MINSK Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in an interview with Belarusian TV Channel ONT aired on Thursday, said he will not back down from fighting his enemies. He pledged to defend de-escalation zones, brokered by Russia, and crush, with the support of Iran and Hezbollah, those who will try to breach them. Assad also told the TV channel that the de-escalation zones give chance for insurgents to hand […]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s acting director has contradicted Donald Trump over the firing of James Comey, denying the ousted chief had lost the support of employees as he insisted the FBI’s Russia probe would not be knocked off course. Andrew McCabe, the FBI acting director, also told the Senate intelligence committee that the probe into alleged collusion between Moscow and the Trump election campaign was “highly […]
By Tom Perry and Laila Bassam | BEIRUT BEIRUT Lebanon is on the brink of crisis again with its politicians at odds over an election law at the heart of the nation’s sectarian system, threatening to leave the country without a parliament for the first time. Parliament’s term expires on June 20 and without a compromise Lebanon faces what one minister has called the most serious political […]
An unabashed Donald Trump called for warmer US relations with Russia on Wednesday as his firing of FBI director James Comey sparked pressure from Democrats for an independent probe of his election campaign’s alleged ties to Moscow. Mr Comey’s dismissal shook Washington, igniting the biggest crisis of Mr Trump’s presidency as opponents amplified allegations throughout the day that the president was seeking to frustrate the FBI probe. […]
On Wednesday, Mr. Erdogan’s prime minister added another warning: that arming the Kurds could have “consequences” for the United States and a “negative result.” He did not go into detail, promising only that Mr. Erdogan would elaborate when he meets President Trump at the White House next week. Continue reading the main story Mr. Erdogan also sharply criticized the Trump administration’s decision in remarks quoted by Turkish […]
Just hours after the Fed’s March “dovish” rate hike, when stocks paradoxically surged to all time highs and yields tumbled, Goldman found something strange: “surprisingly, financial markets took the meeting as a large dovish surprise—the third-largest at an FOMC meeting since 2000 outside the financial crisis, based on the co-movement of different asset prices.” Even more surprising is that according to Goldman, its financial conditions index, “eased […]
ISLAMABAD – Former president Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had no moral right to rule after the verdict in Panama Papers case by the Supreme Court. Speaking to Pakistan People’s Party leaders including Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and former interior minister Rehman Malik here in separate meetings, Zardari said that the PM should quit, to allow the Joint Investigation […]
With passive investing passing the $4tn mark in April, things aren’t exactly looking up for active asset managers. New product launches and investor inflows mean there are now almost 7,000 exchange-traded products managed by 313 providers and total assets of $4.002tn at the end of April, according to fresh figures from ETFGI, an industry data provider. The relentless flood of money into passive investment vehicles is a […]
By David Morgan and Patricia Zengerle | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump defended his firing of FBI Director James Comey on Wednesday as Democrats intensified accusations that the ouster was intended to undermine an agency probe into his presidential campaign’s possible collusion with Russia to sway the 2016 election. The Republican president’s abrupt move on Tuesday stunned Washington and was swiftly condemned by Democrats and by […]
WASHINGTON Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari said on Wednesday that there should not be any relaxation of regulations that have tightened oversight of Wall Street. “Progress has been made. I wouldn’t want to roll that back off the biggest banks,” Kashkari said at an event in Minneapolis, when asked about the fate of the Dodd-Frank reform act that was passed in part to prevent big […]
BEIRUT Air strikes killed at least 11 people, including four children, in a village north of the Syrian city of Raqqa overnight, a war monitoring group said on Wednesday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said warplanes, thought to belong to the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, hit al-Salihiya village before midnight and also injured several civilians. A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition could not immediately be […]
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. Sean Hannity, the eight-figure archetype of selective moral outrage, last night charged the press with going “completely insane” over the James Comey firing. Hannity accused it of “selective moral outrage,” proving it takes one to know one amid wall-to-wall Comey […]
The Indian government issued an ordinance at the end of last week laying out some new powers for the Reserve Bank of India, powers which are aimed at chipping away at the country’s mammoth and thoroughly discussed bad loan problem. Here’s CreditSights with a brief explanation: In essence, two additional sections 35AA and 35AB were introduced into the Banking Regulation Act. 35AA will allow the government […]
ISTANBUL Every weapon obtained by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia constitutes a threat to Turkey, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday, emphasising Ankara’s opposition to a U.S. deal to arm the fighters against Islamic State. Cavusoglu, who was speaking to reporters while on a visit to Montenegro, said the YPG was a terrorist organisation, the same as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), and that […]
Saudis often liken Aramco, the kingdom’s state oil company, to a fat cow or productive hen. The company has for decades been the bedrock of the economy and the enabler of the government largesse to which Saudis have grown accustomed. Now its future has become a source of concern as disquiet grows over plans by Mohammed bin Salman, the deputy crown prince, to sell a 5 per […]
Since its publication in 2009, Dutch author Herman Koch’s novel The Dinner has become an international bestseller, published in more than 50 countries. The Amsterdam-set story has spawned three film adaptations in the past four years: a Dutch offering by Menno Meyjes (2013), an Italian version by Ivano de Matteo (2014), and now director Oren Moverman has shifted the setting to the United States. “It poses an […]
It took Richard Nixon five months to fire the man investigating him. It took Donald Trump less than four. The difference is that Mr Nixon did little to conceal his motive — to save his presidency. Mr Trump, on the other hand, says he fired James Comey for having mishandled last year’s email investigation into Hillary Clinton. Even by Mr Trump’s standards, this stretches credulity. Mr Trump […]
The World Health Organization, the public health arm of the United Nations, reported 2,022 suspected cases of cholera and acute watery diarrhea in Yemen from April 27 to this past Sunday, including at least 34 deaths. Continue reading the main story Cholera has long been an underlying risk in Yemen, but it subsided during the cold winter months this year. With the sudden spike of cases, health […]
Authored by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog, I’m fairly certain very few of you have heard of broker price opinions, or BPOs, but it’s something I think we should all become aware of given the influence of BPOs in the market for valuing residential real estate securitized bonds. Before we get to that, let’s revisit a little contemporary American robber baron history. In the immediate aftermath of the […]
By Girish Gupta and Christian Veron | CARACAS CARACAS Venezuela’s opposition protests on Wednesday may be the messiest in a six-week wave of unrest as demonstrators prepare to throw faeces at security forces, adding to the customary rocks, petrol bombs and tear gas. The new tactic has been dubbed the “Poopootov” in a play on the Molotov cocktail often seen at streets protests in Venezuela. “They have […]
M/V Amazing Grace can ‘complement government forces in providing immediate relief assistance during emergency and crisis situations,’ says President Rodrigo Duterte By Voltaire Tupaz MANILA, Philippines – A day after it was named M/V Amazing Grace by the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), the country’s biggest humanitarian and disaster response ship was commissioned by President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila. “With the launching of this ship, we join the […]
The question might not just be how, but why? Why would you even attempt to adapt a graphic novel about robots in love into a puppet-show/real-time movie, soundtracked by a live string quartet and turntables? In Kid Koala’s case, the answer could perhaps be summed up as happenstance, circumstance and a smidgen of blind ambition. The genesis of Nufonia Must Fall – the multidisciplinary performance, which will […]
Turkey was informed of Mr. Trump’s decision, according to an American official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was discussing private diplomatic communications. Continue reading the main story The Turkish government had no immediate reaction, with officials declining to comment before Mr. Erdogan’s office did. But the move was likely to anger Mr. Erdogan, who has been pressing the United States to lessen its […]
JEDDAH: Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moallem said on Monday his country would reject any UN role in monitoring the implementation of four “de-escalation” zones.“We do not accept a role for the UN or international forces to monitor the agreement,” Al-Moallem told reporters in Damascus.Regime backers Russia and Iran and opposition supporter Turkey reached a deal on Thursday on four “de-escalation zones” in Syria where the regime and […]
