By John Davison and Abdelaziz Boumzar | MOSUL, Iraq MOSUL, Iraq From a distance, the exhausted Iraqis fleeing parts of Mosul controlled by Islamic State appeared to be pushing their worldly possessions on handcarts. By the time they reached Reuters journalists it was clear that their cargo was far more precious, and more tragic. One man lifted a grubby, fluffy blanket to reveal the dust and blood-covered […]
PETALING JAYA: Two graduates have been charged with 23 counts of prostitution-related offences involving five women in the Klang Valley. Khairul Azzuar Yusoff, 28, a medical graduate, was charged with four counts of living on the earnings of prostitution and immoral activities of the victims aged between 19 and 22. His friend Mohyuddin Ahmad Fajaruddin, 23, an oil and gas graduate, was charged with five counts of […]
BEIRUT Ahrar al-Sham, a powerful Syrian rebel group, on Friday said the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State was behind a deadly mosque attack near Syria’s Aleppo that a war monitor said killed dozens of people on Thursday evening. Jets hit around a mosque in al-Jina village near Atarib in the western part of Aleppo province, a few miles (km) from Idlib province on Thursday, killing at least […]
Bob Diamond, the former Barclays chief executive, has teamed up with the investment vehicle of the Qatari royal family to launch a bid for Panmure Gordon, the lossmaking stock broker and investment bank. Panmure, whose name dates back more than 140 years, is suffering like many mid-cap brokers from a number of structural challenges, including increased regulation, fewer deals and lower corporate retainers. The deal may be […]
By John Davison | MOSUL, Iraq MOSUL, Iraq After five months of intense fighting, Iraqi forces have begun to drive back Islamic State into the dense and narrow-alleyed Old City of Mosul, with the mosque where its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate in 2014 firmly in sight. Iraqi leaders say the battle to recapture Mosul is reaching its final stages, trumpeting each gain made against […]
KHOST, Afghanistan A suicide car bomb detonated near an army base in the eastern Afghan province of Khost on Friday, killing one soldier and wounding several before the army repelled at attack on the base by four gunmen, the district chief said. The blast, 50 metres (yards) from the base, was heard several miles away and damaged several shops, homes and a school, Akbar Zadran, the chief […]
PANAMA CITY: Banks based in Panama managed a record level of assets last year – $121 billion – despite fallout from the “Panama Papers” scandal, an industry body in the Central American country said Thursday. The International Banking Center, which represents Panamanian and foreign banks, said members’ assets “reached the record level of $121.075 billion” – a jump of 3.3 percent over 2015. Panama has come under […]
By Sijia Jiang | HONG KONG HONG KONG Chinese technology conglomerate LeEco is looking to sell a 49-acre U.S. Silicon Valley property less than a year after buying it from Yahoo Inc, sources said, in what is the latest effort by the firm to ride out a cash crunch. LeEco, one of China’s most ambitious companies that grew from a Netflix-like video website to a business empire […]
ABU DHABI // The public needs to be better informed about the effects of vitamin D deficiency on other conditions, an Abu Dhabi conference has heard. Vitamin D deficiency can have a severe impact on autoimmune processes, several types of cancer, obesity, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders and pregnancy, experts said. Their comments came on Thursday at the Vitamin D Deficiency and Human Health conference at […]
Overall, there was a 17% increase in the number of companies in MEA in 2016 compared to 2015, with Johannesburg being the leading destination for Africa JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, March 16, 2017 The Middle East Africa (MEA) region has become increasingly important for the majority of global Fortune 500 countries, according to a new report released by Infomineo (www.Infomineo.com ), a global business research company specialising in […]
The parkas that have made it to the top of Mount Everest and the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition have found their way to Wall Street. Shares of Canada Goose, the maker of down winter coats with coyote fur trim and a circle patch logo, soared in their New York debut on Thursday, rising 26 per cent to $16.08 after pricing at $12.78 a piece, above […]
By Simon Lewis and Wa Lone | SITTWE, Myanmar SITTWE, Myanmar Since security forces swept into their villages in northwestern Myanmar late last year, around 75,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled across the nearby border to Bangladesh. Many now fear that the authorities in Myanmar could make their displacement permanent. At least once a year, local administrators go house-to-house in the Rohingya villages of northern Rakhine State, lining […]
Messaging apps WhatsApp and Telegram had a severe security flaw that allowed hackers to hijack users’ account with just one image, security researchers reveal. Check Point Security researchers just disclosed a serious vulnerability that allowed hackers to hijack hundreds of millions of WhatsApp and Telegram accounts simply by sending a malware-laden image. The hack targeted the method in which both Telegram and WhatsApp process images and multimedia files. […]
Retail stocks were once again heading straight for the discount bin on Wednesday. Struggling department store operator Macy’s was the day’s biggest decliner on the S&P 500, dropping 2 per cent to $30.32 following news that one-time suitor Hudson’s Bay now has its eyes on upmarket retailer Neiman Marcus instead. Shares in Macy’s, which have been languishing at six-year lows amid falling sales and profits, had rallied […]
In the widely anticipated budget proposal to be released by President Trump on Thursday, the White House will call for spending cuts of 28% for the State Department and 31% for the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing congressional staff who are familiar with the plan. The budget plan for fiscal 2018 will also propose a big reduction in the State Department’s […]
Underlying net profit up 7.3%, driven by continued margin expansion Aamal Company Board recommends a cash dividend of 6% (QAR 0.60 a share) Doha, 15 March 2017 The Board of Directors of Aamal Company QPSC (“Aamal”), one of the GCC’s fastest growing diversified companies, today announces the financial results for the year ended 31 December 2016 Financial Highlights Group revenue marginally down, by 1.8%, to QAR 2,829.1m […]
The White House will propose large spending cuts on Thursday for the state department, public broadcasting and environmental programmes as part of its preliminary budget for the 2018 fiscal year. Administration aides call it an “America First” budget — with greater spending on defence, law enforcement and veteran affairs, as well as new education programmes that emphasise school choice. The last are a pet project of Betsy […]
The preparations for Fireworks Wednesday started Tuesday afternoon when the gardeners carefully laid out seven small piles of sand near the square. Seven is regarded as a holy number in Iran’s pre-Islamic Zoroastrian faith. They then brought over several wheelbarrow loads of firewood. I noticed several of my neighbors peeking down from their balconies. Fireworks Wednesday is traditionally celebrated on the last Tuesday before the end of […]
A Saudi soldier was killed by gunmen late on Tuesday in the Eastern city of Qatif, in an incident the interior ministry said was carried out by “terrorist elements”. The security patrol came under fire upon approaching a suspicious vehicle, the statement carried by state news agency SPA, adding that the gunmen fled the area. Eastern Province is home to much of Saudi Arabia’s oil production as […]
DHAKA Two police officers were injured in a raid on a house in the Chittagong district of Bangladesh, where three people identified as militants were arrested on Wednesday, police said. The suspected militants threw grenades at police after they surrounded the house and demanded that the occupants surrender, a senior police officer said. The three arrested included a woman with a child, who was wearing a suicide […]
Platform empowers SMEs to launch customizable online stores within 24 hours Chanbar.com leverages Facebook Messenger to place merchants in direct contact with customers Promoting inclusive, sustainable growth and jobs for the Iraqi community Advertisement Baghdad, Iraq – 15 March, 2017 Iraq Wallet, the country’s leading mobile wallet and digital payment company, announces it has expanded its ‘ZainCash’ service by introducing and launching chanbar.com, a multi-channel, cloud-based e-commerce […]
While it may not be the very definition of irony, we do find the fact that the Atlanta Fed has just cut its Q1 GDP forecast from 1.2% to 0.9%, a number which if confirmed would be the lowest quarterly print in year, just two hours before the Fed’s rate hike quite humorous. As a reminder, the number was as high as 3.4% one and a half […]
By John Davison | MOSUL AIRPORT, Iraq MOSUL AIRPORT, Iraq Outside a mosque on the edge of Mosul airport’s ripped up runway, Iraqis made homeless by war sit on suitcases, taking a brief rest before beginning their onward journey, on foot or in buses. Men push wheelchairs carrying elderly relatives or carts loaded with small children over dusty and uneven ground, part of an exodus of people […]
JERUSALEM: Israeli ex-defense minister Moshe Yaalon accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday of seeking a “neo-Ottoman empire” while warning of growing instability in the Middle East.Yaalon, seeking to build a campaign to become Israel’s next prime minister, spoke of his concerns while addressing regional issues in a meeting with foreign journalists.The ex-minister, forced out of office last year as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to […]
