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Turkey summons German envoy over ‘anti-Erdogan’ TV song

Ankara / AFP Turkey summoned Germany’s ambassador to protest a two-minute song lampooning President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that was broadcast on German television, a diplomatic source said on Tuesday. “We summoned the ambassador last week to communicate our protest about the broadcast that we condemned,” the source said. “We demanded that the broadcast is removed from the air.” German regional ...

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Israel silent on reported threat to Jewish kids in Turkey

Jerusalem / AP Israeli and Turkish officials refused to comment on Tuesday on a report by Britain’s Sky TV that the IS group planned to attack Jewish school children in Turkey. The report came after Israel advised its citizens on Monday to leave Turkey “as soon as possible,” citing the potential for extremist attacks. “Terrorists from the so-called IS have ...

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Myanmar lifts emergency in Rakhine state

Yangon / AFP Myanmar’s outgoing government on Tuesday lifted a state of emergency in conflict-hit Rakhine, a parting gesture that coincides with turbulent relations between Aung San Suu Kyi’s new administration and the western state’s powerful Buddhist political party. Rahkine is deeply scarred by communal violence between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims that began in 2012, presenting one of the most ...

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Iran sanctions removal duration unclear: Austrian president

Tehran / AFP Austrian President Heinz Fischer has said it is unclear how long it will take for the West to lift sanctions on Iran, in an interview with Iran’s state television news agency IRIB. Iran’s historic agreement with world powers went into force on January 16, ending a 13-year standoff over Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme and lifting punishing sanctions ...

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10 Indonesian sailors kidnapped in Philippines waters

Jakarta / AFP Ten Indonesian sailors have been kidnapped in Philippine waters by militants who have demanded a ransom for their release, a minister said on Tuesday. The crew were travelling on two boats that were transporting coal from Borneo island to the Philippines when they were hijacked, said Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. It is not clear when the ...

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Commodity prices: The cycle turns?

On March 24, US oil futures settled at around $39 a barrel, up nearly 50 percent on January’s 12-year low of below $27. Meanwhile, the benchmark copper price on the London Metal Exchange closed at $4,945 a ton, up 15 percent from its six-year low in January, while iron ore prices have risen by nearly 30 percent this year to ...

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UAE giving right push to knowledge economy

The UAE is on track to usher in a knowledge-based economy. Recently, it adopted the Science, Technology and Innovation’s Higher Policy, which includes 100 national initiatives in the educational, health, energy, transportation, space and water sectors. AED300 billion is being pumped into this ambitious plan. A knowledge-based economy has four requisites: education and training, information infrastructure, economic incentive and institutional ...

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The clean-energy deadline is sooner than we think

Everyone knows that at some point, if we want to contain climate change, we’ll have to stop building polluting power plants. New research suggests that moment may come much sooner than we realize. In some areas, the world is making progress toward reducing harmful emissions. Earlier this year, the Business Council for Sustainable Energy reported that the use of coal-fired ...

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Obama exudes optimism for Democrats

President Barack Obama’s surging approval rating is becoming a major plot line of the 2016 election. Obama has reached 53 percent approval from Gallup, a three- year high, and he’s been at or above 50 percent in that survey for four weeks. HuffPollster’s aggregate of all current polls gives Obama an average approval rating of 49.2 percent,compared with 47.3 percent ...

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Investors are in denial about China’s slump

As you’ve no doubt noticed, companies and investors around the world are feeling the pain of China’s economic slowdown. They’re worried about all the layoffs, cuts to surplus capacity and deleveraging to come on the mainland, which will further depress demand. The natural temptation is to blame China for the world’s woes. But outsiders should focus just as much on ...

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