BEIRUT: Turkish-backed Syrian opposition announced on Thursday they had taken full control of Al-Bab from the Daesh group, marking a key defeat for the jihadists after weeks of heavy fighting.The town of Al-Bab, just 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of the Turkish border, was the last Daesh stronghold in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo.“We are announcing Al-Bab completely liberated, and we are now clearing mines from […]
IDEX 2017 ends on a high-note with a total of 90 deals valued at more than AED 19.177 billion Abu Dhabi-UAE: 23 February, 2017 At a press conference on the fifth and last day of the 13th edition of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2017), Naval Staff Colonel Fahed Nasser Al Thehli, Official Spokesperson of the fourth edition of the Naval Defence Exhibition (NAVDEX 2017), […]
Frank Sorrentino used to do a lot of mortgages. But since the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act seven years ago, he has mostly shied away. Rules have been tightened so far as to make home loans uneconomic, says the chairman and chief executive of ConnectOne, a bank with $3.7bn in assets based in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. “Community banks used to be able to cut through the […]
By Mehreen Zahra-Malik | LAHORE, Pakistan LAHORE, Pakistan Pakistani real estate giant Rafi Group made a ten-fold profit last year from its sale of hundreds of acres of land in the remote fishing town of Gwadar, acquired soon after the government announced plans for a deep-sea port there. The windfall came after 12 years of waiting patiently for the Gwadar port to emerge as the centrepiece of […]
Axa chief executive Thomas Buberl has distanced himself from a bid for Generali’s German life insurance business. There has been speculation that the French group could play a part in any break-up process that would follow the possible acquisition of Generali by Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo. However, speaking to the Financial Times on Thursday, Mr Buberl said that “buying a traditional life insurance business in Germany would […]
22 February, 2017 Trovagene, Inc. (NASDAQ: TROV), (San Diego, CA), a developer of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) technologies, signed a distribution agreement with AGBL (Dubai, UAE) to bring Trovagene Liquid Biopsy tests to AGBL’s markets. “Trovagene has innovative liquid biopsy solutions for cancer patients,” said Dr. Simona Maciotta, Product Manager at AGBL. “Their clinically, actionable, highly sensitive mutation assays will allow clinicians to make critical decisions about […]
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. A few months ago Vice founder Shane Smith fronted a superior Vice-HBO documentary, “A House Divided,” that detailed the issues, tactics and rancor that dominated Barack Obama’s relations with a Republican-dominated Congress. Now he sees “a perfect storm” that involves […]
AMD is giving what the people want, and it’s none other than Ryzen. That said, the company has finally disclosed the details everybody has been waiting for, from the release date and performance to the pricing and preorder info. Not 1 But 3 Ryzen 7 CPUs Unveiled To start things off, AMD is launching three Ryzen 7 CPUs, with each one sporting eight cores and 16 threads […]
Russia is pressing world powers to provide Syria with billions of dollars for reconstruction to bolster its faltering efforts to resolve the Arab state’s six-year conflict. But European and Gulf states, angered by Russia’s military intervention that tilted the war in favour of President Bashar al-Assad, will only contribute if Moscow secures a peace settlement that sets the terms for an eventual political transition, western diplomats say. […]
The documents’ detailed account of Mr. Awlaki, who stars in Mr. Abdulmutallab’s story as both a religious hero and a practical adviser on carrying out mayhem, is particularly important. The government allegation that Mr. Awlaki was behind the underwear bomb plot — never tested in a court of law — became the central justification that President Barack Obama cited for ordering the cleric’s killing in a drone […]
Abu Dhabi-UAE: 22 February, 2017 At a press conference on day four of the 13th edition of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2017), His Excellency Staff Brigadier-General Rashid Mohammed Al Shamsi, Official Spokesperson of IDEX 2017, announced 20 new deals worth AED 3,422,120,575. 13 of the deals are with national companies and the remaining 7 with international companies. The press conference, held at Abu Dhabi […]
Tesla is likely to turn to Wall Street for another big cash infusion as it gears up to launch its first mass-market electric vehicle later this year, chief executive Elon Musk indicated on Wednesday. His comments came as the US electric carmaker disclosed that chief financial officer Jason Wheeler would leave the company after little more than a year. Mr Musk said only that Mr Wheeler was […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for February 23, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. Ellen Fortini rounds up 10 things to do today in the UAE. Want to see your event listed here? Email us with the details and contact information at [email protected] newslide Abu Dhabi Performance Get tickets […]
The shelves of Guillermo Lasso’s office are lined with books that inform his politics: Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations; The Denationalization of Money by Friedrich Hayek; a compendium of cases about free speech from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. “A government cannot regulate freedom of expression,” the Ecuadorean conservative opposition leader told the Financial Times before Sunday’s presidential election, in which he won more than […]
The military’s stance softened somewhat in 2015, when an army court ruled that veiled relatives of soldiers could enter military grounds. The army’s cultural shift was also reflected in last July’s failed coup attempt. The government claims that the putsch was organized by an Islamist faction within the military, an institution previously assumed to be staffed mainly by Kemalists — followers of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder […]
By Amina Ismail and Arwa Gaballa | Al-GAMALIYA, Egypt Al-GAMALIYA, Egypt Thousands of mourners gathered in a small Egyptian town on Wednesday for the funeral of the Muslim cleric known as “the blind sheikh” who was convicted of conspiracy in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York. Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was also convicted of planning a broader “war of urban terrorism” in the United States, […]
Fitch Ratings-Moscow-22 February 2017 Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) of five UAE banks with Stable Outlook and maintained Rating Watch Positive (RWP) on First Gulf Bank’s (FGB) IDRs. The agency also downgraded the Viability Rating of Union National Bank (UNB) to ‘bbb-‘ from ‘bbb’. A full list of rating actions is at the end of this commentary. KEY RATING DRIVERS IDRs, SUPPORT […]
Unilever has promised to boost profits and conduct a root-and-branch review of its business that could lead to asset sales just days after an aborted $143bn takeover approach from Kraft Heinz, the US food group backed by 3G Capital and Warren Buffett. Unilever is under pressure to speed up returns to shareholders following the bid from Kraft Heinz, which has raised questions about the consumer products group’s […]
But one option being considered is for American troops to step up their support of the fighters by firing artillery, shooting mortars, helping with logistics and significantly expanding efforts to advise them, much as the United States is doing for Iraqi forces in the battle for Mosul. Continue reading the main story In late January, President Trump gave the defense secretary, Jim Mattis, 30 days to develop […]
DUBAI: Combining the capabilities of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia can create historic opportunities for their peoples and the whole region, said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, UAE vice president and prime minister, and ruler of Dubai, WAM reported on Tuesday.He was speaking at a joint retreat on Saadiyat Island, attended by some 150 Emirati and Saudi officials to discuss the best ways to […]
Good news for Sprint subscribers in the U.S. as the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge are now receiving the long-awaited Android 7.0 Nougat update. Sprint users who are participating in the beta program for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge are getting a taste of Android Nougat. Even though the beta users are the only ones receiving the update for now, it may […]
The Worthy Director: Ali F Mostafa Stars: Samer Al Masri, Ali Suleiman, Samer Ismail, Maisa Abd Elhadi Three and a half stars Emirati director Ali F Mostafa has spoken in the past of a desire to make films in every genre – and he certainly seems to be working his way through the list, slowly but surely. After successfully ticking off ensemble drama with his 2009 debut […]
Political uncertainty is slowing trade growth, a World Bank report has concluded, indicating that the rise of Donald Trump may already be casting a shadow over the global economy. Major international institutions such as the IMF, the OECD and World Bank have recently upgraded their forecasts of global economic growth largely due to expectations that tax cuts, rising infrastructure spending and a wave of deregulation will boost the […]
However, neither American nor British officials could say for certain that the militant was the same man as Jamal Malik al-Harith, the man who had been held at Guantánamo. Continue reading the main story The British government also said it could not confirm the Islamic State’s communiqué nor the reports in the British news media. “As all U.K. consular services are suspended in Syria and greatly limited […]
