By MICHAEL R. GORDON and THOMAS ERDBRINK July 5, 2015 VIENNA — Secretary of State John Kerry warned Iran on Sunday that hard choices were still needed to seal a landmark nuclear accord, and that the United States was prepared to walk away if a sound agreement could not be reached. “We are not yet where we need to be on several of the most difficult issues,” Mr. Kerry said in a […]
A fan of video game Minecraft waves a foam pick-axe in front of a screen display at the Minecon convention in London July 4, 2015. Reuters/Matthew Tostevin LONDON For hours, the dedicated queued on Saturday to carry off a prized autograph or to pose for a selfie with some of the biggest celebrities of a new generation. Not for them the rock stars or sporting heroes, but […]
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, during a meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry as part of nuclear negotiations in Vienna on Friday. By MICHAEL R. GORDON and DAVID E. SANGER July 4, 2015 VIENNA — The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Saturday that, with Iranian cooperation, his agency could complete an assessment on Iran’s suspected past nuclear work by December, potentially removing a major obstacle to a […]
It looks like 2015 will be the remembered as the summer of dueling mobile offerings. Only days after T-Mobile said it would begin allowing users to upgrade their smartphones up to three times a year, Sprint promised to go “All-In” with a new pricing structure that offers unlimited talk, text, and data for $80 a month. The company, which is the third-largest wireless carrier in the country […]
VIENNA — Secretary of State John Kerry began on Saturday what the Obama administration hopes will be the final push for a nuclear accord with Iran, just three days before a deadline for concluding an agreement. However, American officials have almost discounted the notion that a deal will be made by Tuesday’s deadline. Their goal is to bridge a number of technical and political divides over the […]
A 3D plastic representation of the Facebook logo is seen in this illustration in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, May 13, 2015. Reuters/Dado Ruvic SAN FRANCISCO Facebook Inc (FB.O) released new diversity data Friday that showed the number of women and minorities has remained little changed over the past year. The number of women increased only 1 percentage point, from 31 percent to 32 percent. The number of […]
BAGHDAD — When Umm Ahmed returned to her Iraqi hometown, Tikrit, in recent days she found a city devastated by fighting with militants from the Islamic State: buildings burned, shops looted, schools shuttered and hospitals inoperable. Still, it was home, and it was good to be back. “Today, I am in the middle of Tikrit,” Umm Ahmed, 39, said last week, preferring to be identified by her […]
JERUSALEM — A United Nations investigation found “serious violations of international humanitarian law” that “may amount to war crimes” by both Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip during their bloody battle last summer, according to a report released on Monday in Geneva. The report, written by a two-member independent commission of inquiry and submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council, said that “impunity prevails […]
By MICHAEL R. GORDON and ERIC SCHMITT June 19, 2015 WASHINGTON — Iran continued its “terrorist-related” activity last year and also continued to provide broad military support to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, the State Department said Friday in its annual report on terrorism. The State Department’s assessment suggests that neither the election of President Hassan Rouhani nor the prospect of a nuclear accord with the United States and its negotiating partners […]
Mohamed Alsawafiri, the presenter of “The News Program,” playing with a prop on the set last month. By DIAA HADID and MAJD AL WAHEIDI June 19, 2015 GAZA CITY — Men and women stood with suitcases at the port, waiting for a boat. Suspicious, Tarek, a 13-year-old tea seller, wandered over and asked, “Are they really leaving?” He had never seen anyone leave Gaza before, he explained. As it turned out, his […]
Yemenis waited to buy food and water in Taiz on Friday. The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has appealed for a two-week humanitarian truce in honor of Ramadan, which began this week. By SOMINI SENGUPTA June 19, 2015 UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations mediator for Yemen peace talks said on Friday that four days of discussions had ended with no agreement for even a brief pause in […]
Trevor Tasin with three of his sons: John, 11; Ben, 13; and Dominic, 2. Mr. Tasin, a pilot who retired as a major in 2014 after flying Predator drones and training new pilots. By CHRISTOPHER DREW and DAVE PHILIPPS June 16, 2015 CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — After a decade of waging long-distance war through their video screens, America’s drone operators are burning out, and the Air Force is being […]
Visitors at the exhibit “A Brief History of Humankind” at the Israel Museum. The museum is Israel’s largest cultural institution, presiding over Jerusalem from a hilltop site alongside the Knesset and the Supreme Court. By ISABEL KERSHNER June 17, 2015 JERUSALEM — A softly lit case displays a small, gnarled implement that is said to be the world’s oldest known complete sickle, dating back 9,000 years. On a wall […]
By JODI RUDOREN June 14, 2015 JERUSALEM — In a pre-emptive strike against a forthcoming United Nations report on the war last year between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday issued a lengthy paper arguing that its troops adhered to international law and blaming the militants for most of the s civilian casualties in Gaza. Israel has refused to cooperate with the […]
Actors preparing for “1945,” a play produced by Al-Midan Theater after one inspired by the case of a convicted murderer generated protests. By DIAA HADID June 13, 2015 HAIFA, Israel — The play had been staged many times for Arabic-speaking audiences in Israel without controversy. But a performance with Hebrew subtitles for a wider audience was all it took to touch off a major furor. The play, “Parallel Time,” […]
A logo is pictured at Google’s European Engineering Center in Zurich April16, 2015. Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann Google Inc (GOOGL.O) said on Friday that it is launching a live streaming gaming service called “YouTube Gaming”, creating a rival to Amazon.com Inc’s (AMZN.O) Twitch service. The service, to be available in the form of an app as well as a website, will focus exclusively on gamers and gaming. […]
Remember to corn-on-the-cob yourself in the face this summer. But don’t just jam it into the family-size tub of margarine like usual, elevate that ear. Cook it on the grill and when it’s done, dress it up with a little squeeze of citrusy lime, a few sprigs of cilantro, and a dash of smoked paprika. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is […]
WASHINGTON — President Obama has authorized the deployment of up to 450 more American troops to Iraq to train and assist the Iraqi forces battling the Islamic State, the White House announced on Wednesday, signaling a major shift of focus in the fight against the Sunni militant group. The United States forces will use Al Taqqadum, an Iraqi base near the town of Habbaniya in eastern Anbar […]
|TAP Special| Sections of public opinion in the Arab Gulf see anti-Arab bias and the grudge in losing the bid for hosting World Cup as the main motivation for the campaign against Qatar in the award of 2022 tournament. As it becomes increasingly clear that the corruption scandal can have very negative implications for the hosting of the tournament, the Arab public opinion is also becoming more […]
/carlustblog.com/ The summer season of long car trips and top-down joyrides is upon us–and we are again confronted with the critical question of what mood music to have playing in the stereo as we drive. Today, we’ll discuss appropriate soundtrack selections for a mad dash down one of the squiggly lines on the map. While music preferences are highly subjective, I propose the following theory for your […]
The Apple logo is seen at the flagship Apple retail store in San Francisco, California April 27, 2015. Reuters/Robert Galbraith/Files Apple is planning to introduce its mobile payment system, Apple Pay, to Britain this summer, The Telegraph reported on Saturday, citing industry sources. Apple is expected to make the announcement on Monday in San Francisco at its annual conference for developers, the paper said. It quoted the […]
Adams … master-planning is important for sustainable developments. Master-planning key to sustainable mixed-use projects DUBAI, 3 days ago The Middle East has a unique set of challenges and opportunities with regard to creating large, mixed-use developments, says Louise Adams, former country manager UAE at Aurecon, an engineering, planning, project management and consulting company. Adams describes the importance of investing in master-planning, some of the current opportunities and […]
A sign in Bethlehem, in the West Bank, calls for a boycott of products from Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. By RICK GLADSTONE June 5, 2015 South Carolina has become the first state to enact legislation aimed at thwarting an international pro-Palestinian economic and disinvestment campaign intended to penalize Israel. Illinois will soon become the second, and advocates say plans are underway for similar laws in 18 more […]
U.S. Government Suffers Massive Cyberattack The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is reporting a cybersecurity incident that affects its systems and data. The breach may have compromised the personal information of 4 million current and former federal workers. “Within the last year, OPM has undertaken an aggressive effort to update its cybersecurity posture, adding numerous tools and capabilities to its networks,” according to a statement on […]
