By Dominic Evans and Stephanie Nebehay | BAGHDAD/GENEVA BAGHDAD/GENEVA The Iraqi army said it took full control of two more districts of east Mosul on Saturday, pushing back Islamic State militants in a slow and hard-fought advance into the city whose 1 million residents face growing shortages of fuel, water and food. A military statement said elite Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) troops took over the neighbourhoods of […]
VIENNA OPEC and non-OPEC producers on Saturday reached their first deal since 2001 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices that overstretched many budgets and spurred unrest in some countries. With the deal finally signed after almost a year of arguing within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and mistrust in the willingness of non-OPEC […]
KABUL Hardline cleric Mullah Haibatullah Akundzada has reinforced his position as the new leader of the Afghan Taliban by winning the support of two senior members, the insurgent group said on Saturday. Former Taliban interior minister Mullah Abdul Razaq Akhund and Mullah Abdul Sata Akhund “pledged their full support” to Akundzada during a meeting of Taliban scholars at an undisclosed location on Friday, the group said on […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for December 11, 2016, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. newslide Abu Dhabi Kids’ camp Register your children, ages 7 to 18, for the ZSC Academy Tennis Camp, led by highly qualified coaches. Intermediate- and higher-level players can keep on top of their game this […]
Patience and preparation are the key to a great deal. Buying a new PC or Mac is a major purchase, potentially costing $1500 or more. Top-of-the-line new designs like the Microsoft Surface Book and Apple’s MacBook Pro (2016) can easily approach a $3000 list price. But you don’t have to pay that sticker price. With a little preparation and some patience, you can save 30, 40, even […]
10 December 2016 Dubai, UAE: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has reached financial closure for the 2,400MW Hassyan clean coal power project. The project uses the Independent Power Producer (IPP) procurement model on a Build Own Operate (BOO) basis and is supported by a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with DEWA. Last June, DEWA signed the PPA, Shareholders Agreement (SHA), and other project agreements with the […]
By John Irish | PARIS PARIS Backers of the Syrian opposition appeared resigned to the fall of eastern Aleppo on Saturday, with the United States urging Russia to show “grace” when officials meet in Geneva to try to reach a deal for civilians and fighters to leave the city. Syrian government and allied forces have in the last two weeks driven rebels from most of their territory […]
TUNIS Tunisia’s parliament approved on Saturday a 32.7 billion dinar ($14.1 billion) budget for next year, including deficit cutting measures that had been watered down under pressure from unions. From a total of 217 lawmakers in parliament, 122 voted in favour of the finance bill. Earlier this week parliament struck out two key clauses imposing taxes on lawyers and pharmacists, in a blow to government efforts to raise […]
AMMAN Islamic State militants entered the ancient city of Palmyra on Saturday in eastern Syria after advancing to its outskirts for the first time since losing the city earlier this year, a war monitor said. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human rights said the militants had entered Palmyra after they had taken strategic heights near the city and captured the northern part of the city and mountains […]
NEW YORK U.S. insurer Prudential Financial (PRU.N) is investigating whether Wells Fargo (WFC.N) employees signed up customers for its life insurance policies without their knowledge, a spokesman said on Saturday. Sales practices at Wells Fargo have been under a spotlight since September when federal regulators ordered the San Francisco-based bank to pay $190 million in fines and restitution because they said its high pressure sales environment pushed […]
ABU DHABI // The health and welfare of new mothers and their babies are being neglected because essential postnatal care and attention to their overall wellbeing are not available, specialists say. Expatriate mothers in particular lack support at a critical time in their child’s development, as their families are usually overseas. Dr Muhaj Al Shaikhli, consultant gynaecologist at Burjeel Hospital, said some services were offered in Dubai […]
By Antonella Cinelli and Isla Binnie | ROME ROME Political parties made their cases to Italy’s president on Saturday for ways out of a government crisis prompted by Matteo Renzi’s resignation as prime minister following his defeat in a referendum on constitutional reform. Renzi’s Democratic Party (PD) was planning to use a meeting with President Sergio Mattarella later in the day to argue that Foreign Minister Paolo […]
newslide Taylor Swift and Zayn Malik debut new duet on film soundtrack American pop star Taylor Swift and former One Direction member Zayn Malik released a surprise duet on Friday, December 9 after joining forces for the upcoming Fifty Shades Darker movie soundtrack. I Don’t Wanna Live Forever will feature in the sequel to the Fifty Shades of Grey film, based on the hugely successful trilogy by […]
ANKARA Turkey’s ruling AK Party on Saturday submitted to parliament a package of constitutional reform proposals that would expand the president’s powers, party officials said, in a move that could potentially see President Tayyip Erdogan govern until 2029. The package would also bring structural changes to Turkey’s security and judiciary, implementing criminal liability for the president, who previously was immune from all crimes except treason. The AKP, […]
By Lamin Jahateh | BANJUL BANJUL Gambia’s President-elect Adama Barrow said on Saturday the country’s outgoing leader Yahya Jammeh had no authority to reject the results of Dec.1. polls, while the United Nations and African Union piled pressure on Jammeh to step aside. Long-ruling Jammeh on Friday called for another election in the tiny West African country after narrowly losing to opposition leader Adama Barrow, jeopardising what […]
Felix Kjellberg, YouTube’s top star who is more popularly known as PewDiePie, swore that he was going to delete his channel once it reaches 50 million subscribers, a feat that he recently achieved. PewDiePie fans, who simply could not accept the possibility that their favorite content creator could soon be quitting, can now rest easy, as Kjellberg revealed that the threat of deleting his channel was just a […]
For a quick study in market blindness, look at how an obscure US fund reacts to events in a country where markets do not even exist. Nearly two years ago US president Barack Obama and Cuban president Raúl Castro jointly announced their intent to rejuvenate the diplomatic and commercial relationship between their two countries. Until that day, the Cuba closed-end fund had historically traded beneath its net […]
After decades of eluding researchers because of chemical instability, key metal-oxide clusters have been isolated in water, a significant advance for growing the clusters with the impeccable control over atoms that’s required to manufacture small features in electronic circuits. Oregon State University chemists created the aqueous cluster formation process. It yielded a polyoxocation of zinc, aluminum and chromium that is not protected by the organic ligand shell […]
Photo President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey visiting the mausoleum of an Islamic scholar in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, last month. Credit Pool photo by Kayhan Ozer, via Associated Press ISTANBUL — Almost a century after the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his supporters believe that they can restore the empire’s former glory. Stroll through the streets of any Turkish city and you […]
Dubai-based Citigate Commodities Trading has signed a joint venture agreement with Stellar Diamonds, the London listed diamond development company focused on west Africa, for Safa Afrique, its diamond mining portfolio. Under the deal, Stellar Diamonds will be operating mines in Liberia and Guinea for the first phase while Citigate Commodities Trading has been appointed as the official off-taker of all diamonds produced. The agreement follows a deal […]
By Antonella Cinelli and Isla Binnie | ROME ROME Political parties made their cases to Italy’s head of state on Saturday for candidates to lead the country out of a government crisis prompted by Matteo Renzi’s resignation as prime minister. President Sergio Mattarella, a 75 year-old former constitutional court judge, must decide if someone can lead the country to elections scheduled for 2018, or whether an interim […]
DUBLIN A group of British and Irish lawyers are seeking to challenge Britain’s decision to leave the European Union in the Irish High Court to try to establish if Brexit can be reversed once divorce talks have been triggered. British Prime Minister Theresa May has said she wants to invoke Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty by the end of March, kicking off up to two […]
In early 2009, roughly at the time when this blog was launched which coincided with the start of the greatest monetary experiment of all time, we warned that there are two ways it will end: either in hyperinflation, or a deflationary supernova, the failure of currency and, eventually, barter. Now, almost 8 years later, some of the world’s top hedge funds are in agreement, and they are […]
newslide Taylor Swift and Zayn Malik debut new duet on film soundtrack American pop star Taylor Swift and former One Direction member Zayn Malik released a surprise duet on Friday, December 9 after joining forces for the upcoming Fifty Shades Darker movie soundtrack. I Don’t Wanna Live Forever will feature in the sequel to the Fifty Shades of Grey film, based on the hugely successful trilogy by […]
