NEW YORK A self-proclaimed white supremacist convicted on charges he planned to use a “death ray” to kill Muslims and President Barack Obama was sentenced on Monday to 30 years in prison, federal prosecutors in New York said. Glendon Scott Crawford, 52, a Navy veteran and a member of the Ku Klux Klan, was found guilty in August 2015 of conspiring with another man to build a […]
The world’s largest digital survey of the visible Universe, mapping billions of stars and galaxies, has been publicly released. (via WSJ)
By Michelle Nichols | UNITED NATIONS UNITED NATIONS African states narrowly failed on Monday for a second time to halt the work of the first U.N. independent investigator appointed to help protect gay and transgender people worldwide from violence and discrimination. The attempt was voted down in the U.N. General Assembly 84 to 77 with 16 abstentions, a month after African states made a similar unsuccessful move […]
Our annual collection of media corrections is, undoubtedly, an excuse to chuckle at our industry’s missteps. But it’s also a recognition of an honorable practice that not everyone follows. Outlets that mark their corrected articles clearly or collect them in one easily searchable section (for example, The Guardian) may be over-represented in this list, but they should be commended. A note on selection: This is a list of media […]
ANKARA The Russian ambassador to Ankara was shot dead in an attack at an art gallery in the Turkish capital on Monday by a gunman shouting “Don’t forget Aleppo”. A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman confirmed the death of envoy Andrei Karlov, which marked one of the most serious spillovers of the Syria conflict into Turkey. Russia is a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its […]
Fitch Ratings-Dubai/London-19 December 2016 The ability of the UAE courts to interpret the federation’s new bankruptcy law and handle bankruptcy proceedings will be key to its effective implementation, Fitch Ratings says. The law is due to come into effect at the end of this month. It aims to create a clear and predictable framework for court-based bankruptcy proceedings as an alternative to liquidation. We think the new […]
The food trends of the approaching new year predict an inclination toward vegetarian comfort food, meat- free food, nourishing and fibrous soups, bush food, dairy-based products and many more. Factors Affecting Diet Trends Greater awareness about health and fitness is the major factor that has led to the people around the world to go for healthier diets and food options. Other factors include lower food prices and […]
By Michelle Nichols | UNITED NATIONS UNITED NATIONS The United Nations Security Council on Monday unanimously called for U.N. officials and others to observe the evacuation of people from the last rebel-held enclave in Aleppo and monitor the safety of civilians who remain in the Syrian city. The 15-member council overcame long-held divisions – that have pitted Syrian ally Russia and China against western powers over the […]
As we celebrate the completion of another trip around the sun, and prepare to start the next one, the festive television season is shifting into high gear. Grab your remote – we’ve got more than enough TV treats to enjoy as you relax on the sofa after all the preparation and socialising. Pop that gourmet corn, rip open a box of chocolate and enjoy a wide range […]
A last-ditch attempt by Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the struggling Italian bank, to raise up to €5bn in capital was thrown into doubt after the country’s private bank rescue fund expressed “strong reservations” over the terms of a bridge loan that is key to the deal. On Monday, MPS said in a statement that it was “in contact” with Quaestio Capital Management — which manages the […]
Most players will tell you that the back-to-backs add up to more fatigue and more risk for injury. They have also become a marketing problem for the league, because coaches sometimes bench their stars for one of the games. Continue reading the main story Just last week the Cleveland Cavaliers left LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love at home when the team visited the Memphis Grizzlies […]
VIENNA Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPO) offered on Monday to act as a go-between for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin after signing a cooperation agreement with Putin’s party. Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache and the FPO’s recently defeated presidential candidate Norbert Hofer attended the signing ceremony in Moscow, as did officials of Putin’s United Russia party including Pyotr Tolstoy, a deputy chairman of the […]
WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate Virtu Financial founder Vincent Viola as secretary of the Army, the Trump transition team said on Monday. Viola is a West Point graduate and U.S. Army veteran who has founded companies, including the high-frequency trading firm Virtu Financial. He is a former chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange, where he began his financial services career, and is a leader […]
About nine months before George W. Bush became president I, along with about 70 others, were asked to join an independent tech advisory board to help Bush, then governor of Texas, understand the role of tech in the new decade and help craft a tech policy should he become president. Our first meeting took place in Austin, and from that came various subcommittees to research […]
By Angus McDowall and Ellen Francis | BEIRUT BEIRUT Thousands were evacuated from the last rebel-held enclave of the city of Aleppo on Monday after a deal was reached to allow people to leave two besieged pro-government villages in nearby Idlib province. Convoys of buses from eastern Aleppo reached rebel-held areas of countryside to the west of the city in cold winter weather, according to a U.N. […]
Dubai Parks and Resorts opens with grand ceremony – video December 19, 2016 Dubai Parks and Resorts, the new tourism destination made up of three separate theme parks, a water park, a dining and retail district and a Polynesian-themed family hotel covering 30.6 million square feet, officially opened on Sunday. The destination includes Legoland Dubai, the Hollywood-inspired Motionate Dubai and Bollywood Parks, the world’s first Bollywood theme […]
By Letitia Stein | ATLANTA ATLANTA Inside a sunny classroom at a church decorated with rainbow flags, two transgender teenagers exploded into giggles during a dance break from math at Pride School Atlanta. They are among a handful of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) youth who have found a haven at the school, which opened this fall at a time when the number of discrimination complaints […]
Photo Buses evacuated residents from Fua and Kfarya, Shiite villages near the Syrian city of Aleppo, on Monday. Credit Agence France-Presse — Getty Images BEIRUT, Lebanon — After days of delays and sporadic violence, the evacuation of civilians and fighters from besieged communities in Syria has resumed, with convoys taking people out of Aleppo and two nearby Shiite villages, Syrian state television and opposition conflict monitors reported […]
GENEVA Nearly 50 children who were trapped in an orphanage in the rebel-held Syrian enclave of east Aleppo were evacuated on Monday, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said. “This morning, all 47 children trapped in an orphanage in east Aleppo were evacuated to safety, with some in critical condition from injuries and dehydration,” Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF regional director, said in a statement. UNICEF and other agencies […]
A senior Saudi cleric and a health ministry official said women should be allowed to work as paramedics and opticians, Saudi newspapers reported on Monday, part of a push to relax strict labour codes in the ultra-conservative kingdom. The government announced an economic reform plan in June that aims to increase the number of women as a proportion of the workforce to 28 percent from 23 percent […]
BEIJING Concentrations of airborne pollutants in a major northern Chinese city exceeded a World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline by 100 times on Monday as north China battled with poor air quality for the third straight day. In Shijiazhuang, capital of northern Hebei province, levels of PM 2.5, fine particulate matter, soared to 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday. That compares with […]
MOSCOW At least twenty-five residents of the Siberian city of Irkutsk have died after drinking bath oil, hoping it would give them the same sensation as alcohol, Russian investigators said on Monday. Use of counterfeit or surrogate alcohol is rife in Russia’s regions, where two years of economic pain have pushed more people below the poverty line, though the death toll from this latest incident is unusually […]
By Jack Kim | SEOUL SEOUL A friend of South Korean President Park Geun-hye at the centre of a corruption scandal that led to Park’s impeachment in parliament denied charges of fraud and abuse of power on Monday on the first day of her trial. The friend, Choi Soon-sil, 60, is charged with pressuring big businesses to pay money to foundations that backed Park’s policy initiatives. Prosecutors […]
Christmas is a time that centres around family, friends, fun and an abundance of food. Nearly every restaurant across the country is offering at least one celebratory meal this weekend in honour of the festive tradition, so there is no shortage of options. While there are plenty of good options from established venues, why not treat yourself to something new – and try a Christmas feast at […]
