Opec’s most powerful members were rushing on Tuesday to rescue a supply deal designed to end the longest oil price crash in a generation. Saudi Arabia, Opec’s largest producer, and its arch rival Iran have both set out their positions ahead of Wednesday’s ministerial meeting in Vienna, with the kingdom hinting it could walk away from a deal if its conditions are not met and Tehran publicly […]
By J.R. Wu | ITU ABA, South China Sea ITU ABA, South China Sea Taiwan held rescue drills on Tuesday off the coast of its sole outpost in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea, but the biggest claimant in the disputed area kept uncharacteristically quiet. China and self-governed Taiwan seldom see eye to eye, but in responding to Taipei’s latest assertion of sovereignty over Itu […]
By Joseph Sipalan | KUALA LUMPUR KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia’s prime minister has expressed support for strict Islamic laws as he seeks to consolidate support of ethnic Malay Muslims at a party meeting this week, as frustration over graft and the economy cloud prospects for the next election. Prime Minister Najib Razak has battled calls to resign over the last 18 months, as a scandal at his pet […]
By Sarah Marsh | HAVANA HAVANA Leaders of Cuba’s leftist allies and other developing countries descend on Havana on Tuesday for a mass rally commemorating Fidel Castro, the rebel who seized power in a 1959 revolution and ruled the island for half a century. Castro, who ceded control to his younger brother Raul Castro a decade ago due to poor health, died on Friday at the age […]
With the Trump cabinet filling up, but a number of key positions still to be announced, vice-president-elect Mike Pence told Fox News tonight that “there will be very important announcements tomorrow.” Vice President-elect @mike_pence: There will be very important announcements tomorrow. #NewsAlert pic.twitter.com/VOAXMsBhMa — Fox News (@FoxNews) November 29, 2016 So who will it be? POSTS ALREADY FILLED WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF * Republican […]
Tuesday 06:00 GMT Overview Markets across Asia were trading cautiously as Wall Street and the US dollar weakened overnight and the price of oil has pulled back. European bourses are expected to open a touch weaker, with spreadbetters predicting the UK’s FTSE 100 will slip about 10 points to 6,790 and Germany’s Dax to drop 20 points to 10,562. US index futures suggest the S&P 500 will […]
SEOUL South Korean President Park Geun-hye is expected to offer to relinquish some of her power when she addresses the nation on Tuesday but is not expected to announce her immediate resignation, Yonhap news agency quoted a presidential official as saying. Park’s announcement comes as her administration tries to weather an influence-peddling scandal amid growing calls for her to step down. Yonhap cited a presidential official as […]
CAIRO — An Egyptian soldier crawls across hot sand in his underwear while his comrades stand at attention. Other soldiers say they are subjected to almost constant verbal and physical abuse and ordered to run personal errands for their superiors. Those accusations and images, part of a documentary broadcast this week, would have been provocative enough on their own. But the program was broadcast by Al Jazeera, […]
ABU DHABI // Regional terrorism and the influence of Iran over countries such as Iraq, Syria and Lebanon have led to increased militarisation in the region, according to a new report. The report, Iran and the Gulf Military Balance, says Tehran poses a growing missile threat to maritime traffic in the Arabian Gulf and the flow of petroleum exports. This has led to “a de facto military […]
16.6MW of new solar power generation capacity doubles UAE’s total contribution to Mauritania’s clean energy output Abu Dhabi, UAE, 29 November 2016 Eight new rural solar energy projects have been completed, and are now operational, across the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, in western North Africa, doubling the UAE’s total contribution to the country’s clean energy capacity to 31.6 megawatts (MW). Delivered by Masdar, the Abu Dhabi Future […]
BANGKOK Thailand’s cabinet on Tuesday acknowledged the appointment of a new king, Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said, more than one month after the death of revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The death of the much loved King Bhumibol on Oct. 13 plunged the Southeast Asian nation into mourning. Most Thais have known no other monarch. According to procedure, the cabinet will ask the president of parliament to invite […]
While there is no sign of our collective obsession with social media fading any time soon, there is also a growing determination by some to cut all ties and go on a technology detox. It sometimes feels as if new platforms for posting, sharing and pontificating are appearing by the day. With so many outlets for people to share their opinions and views of the world, and […]
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is examining the timing of $3bn of impairment charges that Rio Tinto booked on a disastrous Mozambique coal deal, sources close to the company have confirmed. The Anglo-Australian miner was already facing scrutiny from US regulators when it contacted law enforcement authorities this month about a questionable payment made to a consultant operating in Guinea. The Mozambique investigation, first reported by […]
Democrats are taking aim at potential conflicts of interest in President-elect ‘s emerging administration, focusing on the role Mr. Trump’s son-in-law could play in government and introducing legislation that would force the incoming president to distance himself from his business interests. Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government […] (via WSJ)
The Chicago Stock Exchange, which is seeking to win approval for a controversial takeover deal by Chinese investors, on Monday said that two companies controlled by the Lu family would own a combined 39 per cent of the exchange, but their voting power would be limited to 20 per cent. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Chicago exchange detailed the underlying investors in […]
By Anthony Boadle | BRASILIA BRASILIA Leftist opponents of Brazil’s President Michel Temer sought on Monday to have him investigated and impeached for his alleged role in pressuring a former culture minister to approve a property development. While the impeachment bid is not expected to gain sufficient backing, Brazil’s public prosecutor is already studying whether to investigate the charge by the former minister, Marcelo Calero, that Temer […]
The persistent notion that Mr. Castro’s fastball had made him a potential big league prospect has long been debunked by historians. By many accounts, his primary sport as a schoolboy was basketball. He was tall, at 6-foot-2 or 6-foot-3, and he told the biographer Tad Szulc that the anticipation, speed and dexterity required for basketball most approximated the skills needed for revolution. Yet it was primarily baseball, […]
Law Blog rounds up the morning’s legal news: Sessions selected: President-elect Donald Trump offered the key cabinet post of Attorney General to Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.), giving the job to one of his most trusted supporters and a longtime critic of U.S. immigration policy. [WSJ, NYT] Free to freeze: A U.K. High Court judge […] (via WSJ)
The Trump Tower in New York, which currently serves as Donald Trump‘s residence in New York has just been renamed “Dump Tower” on Google Maps. The tech company has reportedly moved to fix the label immediately last Sunday, so it’s now back to its old label. Dump Tower The renaming is said to have been perpetrated last Nov. 26 around the time someone or the same person […]
ABU DHABI // Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, has praised the sacrifices of the heroes who died while defending the UAE. “The loss of our brave servicemen is painful to us and to their families. Despite the great loss, we are proud of them and […]
Dubai’s state-owned utility firm has signed a power purchase agreement with Abu Dubai Future Energy Company, better known as Masdar, for the 800MW third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) said the agreement was signed by Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director andCEO of DEWA, and Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and chairman […]
By Josh Smith | KABUL KABUL The U.S. military wants to replace Afghanistan’s well-worn fleet of Russian helicopters with American-made aircraft, according to a new budget proposal, a decision aimed at reducing the Afghan air force’s decades-long reliance on Russian equipment. The Afghan air force, trained and assisted by NATO advisers, has slowly gained strength, but remains too small to meet the needs of security forces struggling […]
Donald Trump was due to meet former critic Mitt Romney for a second time on Wednesday as aides to the president-elect stepped up a public rearguard action against the possible appointment of the one-time Republican nominee as secretary of state. Mr Trump has narrowed the list of candidates to several frontrunners, including Mr Romney and Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and a faithful ally of the […]
Quote by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA for the UAE Pioneers Awards In (the category of Best Local Initiative to Encourage Reading as part of Corporate Social Responsibility) Quote by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA for the UAE Pioneers Awards In (the category of Best Local Initiative to Encourage Reading as part of Corporate Social Responsibility) […]
