LONDON: The Iranian regime is seeking to dominate countries in the Middle East, the top US commander for the Middle East said Thursday at a House Armed Services Committee (HASC) hearing on national security challenges. Gen. Joseph Votel also said that although Daesh militants are losing the last of their territory in Syria, the militants who remain are unbroken and radicalized, and…
ALGIERS: Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika issued his first warning on Thursday to protesters who have taken to the streets in thousands to demand an end to his 20-year rule, saying the unrest could destabilise the country.In the latest demonstration, hundreds of lawyers in black robes rallied in downtown Algiers on Thursday as momentum gathered in the…
NEAR BAGHOUZ, Syria: US-backed Syrian forces prepared for another outpouring of civilians and suspected militants Thursday from the remnants of the Daesh group’s “caliphate,” which is teetering on the brink of total collapse.A fierce assault on the besieged enclave in eastern Syria has sparked an exodus of dust-covered children, veiled women dragging suitcases and disheveled,…
US commander says fight against Daesh ‘far from over’ as suspected members leave Syrian holdout WASHINGTON: The battle against Daesh is "far from over" and the extremists remain unbroken and prepared for a resurgence despite the elimination of their physical base in Syria, a top US commander said Thursday."Reduction of the physical caliphate is a monumental military…
ANKARA, Turkey: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dismissed US threats to cancel the sale of high-tech F-35 jets to Turkey, saying his country will move ahead with the purchase of Russian S-400 air-defense missiles.In an interview with Kanal 24 television late Wednesday, Erdogan also said Turkey could consider purchasing the more advanced Russian S-500…
NEAR BAGHOUZ, Syria: US-backed Syrian forces prepared for another outpouring of civilians and suspected militants Thursday from the remnants of the Daesh group’s “caliphate,” which is teetering on the brink of total collapse.A fierce assault on the besieged enclave in eastern Syria has sparked an exodus of dust-covered children, veiled women dragging suitcases and disheveled,…
LONDON: An HIV-positive man in Britain has become the second known adult worldwide to be cleared of the AIDS virus after he received a bone marrow transplant from an HIV resistant donor, his doctors said.Almost three years after receiving bone marrow stem cells from a donor with a rare genetic mutation that resists HIV infection…
DUBAI: Tasneem Alsultan has established herself as one of the most sought-after, and talented, photographers in the region. She describes herself as “a photographer interested in social and gender issues,” and even her wedding photography (with which she started her career and which continues to help fund her personal projects) eschews the usual portrait-style coverage…
Last-gasp Marcus Rashford penalty stuns PSG and sends Manchester United into quarterfinals PARIS: Marcus Rashford scored a stoppage-time penalty awarded after a VAR review to give Manchester United a stunning 3-1 win away to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday as they improbably went through to the Champions League quarter-finals on away goals.A seriously depleted United looked…
LONDON: A former Barclays executive told in-house lawyers he felt sick when he was told the bank could be challenged by criminal authorities over side deals with Qatar during a 2008 emergency fundraising, a London fraud trial heard on Wednesday.Richard Boath, in the dock at Southwark Crown Court with former Barclays CEO John Varley and…
LONDON: Britain wants offshore wind farms to provide one third of the country’s electricity by 2030, the government announced Thursday, at a time when its nuclear energy ambitions are stumbling.Working with the private sector to take advantage of the island nation’s surrounding waters to power homes and businesses with increasing amounts of renewable energy, the…
SINGAPORE: Oil edged up on Thursday amid ongoing OPEC-led supply cuts and US sanctions against exporters Venezuela and Iran, but price gains were capped by record US crude output and rising commercial fuel inventories.US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were at $56.31 per barrel at 0637 GMT, up 9 cents, or 0.2 percent,…
SAN FRANCISCO: Amazon on Wednesday unveiled plans to open more bookstores and “4-star” shops selling only the best-rated products — while closing its smaller “pop-up” kiosks in the US.“After much review, we came to the decision to discontinue our pop-up kiosk program, and are instead expanding Amazon Books and Amazon 4-star,” a spokeswoman told AFP.…
KABUL: Several rockets were fired on Thursday at a gathering of members of the Shiite Muslim Hazara minority in the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least one person and wounding several. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but over the years Hazaras have been repeatedly attacked by Sunni Muslim militant groups such as the…
KABUL: Several rockets were fired on Thursday at a gathering of members of the Shiite Muslim Hazara minority in the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least one person and wounding several. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but over the years Hazaras have been repeatedly attacked by Sunni Muslim militant groups such as the…
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s former campaign chief Paul Manafort faces potentially spending the rest of his life behind bars when a judge sentences him on Thursday for tax crimes and bank fraud.Manafort, who turns 70 in April, was convicted by a Virginia jury in August of five counts of filing false income tax returns,…
Saudi Arabia has worked to combat money laundering, terrorist financing for decades: EU envoy RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has worked to combat money laundering and terrorist financing for decades, the Kingdom's EU envoy Saad bin Mohammed Al-Arifi said Thursday. He added that all European Union states were surprised by the blacklist of countries suspected of being lax on…
Riyadh : The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) has launched vocational training programs for female breadwinners in Aden and Lahij governorates as part of its continuous efforts to improve livelihoods in Yemen." As part of its mission to provide training and vocational rehabilitation and improving livelihoods in Yemen, the KSRelief has launched…
JEDDAH: The General Commission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM) has announced its classification of the first ever movie from the Philippines to be shown in Saudi cinemas. Running for 115 minutes and with Arabic subtitles, “Jack Em Popoy: The Puliscredibles” tells the unusual story of a father and daughter police team taking on a crime syndicate,…
Jeddah bids farewell to art-loving mayor Mohammed Said Farsi who transformed the city JEDDAH: The man credited with transforming Jeddah into an “open-air museum,” its former mayor Mohammed Said Farsi, died on Tuesday in Paris.While serving first as chairman of the Jeddah municipality and later as the city’s mayor, he installed hundreds of works of…
