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  Aleppo / AFP Clashes and air strikes shook the Syrian city of Aleppo, a monitor said on Sunday, as heavy fighting resumed after the end of three-day truce declared by government ally Russia. The unilateral truce ended without any evacuations by the UN, which had hoped to bring wounded civilians out of the rebel-held east and deliver aid after weeks ...

  Calais / AFP With only hours to go before workers begin to demolish France’s “Jungle” migrant camp on Monday, officials are racing to process as many young people as possible to be transferred to Britain. The pace is therefore brisk at the camp outside Calais: young migrants are shown into a container where British Home Office officials have set up ...

  Jakarta / AFP Apple is battling to gain a foothold in Indonesia after nationalistic regulations hit the US tech giant’s efforts to compete in the booming emerging market against Samsung and other rivals. The iPhone 6S and 7 are yet to be released in Southeast Asia’s top economy as Apple struggles to fulfil requirements that phone makers must have ...

  Beijing / AFP Asian lenders are spending millions of dollars developing applications using blockchain, a technology that promises to slash transaction costs, expedite cross-border payments and reduce the risk of fraud. Banks active in the region from Standard Chartered Plc to National Australia Bank Ltd. have in recent months started developing and testing systems utilizing the distributed-ledger technology in ...

  Madrid / AFP After basking in its best tourist summer season in 15 years, Spain now sees dark clouds on the horizon as popular destinations reach saturation point and holidaymakers are more thrifty, industry experts say. The 2016 summer season proved exceptionally good, with an influx of tourists fleeing other popular destinations recently hit by attacks, said Jose Luis ...

  Washington / AFP The European Union gave Belgium a barely 24-hour ultimatum on Sunday to say whether it can back an EU-Canada trade deal, warning otherwise it will cancel a summit to sign the accord with Ottawa. In an embarrassment for the 28-nation EU, Belgium has so far been unable to sign up to the CETA trade deal because ...

  Sharjah / Emirates Business The Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) wrapped up its recent participation at the 2nd UAE – India Economic Forum 2016 (UIEF), which took place on October 19-20 at Madinat Jumeirah’s Mina A’Salam. Shurooq’s participation at UIEF, headlining as a platinum sponsor for its 2nd edition, resulted with a richer economic outlook on investments between ...

  WAZIRISTAN / WAM Chief of Pakistani Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif inaugurated on Saturday Spinkai Cadet College in South Waziristan, which was built as part of the UAE-funded Project to Assist Pakistan (PAP) at a total cost of US$ 6.3 million. The College was built in line with the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has donated school supplies to underprivileged children studying at Noshera Mewat Public Middle School near New Delhi, India. The donation was presented at the official re-opening of the school, which has been fully rebuilt with funds raised by the Abu Dhabi-based airline. Students received ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business The UAE can be a regional hub for global pharmaceuticals manufacturing, with innovation driving performance in the sector, the leaders of some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies heard at a briefing led by the UAE Government and supported by the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) – the world’s inaugural global gathering for the ...