A Human Rights Watch staffer said Wednesday he was barred from entering Bahrain for the annual FIFA congress in the Gulf state, which restricts access to foreign activists and journalists. HRW director for Israel and Palestine, Omar Shakir, said he spent 18 hours in the airport before being obliged to change his return ticket and board an outbound flight. The US citizen told AFP by telephone that […]
SEOUL North Korea demanded on Thursday the handover of “terror suspects” who plotted to kill leader Kim Jong Un with a biochemical substance, repeating accusations it made last week that U.S. and South Korean spies were behind the plan. The North’s KCNA news agency last week accused the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and South Korea’s National Intelligence Service of a plot to assassinate its “supreme leadership” with […]
By Leigh Thomas and Matthias Blamont | PARIS PARIS While street demonstrations are mainly a younger person’s domain in France, when it comes to protest voting by spoiling ballots, the over 65s appear to be the most active age group. Turned off by the choices on offer in the country’s most unusual presidential election run-off in decades, the segment of voters most likely to have protested by […]
There can’t be many global brands that have the means, or even the inclination, to shut down an entire city block in Los Angeles – but that is precisely what Hermès did earlier this year. As part of its touring spring/summer 2017 men’s collection, for one night, Hermès transformed a forgotten warehouse in Los Angeles into DwnTwnMen LA, an interactive exhibition, fashion show venue and art space. […]
By Tom Perry and Laila Bassam | BEIRUT BEIRUT Lebanon is on the brink of crisis again with its politicians at odds over an election law at the heart of the nation’s sectarian system, threatening to leave the country without a parliament for the first time. Parliament’s term expires on June 20 and without a compromise Lebanon faces what one minister has called the most serious political […]
But the candidates still provide significant choices compared with elections in many other Middle Eastern countries. Continue reading the main story The incumbent president, Hassan Rouhani, promotes economic and social freedoms. His main opponent, Ebrahim Raisi, the head of the country’s wealthiest religious foundation, opposes many such ideas and wants Iran to become more self-sufficient. Televised debates this year have been held with new restrictions, in contrast […]
YEKATERINBURG, Russia A Russian court on Thursday gave a suspended jail sentence to a blogger who was detained after he played the Pokemon Go video game inside a Russian Orthodox church in 2016. Ruslan Sokolovsky was found guilty of inciting religious hatred after posting a video on YouTube where he is seen playing Pokemon Go game on his cell phone in a church. The video scored more […]
By James Pearson and Ju-min Park | SEOUL SEOUL Like many other Americans who came to teach at the foreign-funded Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), Kim Hak Song was a Christian missionary who raised money from a church to come to North Korea. Kim had been running PUST’s experimental farm before he was detained on Saturday, travelling by train from Pyongyang to China’s border town […]
Authored by Whitney Webb via TheAntiMedia.org, When the U.S. overthrew the Taliban in the wake of 9/11 as part of its newly launched “war on terror,” it set the stage for the explosive growth of Afghanistan’s dying opium industry. A few short months before the invasion took place, the Taliban made headlines for having “dramatically ended the country’s massive opium trade” after the leader of the fundamentalist […]
By Ben Blanchard | BEIJING BEIJING When leaders of 28 nations gather in Beijing next week for a summit to map out China’s ambitious new Silk Road project, one question is likely to be on attendees’ minds – what exactly is the Belt and Road Initiative? Proposed in 2013 by President Xi Jinping to promote a vision of expanding links between Asia, Africa and Europe underpinned by […]
By Nandita Bose | WHEATON, Ill. WHEATON, Ill. German grocery chain Aldi Inc is trying to beat the world’s biggest retailer at its own game: low prices. Already with 1,600 U.S. stores, Aldi has set a minimum target of selling groceries at a 21 percent discount to its U.S. rivals, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N), Chief Executive Jason Hart told Reuters. His strategy, previously unreported, centers on […]
A shake-up of the overarching Israel Broadcasting Authority — widely considered an outdated and wasteful enterprise — has been decades in the making. At one point it was said to have had up to 18 unions for about 1,800 employees. Israeli officials and experts across the political spectrum said that reform was essential. Continue reading the main story But the way it is unfolding appears chaotic and […]
YANGON The International Committee of the Red Cross has asked Myanmar to let aid workers get access to people caught up in conflicts that have displaced tens of thousands despite a transition that brought Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to power. Authorities have blocked the ICRC from areas under the control of ethnic minority forces and from visiting some prisoners, the organisation’s president, Peter Maurer, told […]
Domino’s DRU autonomous robot (Image: Domino’s) Domino’s has announced that its autonomous delivery vehicle is now operating commercially, delivering pizzas to customers in Hamburg, Germany. The robot delivery system was created in partnership with Starship Technologies, a European startup founded by two of Skype’s co-creators Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis in 2014. “Robotic delivery units will complement our existing delivery methods, including cars, scooters, and e-bikes,” Don […]
Vice President Leni Robredo’s trust rating remains to be ‘good’ based on SWS’ classification Patty Pasion Published 12:54 PM, May 11, 2017 Updated 1:03 PM, May 11, 2017 DECLINE. Trust ratings for Vice President Leni Robredo slid down by 15 points based on the lates survey by the Social Weather Stations. Photo by Ben Nabong/Rappler MANILA, Philippines – The trust rating for Vice President Leni Robredo remains […]
By Amanda Becker | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump’s dismissal of Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey has raised questions about the future of the agency’s probe into Russian attempts to sway the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with Trump’s campaign. Democrats are worried Comey’s firing on Tuesday could jeopardize the ongoing FBI probe and have renewed calls for an independent investigation. Some Republicans have […]
By Douglas Busvine | DHARAMSALA, India DHARAMSALA, India Top U.S. lawmakers delivered a blunt message to China on Wednesday that they would not relent in their campaign to protect human rights in Tibet, calling for legislative and trade steps to press home their point. Nancy Pelosi, leading a bipartisan Congressional delegation to meet the Dalai Lama, vowed to stand by the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader even as […]
By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The anger behind Donald Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday had been building for months, but a turning point came when Comey refused to preview for top Trump aides his planned testimony to a Senate panel, White House officials said. Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had wanted a heads-up […]
Xped executive chairman Athan Lekkas (Image: Supplied) Australian Securities Exchange-listed Internet of Things (IoT) company Xped has announced that it is purchasing fellow Adelaide-based artificial intelligence (AI) company Jemsoft for AU$200,000 in cash and 50 million Xped shares. The total value of the deal comes to AU$900,000, with Xped shares priced at 14 cents per share. In addition to acquiring all of Jemsoft’s intellectual property — including […]
Abu Dhabi // The president of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa, has been invited by Saudi King Salman to attend talks in Riyadh later this month with the US president. The ruler of Abu Dhabi was invited to both the US-GCC talks as well as the summit expected to be held a day later, on May 21, between Donald Trump and leaders from more than a dozen of […]
On Wednesday, Mr. Erdogan’s prime minister added another warning: that arming the Kurds could have “consequences” for the United States and a “negative result.” He did not go into detail, promising only that Mr. Erdogan would elaborate when he meets President Trump at the White House next week. Continue reading the main story Mr. Erdogan also sharply criticized the Trump administration’s decision in remarks quoted by Turkish […]
SHANGHAI China is testing the ability for future astronauts to stay on the moon for extended periods, as Beijing accelerates its space programme and looks to put people on the surface of the moon within the next two decades. The official Xinhua news agency said volunteers would live in a “simulated space cabin” for between 60-200 days over the next year helping scientists understand what will be […]
By Dustin Volz | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON A U.S. far-right online activist credited with initially sharing on Twitter hacked emails from the French presidential campaign of centrist Emmanuel Macron is the latest conservative media figure to receive White House access from the Trump administration. Jack Posobiec, a Washington-based writer at the Rebel Media, a Canadian online political and social news commentary platform, attended the daily press briefing on […]
Sultan bin Sulayem: The vision of Mohammed bin Rashid has turned innovative ideas into distinctive and brilliant achievements Go Global! This year Ideas Arabia gives winners of 2 categories – Executive Leadership & Idea of the Year, a unique opportunity to compete globally in ‘The Global Award’ taking place in 2018. Leaders and experts came together to meet for the two-day conference to support the […]
