LONDON The head of Britain’s Supreme Court has accused politicians of not doing enough to protect the independence of the judicial system when judges came in for harsh criticism from pro-Brexit newspapers last year. England’s High Court triggered an angry response from some newspapers in November when it ruled that the decision to begin Britain’s formal divorce talks with the European Union had to be approved by […]
By Lisa Baertlein and Paul Ingram | NOGALES, Arizona NOGALES, Arizona For up to 16 hours a day, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and mangoes grown in Mexico flow north through a border checkpoint into Nogales, Arizona, helping to ensure a year-round supply of fresh produce across the United States. This is a city built on cross-border trade. Each year, some 330,000 trucks and 75,000 train cars carrying $17 […]
SYDNEY Australia’s Catholic Church has paid A$276 million ($213 million) in compensation to thousands of child abuse victims since 1980, a government inquiry heard on Thursday — the first time the total compensation paid by the church’s schools, orphanages and residences has been revealed. A report at a royal commission into institutional abuse said 3,066 victims had received some form of compensation from a Catholic body in […]
By Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin | SEOUL SEOUL A South Korean judge questioned Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee and another executive behind closed doors on Thursday to decide whether they should be arrested over their roles in a corruption scandal that has engulfed President Park Geun-hye. Dozens of protesters surrounded by riot police met Lee, 48, who was wearing a dark coat and navy tie […]
Mixing Gnawa grooves, desert blues, Cambodian psych-rock, Ukrainian folk-punk and Brooklyn bhangra-jazz, New York University Abu Dhabi’s free two-day Barzakh Festival is the widest celebration of global sounds in the UAE since Womad Abu Dhabi shut shop in 2010. Each act will play for about an hour. Here is the lowdown on what to expect. Thursday (from 7.30pm) Noura Mint Seymali Noura Mint Seymali, the Republic of […]
Photo President Trump and Prim Minister Netanyahu entering the White House on Wednesday. Credit Stephen Crowley/The New York Times President Trump came forward with a nonsensical statement on Wednesday as he dangerously backed away from the two-state solution, which has been central to America’s Mideast policy for more than 20 years and remains the only just answer to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “So, I’m looking at two-state and […]
Thursday 05.10 GMT Overview The dollar was on the back foot in afternoon Asia trading on Thursday as US Treasuries steadied and oil prices found their footing after dipping on news of growing US stockpiles. Hot topic The dollar index tracking the greenback against a basket of peers was off as much as 0.3 per cent, as a rally spurred by US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen’s […]
YANGON Myanmar’s military has ended a clearance operation in the country’s troubled Rakhine State, government officials said, ending a four-month sweep that the United Nations said may amount to crimes against humanity and possibly ethnic cleansing. The security operation had been under way since nine policemen were killed in attacks on security posts near the Bangladesh border on October 9. Almost 69,000 Rohingyas have since fled from […]
Story highlights Arrests were related to Brazilian bribery scandal Ramón Fonseca and Jürgen Mossack both say they are innocent Ramón Fonseca and Jürgen Mossack both face charges of money laundering after authorities raided the firm’s Panama City headquarters last Thursday. The investigation of the firm and subsequent raid were related to “Operation Car Wash,” an investigation into a sprawling Brazilian bribery scandal. In a statement, the Attorney […]
KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia has detained a second woman suspected in the apparent assassination of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, state news agency Bernama reported on Thursday, citing the inspector general of police. The other woman being held in connection with the slaying of Kim Jong Nam was due to be brought to a Kuala Lumpur court on Thursday. Police had said they […]
Details have been revealed about plans to build the first Legoland Hotel in the Middle East in Dubai. DXB Entertainments, a Dubai-based company, and Merlin Entertainments Group, one of the world’s biggest theme park and attraction operators, will open the hotel at Dubai Parks and Resorts. Every room in the first Legoland Hotel in the Middle East and the seventh to open worldwide will have Lego models […]
LG G6 features will use the 1:1 Square GUI. (LG Electronics) LG Electronics’ upcoming G6 smartphone will have a new UX that utilizes the 18:9 ratio Full Vision display, the company has said. The South Korea tech giant on Thursday also posted a teaser on YouTube that highlights features available through the UX on the next flagship phone. LG said the new UX offers better search and […]
Japan External Trade Organization highlights health benefits of Japanese diet and the use of authentic Japanese ingredients in World Cuisine at Food Tasting Seminar US$ 51 million worth of Japanese food and beverage exports to the UAE in 2016 Japanese diet considered one of the healthiest in the world Participating in Gulfood 2017 for the fourth consecutive year with over 40 Japanese food companies supports efforts in […]
London-based realtor Nested produced the 2017 Rental Index in conjunction with their recent Real Estate Index. The study illustrates the price of renting per square foot in 10 major US cities and a number of metropolises worldwide. The research conveys the minimum gross salary required to support an individual and a family of four in rented property based on the minimum space recommended for one person, and […]
BERLIN No country can solve the world’s problems on its own and governments can achieve more for their nations if they work together closely, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday. Germany holds the presidency of the G20 leading economies this year, a platform Merkel wants to use to safeguard multilateral cooperation after U.S. President Donald Trump questioned international alliances and obligations and insisted on putting “America […]
About 10 years have passed since Google’s stalwart engineers started creating a system that, in all reality, defeats the conventional logic of database services. It’s now named Cloud Spanner, and it’s the first global database — an information storage system spanning millions of machines across data centers placed all throughout the world, which Google itself has long used to maintain proprietary services like Gmail, Google Photos and […]
Until Tesla’s UAE launch earlier this week, owning one of the Californian carmaker’s already-iconic cars here seemed little more than a pipe dream for most of us without the means or time to import one – let alone the practicalities of running a fully electric car in a country with limited charging options. Now, however, with the Model S and X open for orders, for delivery in […]
The Syrian civil war has left nearly half a million people dead, displaced millions more, and turned its largest city, Aleppo, into an open-air slaughterhouse. The war is destroying antiquity too. For just under a year, from May 2015 to March 2016, the so-called Islamic State held control of the ancient central city of Palmyra, a boomtown that became a Roman colony in the 3rd century A.D. […]
China ended a six-month streak disposing of its US Treasury holdings in December, adding to its position for the first time since last May as the country’s central bank seeks to manage capital flight. The country, which ceded its status as the world’s largest owner of haven Treasuries in October to Japan, added $9.1bn of US sovereign debt to its reserves in the final month of 2016, […]
SEOUL Samsung Group chief Jay Y. Lee appeared at South Korea’s special prosecutor’s office on Thursday before a court hearing that will decide whether to issue an arrest warrant over his role in a corruption scandal that has engulfed President Park Geun-hye. South Korea’s special prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday it had expanded charges against Lee to include hiding the proceeds of a criminal act, as well […]
By Sarah N. Lynch | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON In a blow to President Donald Trump as he tries to assemble his administration, his nominee for labour secretary, Andrew Puzder, withdrew his name from consideration on Wednesday amid concerns that he could not garner enough Senate votes to be confirmed. Puzder’s decision to withdraw is yet another setback this week for a White House still grappling with fallout from […]
By Phil Stewart and Robin Emmott | BRUSSELS BRUSSELS U.S. President Donald Trump’s defence secretary warned NATO allies on Wednesday that they must honour military spending pledges to ensure the United States does not “moderate” support for the alliance. Jim Mattis, on his debut trip to Brussels as Pentagon chief, also accused some NATO members of ignoring threats, including from Russia. “America cannot care more for your […]
By Alex Dobuzinskis | LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES Robert Durst, the real estate scion tied to several slayings explored in HBO’s series “The Jinx,” returned to a Los Angeles courtroom on Wednesday to face a prosecution witness whose identity was being kept secret until taking the stand. Durst, 73, is charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a writer and longtime confidante of his, Susan […]
Muscat, 15 February 2017 Dentons advised Al Anwar Holdings SAOG on the sale of 20.35% of its shareholding in Falcon Insurance Company SAOC (FIC) for a consideration of OMR 1.876 per share to Arabia Insurance Company S.A.L’s (AIC) affiliates, namely Arabia S.A.L. and Lawrence Investment LLC (Under Formation). The transaction also involved a simultaneous acquisition of the business, assets and liabilities of AIC’s Oman branch by FIC, […]
