it. The […]
Tucked away in an inconspicuous building in Al Mamzar, some of the UAE’s most acclaimed thespians sit, drinking tea, writing and talking. The building is split in two – one half, the Dubai Folklore Society, composed of traditional dance troupes, and the other, the Dubai Folklore Society Theatre, devoted to Emirati drama. In a large, quiet room adorned with framed photographs and awards, Abdullah Saleh sits on […]
BEIRUT Syrian government warplanes carried out several air strikes and low-level clashes persisted in some areas on Sunday, but a Russian- and Turkish-backed ceasefire largely held in other areas on its third day, a monitoring group and rebels said. Jets bombed the villages of Kafr Kar, Mintar and around the town of Banan in the southern Aleppo countryside, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. It […]
DUBAI At least five Saudi citizens were among 39 people killed in an attack on New Year revellers at a packed nightclub in Istanbul, a Saudi newspaper reported. The state-affiliated al-Riyadh paper also quoted the acting consul general in Istanbul as saying about 10 Saudi citizens were injured, adding that the consulate was following up with Turkish authorities to find out the exact number of casualties. (Reporting […]
A manhunt was underway for a gunman who opened fire on people at a packed nightclub on the shores of Istanbul’s Bosphorus waterway on New Year’s morning, killing at least 39 people, including 15 foreigners, then fled the scene. The suspect escaped the scene by changing clothes at the club after the attack, according to reports on Turkish media. There have also been rumors that there was […]
BEIJING A court in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui has handed out sentences of up to 20 years in jail for 67 people involved in a mafia-style gang that engaged in gambling, extortion and violence, state news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday. The leader of the gang, 37-year-old Xing Zhaogang, was released from jail in 2012 after serving time for violent assault, but then returned to […]
DUBAI // Cleaning crews were out in force to pick up litter from the country’s parks, roads and beaches in a huge operation in the early hours of New Year’s Day. After residents and tourists rang in 2017, Dubai Municipality workers dressed in orange overalls were gathering up plastic bottles, food trays, cans and leftover bunting and confetti in large bags. Work to scrub and clean the […]
A 2017 state budget plan released by Oman’s government on Sunday projected a smaller deficit but maintained tight curbs on spending because of low oil prices, which are hurting state revenues. Government spending this year is projected to total 11.7 billion rials ($30.4 billion) and revenues 8.7 billion rials, which would result in a deficit of 3 billion rials. That compares with the government’s original 2016 budget […]
RIO DE JANEIRO A gunman stormed a house party and killed at least 11 people and himself during New Year celebrations in the southeastern Brazilian city of Campinas late on Saturday. Police in the state of São Paulo said the shooter is believed to have been angry over a separation from his former wife, who was among those killed. Local media reports said the couple’s 8-year-old son […]
Tucked away in an inconspicuous building in Al Mamzar, some of the UAE’s most acclaimed thespians sit, drinking tea, writing and talking. The building is split in two – one half, the Dubai Folklore Society, composed of traditional dance troupes, and the other, the Dubai Folklore Society Theatre, devoted to Emirati drama. In a large, quiet room adorned with framed photographs and awards, Abdullah Saleh sits on […]
Marine Le Pen will borrow €6m from a company owned by her father to fund her campaign for the French presidency this year, after the leader of the far-right National Front failed to secure financing from traditional banks. Florian Philippot, the deputy head of the party, told Europe 1 radio on Sunday that the money would come from a group called Cotelec, which is owned by Jean-Marie […]
By Philip Pullella | VATICAN CITY VATICAN CITY Pope Francis urged leaders to work together to fight the “plague of terrorism”, saying in his New Year’s address on Sunday that a bloodstain was covering the world as it started 2017. Speaking to some 50,000 people in St. Peter’s Square for his traditional noon address, Francis departed from his prepared text to condemn the Istanbul nightclub attack that […]
JERUSALEM An Israeli woman was among the dead in an Istanbul nightclub attack that killed at least 39 people, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. She was identified as Leanne Nasser, 19. Israeli media reports said she had been at the club with three friends from her home village of Tira in central Israel, one of whom was wounded in the shooting attack. In a statement […]
LONDON Britain’s Queen Elizabeth will miss a New Year’s Day church service on Sunday due to a heavy cold, Buckingham Palace said, a week after the 90-year-old monarch missed a Christmas Day service for the first time in decades. Elizabeth, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, became unwell before Christmas and has been staying indoors at her Sandringham country estate in Norfolk, eastern England. “Her Majesty The Queen will […]
BEIJING A joint venture between Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (2354.TW), known as Foxconn, and Sharp Corp (6753.T) plans to build a 61 billion yuan ($8.8 billion) factory in China to produce liquid-crystal displays (LCDs). Sakai Display Products Corp’s plant will be a so-called Gen-10.5 facility specializing in large-screen LCDs and will be operational by 2019, the company said at a signing event with local officials in […]
SEOUL South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Sunday denied allegations of wrongdoing in a political scandal that threatens her presidency, saying the accusations against her were “fabrication and falsehood”, local media reported. Park said Choi Soon-sil, her long-time friend, was “merely an acquaintance”, and denied Choi was allowed to wield undue and wide-reaching influence over state affairs, Yonhap news agency and YTN television reported. Park met domestic […]
ISLAMABAD: Justice Saqib Nisar on Saturday took oath as the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP). He is the 25th chief justice of the Supreme Court who will serve on the post until January 17, 2019. President Mamnoon Hussain had accorded approval to appoint him as the CJP on December 7. The president administered the oath at Presidency. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also attended the ceremony besides Senate […]
Towards the end of October 2016, several Indian banks announced they would be recalling millions of debit cards in the wake of a data breach that affected the backend of software that powered an ATM network there. It was a situation that could have been better mitigated; a government-sponsored organization tasked with sharing information about data breaches completely missed the warning signs that a breach was taking […]
China has tightened checks on citizens exchanging foreign currency in anticipation of renewed downward pressure on the renminbi in the new year. Banks have been asked to improve standards for verifying customers’ identities and to report “large or questionable transactions”, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) said in a public statement at the weekend. “There have been leaks in China’s system of personal foreign exchange purchases,” […]
BEIJING Heavy smog in northern China on Sunday caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled and highways to shut, disrupting the first day of the new year holiday. Large parts of the north were hit by hazardous smog in mid-December, leading authorities to order hundreds of factories to close and to restrict motorists to cut emissions. The latest bout of air pollution began on Friday and is […]
COLOGNE, Germany German police said they screened hundreds of North Africans on New Year’s Eve at the main railway station in the western city of Cologne, where hundreds of women were sexually assaulted and robbed during celebrations a year ago. Last year’s attacks in Cologne, where police said the suspects were mainly of North African and Arab appearance, fuelled criticism of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to allow […]
JAKARTA Five people were killed and around 100 people rescued on Sunday after a fire ripped through a boat carrying tourists to islands north of the Indonesian capital Jakarta, authorities said. Along with five fatalities, 17 people were also injured, said Ferry Budiharso, a spokesman for the Thousand Island police, the area where the boat was heading. The head of Jakarta’s search and rescue agency, […]
U.S. fishing and hunting equipment retailer Cabela’s Inc (CAB.N), which is being bought by privately held rival Bass Pro Shops, said the Federal Trade Commission had sought more information from the companies about the deal. Cabela’s shares were down 7.6 percent at $56.98 in premarket trading on Friday. Cabela’s did not provide details about the FTC’s request. As part of the proposed $5.5 billion deal, announced in […]
