BEIRUT A spokesman for a major Syrian rebel group said on Thursday it had reservations about an agreement for a nationwide ceasefire and resumption of negotiations and was not among the groups that had signed it. “Ahrar al-Sham has a number of reservations over the proposed agreement and the negotiations linked to it, and therefore has not signed it. We will make clear our reservations in due […]
MOSCOW Syrian President Bashar al Assad told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he was ready to observe a ceasefire agreement in Syria, the Kremlin said on Thursday. Putin and Assad spoke on the phone and agreed that the opening of Syria peace talks in Kazakhstan would be “an important step towards the ultimate resolution of the crisis,” the Kremlin said in a statement. (Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; […]
By Tom Hals | WILMINGTON, Del. WILMINGTON, Del. Peabody Energy Corp said on Thursday the deadline for creditors to join financing deals aimed at bringing the largest U.S. coal miner out of bankruptcy had been extended after large investors sued to slow the process. Last week, Peabody unveiled its plan to eliminate more than $5 billion of debt and raise capital from creditors with a $750 million […]
One of reasons I hesitated in purchasing a Google Pixel XL was the lack of water and dust resistance while being priced the same as the iPhone 7 Plus. I enjoy capturing photos while I am in the rivers fly fishing, cycling the trails in the rain, running through the woods, and making snowmen at the base of Mt Rainier. For the last couple of months I’ve […]
Love her or hate her, there’s no denying that Kim Kardashian West has grappled with a tumultuous past few months, including being robbed at gunpoint in Paris in October and dealing with divorce rumours surrounding her marriage with rapper Kanye West, who was hospitalised earlier this month due to “temporary psychosis.” The reality television star is likely welcoming 2017 with the prospect of a fresh start. She […]
MOSCOW Russia’s embassy in Damascus was hit by a mortar shell on Thursday afternoon, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. The blast caused no casualties, Zakharova said in a statement on the ministry’s website. The embassy had been hit by shells twice on Wednesday. The ministry said the attacks were a provocation aimed at derailing a peace settlement. [nNRA33wvkr] (Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Kevin […]
The Syrian government and rebels have agreed a ceasefire brokered and guaranteed by Russia and Turkey, marking a potential breakthrough in efforts to end a near six-year conflict that has claimed more than 400,000 lives. Russian President Vladimir Putin said a truce would come into effect at midnight on Thursday, adding that Syria’s warring parties had signed documents detailing how it would be monitored and declaring their […]
“We have seen pro-Israeli presidents all along, and Israel First was the standard policy of the United States of America over the last 50-plus years,” Mr. Abdulla said. “But Trump is going much further than that. It seems he is even more Zionist than the Zionists.” Continue reading the main story Sympathy for the Palestinians has historically been among the few issues that united Arabs across political […]
Russia is set to round off a year of rejuvenated global standing with the distinction of watching its currency stand apart from other major economies and resist US dollar strength. The rouble has been the only major currency to appreciate against the dollar since the end of September and, so far this year, has outperformed rivals, up more than 21 per cent against the dollar to Rbs60.48. […]
ANKARA The countrywide ceasefire in Syria guaranteed by Russia and Turkey does not include Islamic State or the Kurdish YPG militia, a spokesman for Syrian rebels said on Thursday. Speaking at a news conference in Ankara following the announcement of the deal, Osama Abu Zaid, a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army rebel alliance, also said the Syrian Kurdish PYD political party would not be part of […]
Over the past nine months, I’ve admitted some big weaknesses to hundreds of strangers. I’ve spoken about my struggles with low self-esteem, battles with self-care and history with anxiety. I’ve divulged uncertainties about starting a family and taking on bigger responsibilities at work. And I’ve shared it all in a newsletter that’s devoted to women excelling as leaders. I launched The Cohort newsletter in March as an […]
29 December 2016 Evening’s festivities to take place in Bollywood Parks™ Dubai in front of the majestic Rajmahal Theatre Celebration is open to anyone holding a daily pass or annual pass for Bollywood Parks™ Dubai, MOTIONGATE™ Dubai or LEGOLAND® Dubai Party will feature music, live performances and thrilling fireworks at midnight Advertisement Dubai, UAE: Dubai Parks and Resorts, the Middle East’s largest multi-themed leisure and entertainment destination, […]
ROME Italian police have searched three houses in and around Rome, where the man suspected of killing 12 people last week at a Christmas market in Berlin may have spent time, a judicial source said on Thursday. Anis Amri, a Tunisian, first arrived in Europe by boat to the Italian island of Lampedusa in 2011, and was shot dead by police in Milan four days after the […]
How do big data people go about making end-of-year reviews and predictions? Using data is the obvious answer, but there’s a few issues with that approach: there is no synthesis in data alone — you have to find the story behind data, pick an angle and seek meaning. In addition, that approach does not account for subtle hints, industry knowledge, and big ideas. To paraphrase Carl Sagan, […]
BEIJING China has persuaded a fugitive suspected of graft to return home as part of “Operation Skynet” that seeks to capture corrupt officials who flee abroad, the top graft agency said on Thursday. Zhang Jun, the former general manager of Shanghai Sports Investment Management Co Ltd, fled to Australia in 2014 under suspicion of corruption, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said in a statement on […]
By Yashaswini Swamynathan Wall Street looked set to open little changed on Thursday, a day after the S&P 500 index suffered its biggest fall in two months, putting a damper on a post-election rally. A report showed the number of Americans applying for jobless claims fell by 10,000 to 265,000 last week, indicating sustained strength in the labor market. U.S. equities had been enjoying a rally since […]
After the legalization of recreational marijuana in the state of Washington in 2012, its use among adolescents increased while the perceived risks associated with it dropped. According to a recent study, adolescents in the eighth and 10th grade are less concerned about the negative effects of the use of marijuana. The research, carried out at the University of California, Davis, was published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics and it […]
Long-running Broadway musical Cats will be staged at the Qatar National Convention Center from February 1 to 4 2017, organisers have revealed. Tickets for the show have gone on sale at Virgin Megastore and online outlets with prices ranging from $41 (QR150) to $330 (QR1,200). The award-winning musical is based on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, and includes popular hits such as Memory and […]
From an architecture pioneer to legends of screens, music and stage , the Arab world has lost its share of icons and stars in 2016. Here are some of those who we bid farewell to. Zaha Hadid October 31 1950 – March 31 2016 Born in Baghdad, Iraq, the award winning Iraqi-British architect pushed architectural boundaries with her designs and broke new grounds for female architects in […]
On October 17, every employee at Dentsu — Japan’s biggest advertising agency and arguably the country’s most influential company — received the same, catastrophic-sounding message from the company’s president, Tadashi Ishii. “The approved way of working at our company cannot be accepted by stakeholders, including the authorities,” said the memo, according to media reports. Coming a month after Dentsu was caught overbilling hundreds of clients, and just […]
By Isabel Coles and Stephen Kalin | NEAR MOSUL, Iraq NEAR MOSUL, Iraq Iraqi security forces on Thursday began the second phase of their offensive against Islamic State militants in Mosul, pushing from three directions into eastern districts where the battle has been deadlocked for nearly a month. Since the offensive to capture Mosul began 10 weeks ago, counter-terrorism forces have retaken a quarter of the city, […]
HELSINKI The former head of Helsinki police’s drugs squad was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years in jail for drug smuggling, official misconduct and other crimes including tampering with evidence. Jari Aarnio faces a total of 13 years in prison, including a previous three-year jail term related to the purchase of police surveillance equipment. The case is rare in Finland, whose public sector ranks second least corrupt […]
(Image: file photo) Legacy vendors and the cloud The cloud has devastated revenue, growth and margins of legacy vendors. Any CFO can look online to see what similar capacity, performance, and higher availability costs compared to the huge capital costs of traditional RAID arrays. 2016 saw the world’s largest independent storage company — EMC — bought by Dell, after shopping itself to all the big system vendors. […]
The first 360-degree video was delivered over Twitter’s live Periscope application from broadcaster Alex Pettitt, showing a Florida sunset, while allowing users to see it from different angles by clicking on the stream Twitter on Wednesday began streaming 360-degree video, allowing users to interact and get behind the scenes of live broadcasts. “Starting today, you can check out live, interactive 360 videos from interesting broadcasters and explore […]
