AFP Some 150,000 penguins died after a massive iceberg grounded near their colony in Antarctica, forcing them to make a lengthy trek to find food, scientists say in a newly-published study. The B09B iceberg, measuring some 100 square kilometres, grounded in Commonwealth Bay in East Antarctica in December 2010, the researchers from Australia and New Zealand wrote in the Antarctic ...
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Rescuers end hunt for quake-hit Taiwanese
TAIPEI / AP Rescuers in Taiwan pulled out the remains of the final victims of last week’s earthquake and with a minute of silence ended the search with the death toll of 116, most of them in a collapsed high-rise apartment building. All but two of the dead came from the 17-story Weiguan Golden Dragon residential complex, which toppled when ...
Read More »Migrants share their ordeal at ‘human library’
Nicosia / AFP Inside a vintage-style Cypriot cafe, 18-year-old Ibrahima Yonga recounts to a stranger how he escaped the Boko Haram group in Cameroon and spent months at sea to reach Europe. Seated at tables nearby, a Palestinian, a Congolese and a Sudanese also share their tales with members of the public, against a soothing background of light acoustic music. ...
Read More »1,000 pages of Clinton emails released
WASHINGTON / AP The State Department has released more than 1,000 new pages of Hillary Clinton’s emails. Eighty-one messages were classified, mostly at the lowest level of sensitivity. None was declared top secret. The department has now released more than 45,000 pages of emails from the private account Clinton used as secretary of state. It plans to finish making her ...
Read More »Syrian oppn slams truce deal
Munich / AP A senior figure in the Syrian opposition movement on Sunday criticised the truce deal forged by the US and Russia, saying Moscow was continuing its onslaught on civilian areas. “We have gotten used to conferences and hope put into words but what we need is action, and the action I see is that Russia is killing Syrian ...
Read More »Tsipras chides EU, IMF for reform assessment delay
Athens / AFP An assessment of Greece’s attempts to reform its struggling economy is being held up by disagreements between the European Union and the IMF, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has said. “Negotiations on the reform plan have fallen behind, which is in nobody’s interest,” he said on Sunday, cited by the Avghi daily, close to Tspiras’ Syriza party. Greece ...
Read More »Hopes for peace as C Africans vote in presidential run-off
Bangui / AFP Voters in the Central African Republic were casting their ballots on Sunday in delayed legislative elections and a presidential run-off which they hope will bring peace after the country’s worst sectarian violence since independence in 1960. The nation, dogged by coups, violence and misrule since winning independence from France, could take a step towards rebirth if the ...
Read More »EU in final push for difficult ‘Brexit’ deal
Brussels / AP The quest to prevent Britain crashing out of the European Union faces its moment of truth this week, with EU chief Donald Tusk touring key capitals in a final push for a deal at a crucial Brussels summit. Many of Prime Minister David Cameron’s demands for reforms ahead of a referendum on Britain’s membership of the crisis-hit ...
Read More »DAFZA new destination for Indian firms
Ritika Sharma / Emirates Business India has yet again cemented its position as one of the major business allies for the UAE. Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA) has reported a strong year for Indian companies in the freezone. DAFZA has reported a 23 percent increase in the number of Indian companies operating within the freezone during 2015. Official statistics reveal ...
Read More »Tahoe to enthrall off-roading lovers
Sunaina Rana / Emirates Business With the fast spreading off-roading tracks and soaring number of off-roading enthusiasts in the region, Chevrolet eyes a good share of the industry. Company has launched Chevrolet Tahoe Z71, which gives a chance to break away from the regular hustle and bustle of daily life with conciliation refinement for off-road capabilities. The new 2016 Chevrolet ...
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