Op-Ed Contributor Eight Days in Gaza: A Wartime Diary By ATEF ABU SAIF August 4, 2014 Sunday, July 27 For the last two hours we’ve heard nothing but sonic booms and the sound of rockets and mortars. Shells have fallen on our street a few hundred yards from my father-in-law’s house, where my wife and I, and our five kids, are staying, and on the street behind us. My wife, […]
Abdul Rahman Qayed’s hands are smooth for a man who works in the construction trade. The reason, he says, is simple. For much of the past 28 years they’ve been covered in clay. Along with the date palm, coral stone, gypsum and straw, clay is one of the key materials with which Abdul Rahman, 52, and his 58-year-old brother, Mohammed Saleh, ply their trade. “We use the […]
Surveys were carried out annually across four school years with the participants aged 14 or 15 at the start of the study and 17 or 18 at its conclusion Photo: Alamy Can it be true? Is playing video games not the corrupting activity that we’ve been led to believe? Gaming’s position as society’s current bête noire, so often blamed for the degradation of youth just like rock ’n […]
Even the best albums contained the occasional dud – did anyone ever look forward to hearing the obligatory Ringo song on a Beatles album? . Photo: AFP/Getty Images My home is full of vinyl. It’s there in the living-room, the study, the spare bedroom – all my yesterdays, the good, the bad the ugly, filed in batches of 30 in sturdy black plastic boxes (they weigh a ton!), […]
Libya, an oil-rich North African nation, has been plagued with violence since the 2011 uprising and NATO-backed campaign that killed strongman Moamar Gadhafi. Militias, many of them former anti-Gadhafi fighters, have fought for control of territory, resources and political influence. Libya’s government and parliament, also paralyzed by political feuding, have little control over the militias. The main fault line, both politically and military, runs between Islamists and […]
NEW DELHI: Gautam Adani plans to acquire power plants with a total capacity of 5,000 mw, but he will avoid aggressive bids to ensure good returns, a source close to the tycoon said a day after Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group outbid him to buy 1,800 mw hydro power capacity from Jaypee Group.
Gautam Adani is directly involved in evaluating offers and negotiations, something he left to company executives in the past, the source said. The company is in talks with several power sector players, including GMR, Lanco, Indiabulls, Avantha Power and Athena, the source said.
Another person in the Adani Group said there are many sellers in the market, offering projects with a combined capacity of nearly 50,000 mw.
 
Bangalore: Electronics production in the country’s Defence sector touched Rs. 13,800 crore during 2013-14 and is expected to grow over 15 per cent this year, said Electronic Industries Association of India (ELCINA) President Subhash Goyal.
The production of strategic electronics stood at Rs. 12,000 crore in 2012-13 and has been growing steadily from Rs. 5,700 crore in 2007-08 to Rs. 9,000 crore during 2010-11.
ELCINA has been holding the strategic electronics summit (SES) since 2010. This year it is being held in Bangalore on July 30 and 31.
The SES brings all stakeholders together on one platform to enable a better understanding of Defence requirements. The summit also aims to facilitate
All the moves:Joan Collins shows Percy Gibson the way this week in St Tropez Photo: Getty Images The images of Joan Collins OBE – actress, personality, national and international icon – dancing the night away in St Tropez this week bring joy to the heart. At 82, La Collins makes fifth husband Percy Gibson, 32 years her junior, look rather less limber. Singing along, with bare arms […]
The European Commission has already said it will investigate the new policy statement from the Prime Minister to see if it complies with European law Photo: REUTERS The Prime Minister has scored a brilliant summer hit with the headline writers. “EU migrant benefit curbs fast-tracked”; “Government announces limits on EU migrants’ benefits access”; “New rules on migrant benefits to be announced as UK makes system more robust against […]
ABU DHABI // A husband who accused his wife of cheating on him does not have sufficient grounds for divorce, the Court of Cassation has ruled. The man, from an Arab country, filed a divorce lawsuit in which he alleged she was committing adultery. He said she repeatedly left the house without his permission, leaving their child behind with the housemaid. The Personal Status Court initially refused […]
It seems that Generation Y has mistakenly taken its inspiration for matrimony from the short-lived marriages of Hollywood celebrities. Although many of them are in happy relationships now, their early attempts at marriage were famed for their brevity. Take Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton – they managed two years. Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries lasted three. Renée Zellweger and Kenny Chesney quit after six months. Till […]
DUBAI // Cinemas, restaurants and shops were packed as thousands escaped the scorching heat and enjoyed the first day of Eid Al Fitr in Dubai and Abu Dhabi malls. Dubai Mall welcomed crowds as many people who had spent the past month fasting for Ramadan made the most of the end of the holy month. Although most of those enjoying a public holiday were residents, the high […]
The success of this nation was built by millions of hands, many from overseas – doctors, teachers, inventors, academics, businesspeople – and succeeding in the decades to come means staying open to those who can really contribute Photo: REUTERS This Government has a long-term economic plan to secure a better future for Britain – and controlling immigration is a vital part of it. Under Labour, 2.5 million more […]
NEW DELHI: In a big push to 31,000-MW of electricity generation plants stranded without fuel, the power ministry has proposed a Rs 5,700 crore subsidy to help operationalise idle gas-based capacity, a loan restructuring scheme for such plants and the supply of coal to projects that will be commissioned before March 2015.
The proposals will benefit 24,148 MW of gas-based projects and 7,230 MW of plants that run on coal, set up at a total investment of about Rs 1,50,000 crore.
An additional 10,930 MW of coal-based plants that will be commissioned before March are also likely to gain. The ministry will approach the Union cabinet with a proposal to pool prices of imported gas and coal with domestic fuels to help stran
BEIJING: In a sign of expanding military-to-military engagement between India and China, permanent representatives of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Navy have, for the first time, taken office in Beijing.
Group Captain Ashish Srivastava of the Indian Air Force and Captain Sushant Dam of the Indian Navy will begin their terms as the Air and Naval attachés in the Indian Embassy in Beijing on Friday.
Earlier, India only had a Defence attaché from the Indian Army, along with a Deputy Defence attaché, posted in Beijing.
The question of expanding India’s military representation had been discussed by both sides over several years, with China finally agreeing to the move this past year. Tr
Regulators in Jordan have introduced a set of long-awaited rules for the issuance of sukuk, or Islamic bonds, paving the way for both the public and private sectors to tap into growing demand for sharia-compliant investments. Jordan is one of several Muslim-majority countries keen to develop their domestic Islamic finance sector and the government is studying a proposal to issue a sovereign sukuk, mirroring efforts by Egypt […]
The Arab Spring raised awareness of the mobilizing power of Facebook and other social media. Companies and governments have struggled to get to grips with social media over the past few years. Some—notably governments—have treated social media as an existential threat. Others view it essentially as a branding or marketing tool for pushing messages at constituents or customers. Charlene Li, founder of strategy firm Altimeter Group and […]
By removing the boost to people who stay in work, the government will now be penalising those who it should be rewarding Photo: Alamy Britain’s state pension has never been known for its generosity. But one of the lesser known perks of the system is that it’s possible to get a very generous bonus if you decide to carry on working and take your state pension later. As […]
CAIRO — The military-appointed interim president of Egypt on Friday issued an election law that experts say all but eliminates the chance of parliamentary opposition to his successor, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the former general who installed the interim government. “The members of Parliament are almost all definitely going to be loyal to the president in one way or another,” said Zaid al-Ali, who tracks the Egyptian transition […]
DOHA, Qatar — The five hardened Taliban militants were quickly whisked in a fleet of cars to the shoulder of a highway on the outskirts of the capital just as they arrived. There, out of the public eye and under the watchful gaze of Qatari security, they exchanged warm hugs with a welcome delegation and then once more were whisked off into hiding. If Qatar holds to […]
For consolidating green economy culture and Supported by DEWA and UNDP 5th June 2014, Dubai, UAE : Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) has announced the first class of Carbon Ambassador 2014-2015, as part of a ceremony celebrating the World Environment Day in Al Qouz sustainable building on 5 June 2014. HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority initiated the […]
ABU DHABI // School pupils from the American Community School in Abu Dhabi said the simplicity of their “The Engineers” robot was key to them clinching top spot at a national robotics competition on Friday. The World Robot Olympiad-UAE drew 180 students from across the country, battling it out in the elementary, junior high and high-school categories at the Fairmont Hotel in the capital, but it was […]
ABU DHABI // School pupils from the American Community School in Abu Dhabi said the simplicity of their “The Engineers” robot was key to them clinching top spot at a national robotics competition yesterday. The World Robot Olympiad-UAE drew 180 students from across the country, battling it out in the elementary, junior high and high-school categories at the Fairmont Hotel in the capital, but it was “The […]
Campaign conducts 3,685 checks in the Northern Emirates SHARJAH // Women in Sharjah were the latest in the UAE to be encouraged to check their cardiovascular health at a free initiative being run in conjunction with Al Qassimi Hospital. The initiative, held at My City Centre yesterday, is part of Go Red for Women, a global campaign founded by the American Heart Association to raise awareness about […]
