By Andrew Cawthorne and Eyanir Chinea | CARACAS CARACAS Venezuelan security forces fired scores of tear gas volleys and turned water cannons on rock-throwing protesters on a bridge in Caracas on Wednesday as the death toll from this month’s anti-government unrest hit at least 29. A 20-year-old male demonstrator died in those latest clashes in the capital after being hit by a gas cannister, said officials of […]
By Valerie Volcovici | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON White House advisers and Trump administration officials will meet on Thursday to discuss whether the United States should remain in the Paris climate agreement, a White House official said on Wednesday. The meeting, which will include member of the National Economic Council and cabinet officials such as Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt and Energy Secretary Rick Perry, was scheduled for […]
President Donald Trump’s top economic team unveiled what they called the biggest tax cut in US history, proposing a sharp reduction in corporate taxes and a simplification of individual rates they said would unleash economic growth. Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, said the proposal would slash corporate taxes from 35 per cent to 15 per cent and include a “one-time” cut-rate tax to induce companies to repatriate […]
The Iraqis do not have the luxury of conducting a siege: Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has told his generals that dragging out the Mosul operation, now in its seventh month, would work only to the advantage of the Islamic State, which many in the West call ISIS or ISIL, but the Iraqis call Daesh. Continue reading the main story This was not the mission that American military […]
By Patricia Zengerle | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. lawmakers want to emerge from briefings by the Trump administration on North Korea on Wednesday with something many think has been absent from the White House so far: a clear strategy for dealing with a major national security threat. As a standoff escalated over the reclusive Asian nation’s development of nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles, President Donald Trump invited […]
Artist’s impression of a diamond quantum sensor Image: David A. Broadway/cqc2t.org Researchers at the University of Melbourne (UoM) have announced a boost to the development of future electronics, producing imagery of electrons moving in two-dimensional graphene. In the above image, the spotlight-like shine below the diamond represents light passing through the diamond defect and detecting the movement of electrons. Electrons are shown as red spheres, trailed by […]
In the month of April, two different verdicts from two different cases were passed in two very different courts in Pakistan. Two different men were on trial accused of two different crimes. One was let off easy for now, while the other was declared as guilty as guilty could be. Safe to say both verdicts were the cause of consternation and confusion. One of course, was the […]
PARIS France’s centre-right party, seeking to rebound after the defeat of its presidential candidate, said on Wednesday it could share power with Emmanuel Macron if he is elected, as pollsters predict, on May 7. Macron, a 39-year-old centrist, is tipped to comfortably win a run-off vote against far-right leader Marine Le Pen, but the political movement he created a year ago faces a huge challenge in the […]
Tax Foundation: Not what it seems? The other big player, the Tax Foundation, is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that researches state and federal tax policies, and meets with lawmakers, citizens, and journalists to provide expert advice on tax policy. The group’s mission is to “improve lives through smarter tax policy,” according to the foundation’s website. Smarter tax policy, the foundation argues, includes making the tax code […]
ROME The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, already Italy’s most popular party, is stealing a march on its divided rivals by drawing up its policy programme a year ahead of elections. With the ruling centre-left Democratic Party embroiled in a bruising leadership battle and centre-right parties unable to agree on a leader, opinion polls give 5-Star a growing lead, which one pollster last week put as high as 8 […]
By Michael Shields | ZURICH ZURICH Swiss voters look set to decide for a second time whether to impose curbs on immigration from the European Union after the cabinet proposed on Wednesday allowing a straight yes-or-no referendum on an issue that still bedevils ties with the EU. In a 2014 referendum, voters narrowly backed upper limits and quotas to reduce immigration from the EU, amid concerns that […]
By Amanda Becker and Ginger Gibson | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump will release a tax plan on Wednesday that proposes to sharply slash rates on businesses and overseas corporate profits returned to the United States, officials said. The Trump administration is touting the blueprint, which also calls for higher standard deductions for individuals, as a landmark tax cut just days before the Republican president marks his […]
Saudi Arabia’s Iyad Al Hakami was crowned ‘Ameer Al Shu’ara’, The Prince of Poets in the seventh season of the highly popular talent quest. In what was a night of celebration for the kingdom, the second position was also taken by a Saudi national, Tariq Al Sumayli. Al Hakam’s win was the second consecutive season a Saudi national has won the title with last season’s winner being […]
French presidential frontrunner Emmanuel Macron was ambushed on the campaign trail on Wednesday by far-right rival Marine Le Pen, with the rivals for the Elysée Palace clashing over globalisation and compounding a shaky start for Mr Macron in the final two weeks of the election race. The rivals’ visits to a factory in Amiens in northern France came on what was the first day of vigorous campaigning […]
According to Mr. Soylu, the “secret imams” were part of a parallel leadership structure within the police force that was ultimately answerable to Mr. Gulen, whose extradition has long been sought by the Turkish authorities. The subject of Mr. Gulen is almost certain to be discussed at a coming meeting in Washington between President Trump and Mr. Erdogan, whose government was allied to the cleric’s movement before […]
With renowned hotel chains launching stylish new properties all across the Middle East, we are spoilt with choice when it comes to spending the night in some of the most modern and futuristic buildings in the world. Hotels with a past however have their own certain appeal, offering architectural highlights of the historic kind. Browse through the following hotels from around the globe and be inspired by […]
ERBIL, Iraq Islamic State militants have developed an improvised explosive device (IED) that can be launched from rifles or dropped from an aerial drone, an arms monitoring group said on Wednesday. Conflict Armament Research (CAR) said the Sunni militant group was “promoting the development of ‘own-brand’ weapons” to provide its insurgents with otherwise unavailable armaments. “The (IED) can be thrown, launched from an improvised rifle attachment, or […]
By Syed Raza Hassan | KARACHI, Pakistan KARACHI, Pakistan Afghan and Indian intelligence agencies gave funds and other assistance to Pakistani Taliban militants to fight Islamabad, the group’s former spokesman, who surrendered last week, said in a video released by Pakistan’s military on Wednesday. Afghanistan strongly refuted the claim, while India’s Ministry of External Affairs said it was not yet able to comment on the video. Both […]
Dr Eyad Arabi, Research Associate in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Credit: University of Bristol Wireless communications is a technology that is used every day. Across society, there is a move away from using the internet on desktop computers and towards smartphones, tablets and laptops. Engineers at the University of Bristol have developed a novel radio frequency (RF) design tool that will speed up the […]
‘Dubai Expert’ announced a first-of-its-kind destination travel trade training programme that will be rolled out to travel agents from around the world 26 April 2017 Dubai, UAE – Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), has announced the launch of “Dubai Expert”, an innovative online educational game that has been created exclusively for travel agents. The announcement was made to travel professionals attending this year’s […]
PARIS Far-right leader Marine Le Pen sought to steal presidential rival Emmanuel Macron’s thunder on Wednesday with a surprise visit to striking workers in northern France, aiming to wrong-foot him while he was campaigning in the same town. Visiting the site of a strike at the tumble-drier Whirlpool factory, which is due to close next year, Le Pen pushed her anti-globalisation agenda and attacked Macron who she […]
By Marton Dunai | BUDAPEST BUDAPEST Anti-government protesters have filled Budapest’s streets in recent weeks, but divisions within the opposition and weak support outside the capital mean they are unlikely to herald a serious threat to Prime Minister Viktor Orban in next year’s election. Triggered by a law targeting an international school founded by liberal U.S. financier George Soros, the rallies have galvanised broader public anger against […]
Modest dress is enjoying a renaissance. Fashion brands are increasingly embracing the long-held view shared by those in region that style does not have to equate to revealing a lot of flesh. Building on the foundations of sensuality over sexuality, and demure over décolletage, the West is finally catching up with the Middle East in terms of tasteful dressing. Women in the Middle East have long expressed […]
By MALACHY BROWNE, NATALIE RENEAU and MARK SCHEFFLER | Apr. 26, 2017 | 6:48 A New York Times investigation shows how Syria and its main partner, Russia, have distorted the facts surrounding the chemical weapons attack on Khan Sheikhoun. NYtimes
