In the past 70 years, the world’s population tripled to more than seven billion and average global temperature increased by nearly one degree Celsius. Population growth and climate change are associated with big challenges facing modern agriculture. New research combines computer science and biology to identify genes that make plants more resistant to stress factors, such as drought and saline soils. (via WSJ)
BAGHDAD Eight people were killed in two car bombings in the Iraqi city of Falluja west of Baghdad on Sunday, police and hospital sources said, and a news agency close to Islamic State said its militants carried out the attacks. The bombings took place as Iraqi forces wage an eight-week military campaign to crush Islamic State in its north Iraq stronghold of Mosul, the largest city in […]
By Doina Chiacu and Howard Schneider | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President-elect Donald Trump rejected as “ridiculous” reported U.S. intelligence findings that Russia intervened in the presidential election on his behalf through targeted hacking, saying he did not believe it, according to an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” The Republican president-elect’s comments casting doubt on reported U.S. intelligence findings pits him against some leading foreign policy voices in […]
By Edward McAllister | BANJUL BANJUL Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh, who initially accepted his defeat in a Dec. 1 election before making a dramatic about-face, will challenge the poll result before the Supreme Court, the ruling party said in a statement. His loss to opposition candidate Adama Barrow, announced by the elections commission last week and followed by his rapid concession, had sparked hope for change in […]
Dubai’s only listed crude shipper has announced plans for a major expansion of facilities in the northern Emirates including a new ship building and repair yard. Gulf Navigation said in a statement that it is starting studies for the expansion, known as the GNH Northern Project. The plan will include ship building, ship repair and offshore platforms, equipment and services, logistics, marine specialised operations and global mobile […]
Photo A nun surveyed the scene after a deadly bombing at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo on Sunday. Credit Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters CAIRO — A bomb ripped through a section reserved for women at Cairo’s main Coptic cathedral during Sunday morning Mass, killing at least 25 people and wounding 49, mostly women and children, Egyptian state media said. The attack was the deadliest against Egypt’s Christian minority […]
ABU DHABI // Cultural development is an integral part of progress in any society, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, told a conference in the capital. Sheikh Nahyan said on Sunday that culture was a pre-requisite for achieving successful and sustainable economic growth. “We strive to preserve our heritage, values and principles as well as all aspects of culture in the UAE and […]
Rick Telander admits he has an addiction. “I read three to four hours each day,” Telander said. “Sometimes as much as eight hours. I can’t stop myself. I am addicted to the English language.” Naturally, Telander jumped at the opportunity to be the editor of “The Best American Sports Writing: 2016.” The annual anthology, overseen by series editor Glenn Stout, should be a must-read for every sports […]
In a move that is certain to infuriate those who see Trump as nothing more than a puppet of the Kremlin, moments ago NBC reported that Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil and late entrant into the SecState race after his first meeting with the president elect this past Tuesday at the Trump Tower, has been picked by Trump to serve as his next Secretary of State. […]
DUBAI Iran may spare the life of businessman Babak Zanjani, sentenced to death for fraud, if he can pay back large sums he owes to the government for oil sales despite sanctions, a judiciary spokesman said on Sunday. Earlier this month, Iran’s supreme court upheld the death penalty against Zanjani, accused by prosecutors of owing the government more than $2.7 billion for oil sold on behalf of […]
Dylan breaks Nobel prize silence Bob Dylan has expressed awe at receiving the Nobel Prize in literature and thanked the Swedish Academy for including him among the “giants” of writing. Dylan was absent from Saturday’s award ceremony and banquet in Stockholm. But in remarks read by the US ambassador, he alluded to the debate about whether the award should go to a songwriter. Dylan said when Shakespeare […]
JAKARTA Indonesian police on Sunday were hunting for more suspects linked to a foiled plot to bomb targets in Jakarta, with the arrest of a woman among a trio detained a day earlier pointing to a new recruitment tactic by Islamist militants, they said. Authorities are also concerned about smaller cells being formed by militants in Muslim-majority Indonesia, which is grappling with a resurgence in homegrown militancy, […]
More than ever before, these articles pulled the curtain back on how an estimated $100 billion in undeclared money has been siphoned from Canada into offshore tax havens. Since the first investigations were published, the federal government has invested almost $500 million in the Canada Revenue Agency aimed at tougher tax enforcement, launched investigations into 85 Canadians identified in the Panama Papers and compelled banks to divulge […]
By Patrick Markey | QARAQOSH, Iraq QARAQOSH, Iraq For decades, the Immaculate Conception Church in Qaraqosh was the heart of Iraq’s largest Christian town. After two years under Islamic State rule, it lies scarred and desecrated. In the church’s inner courtyard, Islamic State fighters set up a shooting range for target practice, leaving behind bullet-riddled female mannequins and hardboard figures when they were driven out. The yard’s […]
11 December 2016 Riyadh – Under the patronage of the governor of small and medium enterprises authority, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), represented by Badir Program for Technology Incubators and accelerators, is hosting the fifth ArabNet Riyadh – the largest and most influential digital conference in the Kingdom – on December 12-14, 2016 to be held at the Four Seasons Hotel. […]
When there is news about banks having a security issue or a systems-related problem, the story often ends with customers having their sensitive information compromised and banks scrambling to chase after the hackers who breached their systems. Earlier in the year, hackers were found to have stolen $80 million from the Bank of Bangladesh due to its poor security system, and another report revealed that the central bank of […]
BEIRUT Syrian rebels control only a small area of Aleppo that is full of civilians and under very fierce bombardment after pro-government forces took the al-Maadi district, a Turkey-based official with the Jabha Shamiya rebel group said on Sunday. Rebel groups in Aleppo had received no word about U.S.-Russia talks to resolve the crisis in Aleppo, the official said, warning that it would end “in a tragic […]
They confided their dilemmas over whether to flee to government-held areas or stay put until the bitter end, a choice that split up many families. They described escalating bombardment and attacks that have killed women and children trying to reach safe ground. They revealed deepening rifts among rebel groups, and between fighters and civilians, over whether and how to surrender. Continue reading the main story Some told […]
DUBAI Iran Air said it signed a deal on Sunday to buy 80 passenger planes from U.S. aircraft maker Boeing (BA.N), state news agency IRNA reported. The agency quoted Farhad Parvaresh, the head of the country’s flag carrier, as saying that the 10-year deal included 50 Boeing 737 aircraft and 30 777 planes. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Andrew Heavens) ‘); $(‘.second-article-divide’).append($(‘.slider.slider-module’)); […]
By Angus McDowall | BEIRUT BEIRUT When President Bashar al-Assad turns from the wreckage of Aleppo to assert his authority across a fractured Syria, it will be as a figure who is virtually unassailable by rebels, but still faces great challenges in restoring the power of his state. The expected fall of Aleppo would mean rebels have almost no chance of ousting Assad, but their revolt has […]
ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson has emerged as the strong favourite to be Donald Trump’s secretary of state, US media reported on Saturday, potentially placing a businessman with global dealmaking experience at the heart of US foreign policy. After a 41-year career at the oil giant, Mr Tillerson has no direct diplomatic background but he has close ties with Russian president Vladimir Putin who awarded him the […]
AMMAN Russian air strikes forced Islamic State fighters to retreat to the outskirts of Palmyra on Sunday, a day after they had stormed the ancient city in eastern Syria, a war monitor said. The militants were now fighting in orchards on the fringe of Palmyra, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Russia’s Defence Ministry said its jets had launched 64 strikes and killed more than […]
Dubai Investments, part owned by sovereign wealth fund Investment Corp of Dubai, plans to close a 1.1 billion dirham ($299.52 million) loan by Dec. 31, its chief executive said on Saturday. United Arab Emirates banks First Gulf Bank (FGB) and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank have been mandated for the loan, Khalid Bin Kalban told reporters in Dubai. The loan will be used to build a residential project […]
ANKARA Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Sunday that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) may be behind the attack that killed 29 people and wounded 166 outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul. In comments broadcast on CNN Turk, Kurtulmus also said that countries offering messages condemning the bombing should also show solidarity with Turkey’s fight against terrorism. “The arrows point at the PKK. It […]
