With the election in Egypt last week of former army chief Abdel Fattah Al Sisi as the new president, a nation and a region awaits a potential period of stability in the troubled Arab state. And one company that is desperate for calm is the flag carrier EgyptAir. EgyptAir website “We expect some indication of recovery, especially after the presidential election,” said Sameh El Hefny, the chairman […]
Global airline executives might have gathered in Qatar for their annual general meeting this week to bemoan their lack of profitability, but the event itself was certainly not short of a dime or two. The title sponsor and host of the IATA AGM was Qatar Airways – and the Gulf state’s flag carrier wasted no time in using the annual mix of conference, talking shop and lavish […]
A Shi’ite militant mans a checkpoint on a road in Yemen’s northwestern province of Omran, June 3, 2014. TEXT SIZE – + Reuters June 03, 2014 4:31 AM SANAA — At least 120 people were killed in northern Yemen on Monday in fighting between Shi’ite Muslim Houthi rebels and government forces before a ceasefire was agreed, a Yemeni official said on Tuesday. Ahmed al-Bekry, deputy governor of Omran […]
CAIRO, EGYPT — Syria is holding presidential elections Tuesday, despite a deadly civil war that has left millions of Syrians unable or unwilling to vote. Voters in areas controlled by Syria’s government went to the polls Tuesday, in an election set to give President Bashar al-Assad his third seven-year term. Syria’s Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi urged people to vote, calling Tuesday a “historic day” for Syria that […]
PARIS — The three young Frenchmen were arrested as they tried to make their way to Syria to wage jihad. They had not harmed anyone in France or made plans to do so, according to the evidence at their trial in January, but in France these days, seeking to fight in Syria is enough to bring a charge of plotting terrorism — and in this case sentences […]
CAIRO — Mohamed Morsi did not enjoy being ridiculed on television as president. With the election of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the laughter has stopped. Bassem Youssef, a comedian whose satire of the politically powerful became emblematic of freedom in post-revolutionary Egypt, said Monday that he was ending his popular weekly television show, citing unspecified political pressure and threats. “We consider the shutting down of the show a […]
A heavy dust storm roared into Iran’s capital on Monday, blacking out the sun in a swirling cloud and tearing down trees in a squall that reportedly killed at least four people and injured 30. The storm struck Tehran with winds of up to 68 miles per hour, state television reported. The television report said the storm killed five people. Iran’s official IRNA news agency said it […]
ABU DHABI // Companies who deny labourers their midday break from work may face closure and fines of up to Dh15,000. Hourly inspections will be carried out, and anyone flouting the law will be dealt with harshly, the Ministry of Labour said on Tuesday. The midday work ban comes into force on June 15 from 12.30pm to 3pm and ends on September 15. The ministry also plans […]
DUBAI // Two Zayed University students have won Dh45,000 each for their idea to open a gym for pregnant and elderly women. Sumaia Alharthi, and Shamma Alfahim, both 21, decided to enter the “Business for Better” competition as this was a good chance for their voices to be heard, said Ms Alharthi. The competition was aimed at encouraging young entrepreneurs, and eight universities from across the UAE […]
ABU DHABI // Yas Marina Circuit is looking to stage major international charity events after staff visited New York to gain ideas from a major run there. Officials from the track visited the Big Apple last month to attend the city’s UAE Healthy Kidney 10K road run and learn about staging the best in community fitness programmes. The annual Healthy Kidney event, a tribute to the founding […]
Photo: AFP/GETTY As the Newark by-election approaches, the Prime Minister is reported to have said in a private – inevitably leaked – conversation that if the wrong candidate becomes president of the European commission it will trigger an early referendum and a likely Brexit. That’s some tough talk from a Tory leader who has previously insisted that he wants to stay in the EU. Labour says he’s […]
Bassem Youssef, a heart surgeon who became a wildly popular political satirist following the 2011 revolt that felled the durable autocratic regime of Hosni Mubarak, announced on Monday that his show would not be returning to the airwaves following months of uncertainty. While the announcement stunned his fans, it did not come as a surprise: the program, called El Bernameg (The Program in Arabic), had been the […]
WASHINGTON — As Syrians go to the polls this week amid civil war, the presidential victor is all but assured: Bashar al-Assad. So why bother holding an election at all? Analysts say Assad has more to gain than votes. He is trying to display political solidarity to the world and to ignore the apolitical transition that the West has called for. Watch related video report by VOA’s […]
Ramallah, occupied West Bank – Fatah and Hamas have unveiled a government of national consensus that will pave the way for elections for a new Palestinian president and parliament. The government of 17 politically-independent members, agreed on Monday, is already being put to the test, as Israel announced it would not negotiate any peace deal with it. The announcement came after the passing of a five-week deadline that […]
JERUSALEM — President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority swore in a transitional government on Monday intended to unify the West Bank and Gaza after seven years of division, though the run-up was marred by last-minute disputes over its composition. The move is likely to complicate further the Palestinians’ already fraught relations with Israel and put them under international scrutiny because the new government is supported by […]
The pact between Emirates Airline and Qantas has been marred by negative news flow from Down Under of job cuts, losses and a brutal price war between the Aussie carrier and Virgin Australia. But one party is benefiting from an influx of Aussies: the city of Dubai. The Gulf state has become a popular stopover en route to Europe and the U.S., boosting Dubai’s malls and hotels. About […]
A new Palestinian government is scheduled to be sworn in on Monday in an effort to unite warring Palestinian factions for the first time in seven years. The move would bring together the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is dominated by the mainstream Fatah faction, and its rival Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza, under the terms of a unity pact reached last month. The development […]
Heavy fighting is raging in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, apparently between the armed group Ansar al-Sharia and irregular forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar, a former army general. Witnesses said on Monday that gunfire, which began the day before, could be heard across the city, particularly coming from a special forces army base in a western suburb of Benghazi. At least seven people have died and […]
Spain’s King Juan Carlos is abdicating after almost 40 years on the throne and his son Prince Felipe de Borbon will succeed him, the Spanish prime minister has announced. Juan Carlos, whose health is failing and has had a number of hip operations in recent years, is stepping down for personal reasons, Mariano Rajoy said on Monday. “His majesty, King Juan Carlos, has just communicated to me his […]
A controversy over cutting down centennial trees to pave the way for building a military academy in one of Jordan’s shrinking forests is taking center stage once again. Environmental NGOs and activists held an emergency meeting Saturday to halt what they called an illegal chopping of trees by the Jordan Armed Forces in Bergesh forest, near the city of Ajloun – some 90kms north west of Amman. […]
‘As a scientist, all I can do is tell the truth based on the evidence,’ says Dr Jane Plant Photo: MARTIN POPE In 1993, the breast cancer that had plagued Jane Plant since 1987 returned for the fifth time. It came in the shape of a secondary tumour – a lump in her neck the size of half a boiled egg. Doctors told her that she had only […]
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has sworn in a new unity government between Fatah and Hamas, the two groups that have separately governed the West Bank and Gaza Strip for the past seven years. The ceremony in Ramallah went ahead Monday after the two sides overcame a last minute dispute over a decision by Abbas to not include a ministry of prison affairs The United States considers Hamas […]
The new Palestinian government, scheduled to be sworn in on Monday at 1 p.m. (6 a.m. Eastern time) in the West Bank city of Ramallah, will be led by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and is to consist of 16 other ministers, some handling more than one portfolio. Three ministers are to be from the Gaza Strip following a reconciliation pact signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization, dominated […]
DUBAI // The emirate’s oldest prehistoric resident finally has a name. The long necked, whip-tailed, 155 million-year-old dinosaur was called DubaiDino on Monday. The name was chosen by Johara Al Bayedh, a bank manager and Saudi national. The 24 metre long, 7.6 metre high Diplodocus longus dinosaur from the late Jurassic period has been on display at Dubai Mall for the past three months. Ms Al Bayedh […]
