WASHINGTON — In a major shift of focus in the battle against the Islamic State, the Obama administration is planning to establish a new military base in Anbar Province and send 400 American military trainers to help Iraqi forces retake the city of Ramadi. Although a final decision by the White House has yet to be announced, the plan follows months of behind-the-scenes debate about how prominently […]
Emirates Airline President Tim Clark said Tuesday that if the U.S. were to void its open skies policy on aviation traffic rights, then antitrust immunity granted to some U.S. and European airlines to coordinate trans-Atlantic flying would also have to disappear. “If you have an open skies regime, you can get [antitrust immunity, or ATI]. If you shut down open skies, ATI has to go out because […]
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 […]
Researchers work at a laboratory at a genomics organization in Tianjin, China, April 2, 2014. Reuters/Stringer SHANGHAI/LONDON Years of pouring money into its laboratories, wooing scientists home from overseas and urging researchers to publish and patent is starting to give China a competitive edge in biotechnology, a strategic field it sees as ripe for “indigenous innovation.” The vast resources China can throw at research and development – […]
A 3D plastic representation of the Facebook logo is seen in this illustration in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, May 13, 2015. Reuters/Dado Ruvic NEW YORK Overseas markets bring in more advertising revenue than the United States for Facebook Inc, amounting to 51 percent of global ad sales in the first quarter, with growth in Asia the fastest in the world at 57 percent, company executives told Reuters. […]
Video | U.S. General Affirms Support for Israel Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, accepted an award from his Israeli counterpart and emphasized the American military’s strong relationship with Israel. By HELENE COOPER June 9, 2015 TEL AVIV — The Obama administration on Tuesday ramped up efforts to ease Israel’s opposition to a possible nuclear deal with Iran, as the top American military leader […]
|TAP Special| The atmosphere at the IATA conference in Miami was surcharged with tension, with the animosity between Western and Middle Eastern carriers quickly dominating the proceedings. An interview by Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, in which he threatened retaliation against Western “protectionism”only aggravated tensions. The issue isn’t on the agenda at the annual meeting IATA, but it was virtually inevitable that it would come up […]
|TAP Special| Are Saudi Arabia and Iran heading towards a direct war? An opinion piece by influential Saudi commentator, carried by Al Arabia News, argues that the Saudi military operation against the Houthis is part of a Saudi policy combining diplomacy and war to stop Iranian influence and ultimately push it out of Syria and Yemen. The veteran commentator, Jamal Khashoggi, quotes Qassem Soleimani, commander of the […]
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and KAREEM FAHIM June 9, 2015 CAIRO — Islamic State militants staged attacks near Baghdad and the Libyan city of Surt on Tuesday, underscoring the group’s persistent strength on both fronts despite a monthslong American-led air campaign against it in Syria and Iraq. In Libya, the Islamic State captured a critical power plant along the coastal road westward from its stronghold in Surt toward Misurata, a commercial center […]
Chinese inventor of the e-cigarette Hon Lik poses for a photograph in central London, Britain June 9, 2015. Reuters/Stefan Wermuth LONDON Before Hon Lik invented the e-cigarette, a device now shaking up the Big Tobacco industry, he was a pharmacist in China struggling to quit a two-to-three pack a day smoking habit. Once in 2002, Hon forgot to remove a nicotine patch from his stomach before bed […]
Renovations have started at a 9.5-acre compound in the West Bank that started as a church-run hospital in the 1950s and later became a hostel for travelers. By JODI RUDOREN June 9, 2015 NEAR EL AROUB REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank — The old stone compound set amid Palestinian farmland between the cities of Bethlehem and Hebron has a relatively new fence. The compound, with eight buildings spread over 9.5 […]
UAE. The European football market grew to total $28.9 billion in 2013/14. Revenue growth across all of the ‘big five’ European leagues (Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1, Premier League and Serie A), saw the combined revenues of the ‘big five’ leagues pass the $15 billion mark ($15.3bn), according to the 24th Annual Review of Football Finance from the Sports Business Group at Deloitte. Dan Jones, Partner in […]
ABU DHABI // The scheme to give new numbers to the capital’s main roads is 75 per cent complete, the Department of Municipal Affairs says. Thirteen of Abu Dhabi city’s main streets have new numbers as part of the department Onwani, or “My Address” scheme. “Route numbers will be added to selected overhead street signs fixed to traffic signals and gantries at main street junctions,” said Omar […]
By THOMAS ERDBRINK June 8, 2015 TEHRAN — The woman wore form-fitting clothes, and a scarf wrapped around her head that revealed a few of her blond tresses. The men carried backpacks to official meetings. Nothing all that unusual in most places, but enough to touch off a firestorm of criticism this weekend from Iranian lawmakers, who accused their visitors of flouting Islamic law by — as one put […]
Tech giant Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicked off Monday at the Moscone West convention center in San Francisco with the headlining keynote address. Among the topics discussed during the address were new capabilities for OS X, updates coming to iOS, native apps for the Apple Watch, a streaming music service, and a new version of the watchOS operating system. At the event, Apple also introduced […]
|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 […]
In an image taken from a video on a militant website, the Islamic State’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, addressed followers last year in Mosul, Iraq. New insights yielded by a seized trove of materials in Syria include how he operates and tries to avoid being tracked by coalition forces. By ERIC SCHMITT June 8, 2015 WASHINGTON — American intelligence agencies have extracted valuable information about the Islamic State’s leadership structure, financial […]
As consumer demand for online data, streaming content and mobile services continue to grow, Apple is reportedly looking to boost its high-speed networkinfrastructure to provide more of those services in-house. Citing “people familiar with the plans,” Bloomberg on Monday reported that Apple’s new network ambitions are aimed at helping it better compete with rivals like Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft. While Apple already operates its own data […]
Emirates NBD generates financial report 30pc faster with MDS DUBAI, 4 days ago Emirates NBD has generated its year-end financial statements 30 per cent faster than the previous year, working with the MDS ap, an exclusive partner on the SAP Business Analytics Portfolio of products. The application allowed it to manage critical disclosures and heighten trust and transparency for investors, said a statement. Surya Subramaniam, group chief […]
Video | Libya: Wake Up, Benghazi! On June 25, 2014, Salwa Bugaighis was shot dead in her home by unknown militants, marking a new milestone in the country’s descent towards anarchy: the first female political assassination. By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK June 7, 2015 Scores or perhaps hundreds of killings remain unsolved in Benghazi, Libya, since the ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi nearly four years ago. But no victim has symbolized […]
Video | Bahrain: Our Oath Dr. Nada Dhaif helped create a medical tent to treat injured protesters in Bahrain’s Pearl Roundabout — and was sentenced to 15 years in jail. By KAREEM FAHIM June 7, 2015 The roundup of health workers who treated injured protesters set the tone for the furious and uncompromising reaction by Bahrain’s government to a popular uprising in 2011. The authorities arrested doctors, nurses and […]
Video | Syria: Brides of Peace The sisters Kinda and Lubna Zaour walked through the main souk in Damascus dressed as brides, a symbol of love and peace. They were arrested almost immediately. By ANNE BARNARD June 7, 2015 BEIRUT — The blurry pictures circulating on social media showed several women in white, dressed as brides, standing shoulder to shoulder in a covered market in the old city of […]
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 […]
