Its account of the convoy attack went much further than findings of a United Nations inquiry set up by then-Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, which concluded in December that the convoy had been bombed from the air but did not identify the attackers. Continue reading the main story The 31-truck convoy organized by the United Nations and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent had been carrying food, medicine, children’s […]
A storming start for risk assets has defined the first two months of 2017, with heightened optimism on Wall Street pushing the FTSE All-World equity index into record territory. Whether the rally can be sustained in March depends on the outcome of several key events. Here is a rundown of what looms for investors during the month. US jobs data and the Federal Reserve The bullish sentiment […]
By Thomas Escritt | AMSTERDAM AMSTERDAM Hit by sliding poll numbers, Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders said he would resume his campaign this weekend after revelations of leaks from his police protection prompted him to halt all public appearances ahead this month’s election. Wednesday’s announcement follows the Dutch government’s decision to give a different squad the task of protecting the outspoken opponent of Islam, who has lived under […]
The next big Windows 10 release includes welcome changes to Windows Update. [Updated March 1, 2017] The single most common complaint I’ve heard about Windows 10 is its lack of control over update timing. That’s annoying enough for monthly security updates, which typically take just a few minutes to install. But when a feature update (the new name for major version upgrades that now arrive twice a […]
In the early days of his presidency, Donald Trump has called journalists the “enemy of the American people” (twice), assailed unflattering reporting as “fake news” and brought aboard a press secretary who’s shut news organizations out of a briefing. It’s behavior that has press freedom organizations across the United States worried. So, they’re working together to do something about it. Later this year, a coalition of organizations […]
A contract arranged at the top According to the investigators’ notes, Wilson wasn’t pressed further by the labs to detail her work because her contract had been blessed by the labs’ top officials. At the time, Los Alamos was reeling from a $300 million budget cut handed down by the Congress that Wilson had just left, a contracting official told investigators during an interview on Oct. 11, […]
OFRA, Palestinian Territories: Israeli police began removing residents and protesters on Tuesday from nine West Bank settler homes set to be demolished under a Supreme Court ruling.The homes in the Ofra settlement — a symbol of Jewish settler defiance to international concerns — were found to have been built on private Palestinian land and ordered razed by March 5.Police cleared protesters from the houses one at a […]
UK government The UK government has outlined plans for a post-Brexit digital strategy to move technology to the heart of the country. On Wednesday, the government announced the launch of the Digital Strategy, which promises to place “skills, infrastructure and innovation” at the forefront to support “Britain’s world-leading digital economy.” The government claims over four million free digital skills training courses will be created through the scheme. […]
TALLIN German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told reporters in Estonia on Wednesday that NATO had not agreed on every nation in the alliance having to meet a rigid target of spending 2 percent of its gross domestic product on defence. “I have a concern that politicians make public promises that they can’t fulfil later on,” Gabriel said. He said that NATO had merely agreed that member nations […]
KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia on Wednesday charged two women – an Indonesian and a Vietnamese – with murdering the estranged half brother of North Korea’s leader in an assassination using a super-toxic nerve agent that killed in minutes. Siti Aishah, a 25-year-old mother of one from Jakarta, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, from rural northern Vietnam, could be hanged if they are convicted for the killing of Kim […]
By Matt Spetalnick | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Tuesday reaffirmed support for the United States’ longstanding security alliances around the world but insisted that friends and partners from Europe to the Middle East to the Pacific must “pay their fair share of the cost.” In his first nationally televised speech to Congress since taking office on January 20, Trump sought to reassure allies still uneasy […]
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has published a request for information (RFI), seeking help to narrow down what IT services the government agency needs to outsource before heading to tender from July next year. The ANAO has labelled the RFI a “mutual discovery process” which it said will allow the ANAO to gain information and insights on providers in the market and in return allow providers […]
Just under 70 minutes, 4,825 words, and the message was clear – the speech was about “will” and “Americans” Additionally “Obamacare” was mentioned 5 times, “Historic” was mentioned 3 times, and “massive” twice. .. I am here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength, and it is a message deeply delivered from my heart. #JointAddress — President Trump (@POTUS) March 1, 2017 President Trump got […]
TUNIS A Tunisian investigative judge has charged six security guards with failing to help tourists under attack during a 2015 massacre at a beach resort claimed by Islamic State, a counter-terrorism official said on Tuesday. The details were revealed after a British inquiry on Tuesday found Tunisian security forces had let down the victims of the 2015 beach hotel shooting, making “deliberate and unjustifiable” delays in their […]
King Salman’s extravagant travel arrangements have captured the public imagination ahead of the Saudi monarch’s high-profile visit to Indonesia beginning Wednesday, but billions of dollars in oil and other investment deals are also at stake. The trade deals could be worth as much as $25 billion, including a $6 billion project between the two nation’s oil companies, according to Indonesian officials who briefed reporters on the scheduled […]
By Aye Win Myint | NAYPYITAW NAYPYITAW Myanmar’s military defended its crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority as a lawful counterinsurgency operation at a rare news conference on Tuesday, adding it was necessary to defend the country. It was the first time the top generals directly addressed the mounting accusations of human rights abuses which, according to U.N. experts, may amount to crimes against humanity and ethnic […]
By Stephen Kalin | SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq A few hundred men who had scurried across front lines in a refugee exodus from Mosul sat on the ground in neat rows before an Iraqi intelligence officer who scanned the crowd for hidden militants. The officer pulled a teenager onto a raised platform and asked the group if he belonged to Islamic State (IS). […]
By Steve Holland | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON After a turbulent start to his presidency, Donald Trump goes before the U.S. Congress on Tuesday night to give a speech that will be closely watched for details of his plans for the economy and whether he can strike a more conciliatory tone. World financial markets will be scrutinizing the 9 p.m. (0200 GMT Wednesday) address in the House of Representatives […]
By Andrea Shalal and Ece Toksabay | BERLIN/ANKARA BERLIN/ANKARA Berlin summoned Ankara’s ambassador on Tuesday to protest the arrest in Turkey of a correspondent for a German newspaper, further fuelling tensions between the two NATO allies as demonstrations took place across German-speaking Europe. Deniz Yucel, a German-Turkish dual national with Die Welt, faces up to 10-1/2 years in prison after being arrested on charges of propaganda in […]
By Michelle Nichols | UNITED NATIONS UNITED NATIONS Russia on Tuesday cast its seventh veto to protect the Syrian government from United Nations Security Council action, blocking a bid by Western powers to impose sanctions over accusations of chemical weapons attacks during the six-year Syrian conflict. China backed Russia and cast its sixth veto on Syria. Russia had said the vote on the resolution, drafted by France, […]
The American ambassador, Nikki R. Haley, accused Russia of putting “its friends in the Assad regime” before global security. Continue reading the main story “It’s a sad day for the Security Council when member states make excuses for other members killing their own people,” she said in the council chambers after the vote. The resolution, proposed by Britain and France months ago and endorsed by the United […]
By Stephanie Nebehay and Joseph Sipalan | GENEVA/KUALA LUMPUR GENEVA/KUALA LUMPUR South Korea called for “collective measures” to punish North Korea for using chemical weapons to kill the estranged half-brother of its leader Kim Jong Un, as Malaysia said on Tuesday it would charge two women with murder over the airport attack. Police have said the women smeared VX nerve agent, a chemical on a United Nations […]
This example of a 3-D ladar point cloud shows a fully foliated field site. Color indicates elevation above the ground, with red tones indicating a higher elevation value (for example, tree tops and vegetation) and blue tones indicating lower elevation value (ground-level vegetation and the ground itself). Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology The United States shares 5,525 miles of land border with Canada and 1,989 miles with […]
OFRA, West Bank: Israeli police began removing settlers and hundreds of supporters on Tuesday from nine houses built illegally on privately owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.Police carried some of the settlers and protesters out of the red-roofed structures in the settlement of Ofra, while others walked out, escorted by officers.Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered the demolition of nine buildings in the settlement of more […]
