Dubai / WAM Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has issued Law No. 16 to amend some provisions of Law No. 23 of 2009 on Dubai SME establishment. Law No. 16 replaces Articles 7, 10 and 12 of the previous Law on Dubai SME establishment. As per the new …

  Sharjah / WAM The Sharjah Investment and development Authority (Shurooq) commenced the implementation of Al Badayer Desert Camp project, valued at AED 45 million, which is expected to become one of its premium leisure and adventure destinations in Sharjah. The project will feature a unique set of experiences for desert adventurers within the golden dunes of Sharjah’s middle region. Moreover, …

  Abu Dhabi / WAM Masdar Institute is keen to strengthen its research efforts in the field of water desalination in the light of the challenges facing the region, including the scarcity of water resources, Dr. Behjat Al Yousuf, Interim Provost, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, has said. She cited that the per capita consumption of water in the state …

  Istanbul /AFP Turkey is heading to a referendum on granting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan new powers as early as next spring, ratcheting up tensions amid a crackdown on dissent and pro-Kurdish politicians, analysts say. The courts have arrested over 35,000 people under a state of emergency imposed in the wake of the failed July 15 coup aimed at unseating …

  Karbala / AP A rare suicide bombing in an oasis town south of Baghdad killed eight people on Monday, Iraqi officials said, an attack claimed by the IS group. The attack in Ain al-Tamer, which also wounded at least six people, involved multiple suicide bombers, some of whom may have been killed by security forces before they could blow themselves …

  Istanbul / AP Turkey on Monday closed a border crossing with Syria in the southeastern province of Kilis after violent clashes in the Syrian town of Azaz, a local official said. “The border gate remains open only for ambulances,” the official said. Turkish media reported that the closure of the Oncupinar border crossing, which faces Bab al-Salama inside Syria, was …

  Ramallah / AFP Palestinian leaders on Monday denounced an Israeli bill to legalise several thousand Jewish homes in the occupied West Bank, vowing to take up the issue at the UN Security Council. They also sharply criticised a separate bill that would limit the volume of calls to prayers at mosques in Israel and Jerusalem, a measure government watchdogs …

  Muscat /AFP US Secretary of State John Kerry held talks on Monday with officials in Oman on efforts to end Yemen’s 19-month conflict, state media in Muscat said. Kerry and Oman’s Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi discussed the “peaceful and humanitarian role played by the sultanate in Yemen,” ONA state news agency reported. Kerry is also expected to meet …

  Arbid / AFP The IS group drone hovered in the sky over the advancing Iraqi forces before dropping a grenade, the extremists’ latest move to weaponise small off-the-shelf aircraft. Down below, the grenade exploded on the roof of a building where Iraqi police forces were sheltering as they advanced some 10 kilometres (six miles) south of Mosul, the last …

  Islamabad/AFP The Pakistani military accused India on Monday of killing seven soldiers in cross-border fire in disputed Kashmir, in what appeared to be an unusually high toll after months of surging tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours. “Seven soldiers embraced shahadat (martyrdom) at the Line of Control (LoC) in Bhimber sector in a crossfire LOC violation by Indian troops late …