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  JAKARTA / Reuters Harvard and Columbia university research showing smoke from land fires in Southeast Asia led to more than 100,000 premature deaths last year “makes no sense at all,” an official at Indonesia’s Health Ministry said on Wednesday. Indonesian government records show only 24 deaths related to forest fires in 2015, but the disaster was estimated to have ...

  Bloomberg Tim Farron, the leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat party, called for a second referendum on Britain quitting the European Union to ensure the deal negotiated by Prime Minister Theresa May has public support. Farron, whose party governed in coalition with May’s Conservatives until last year’s general election, accused the premier of having “no clue” about Britain’s future ...

  London / AFP GlaxoSmithKline on Tuesday appointed Emma Walmsley, its head of consumer healthcare, to lead the British drugs giant and develop new treatments in a fast-consolidating sector. Walmsley, 47, succeeds outgoing chief executive Andrew Witty, who is retiring early next year after almost a decade at the helm. Walmsley, who joined GSK from French cosmetics giant L’Oreal six ...

  Aleppo / AFP The United Nations suspended all humanitarian convoys in Syria on Tuesday following a deadly air strike on aid trucks, as fighting intensified after the regime declared an end to a week-long truce. Both Syria and Russia denied they were behind the raid on the convoy near northern city Aleppo, which the Red Cross said killed “around ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business With a finger on the pulse of the fast-paced consumer electronics industry, GITEX Shopper tracks top 10 trends for tech savvy consumers looking to update devices and tap into the latest developments in the industry. Visitors to the Middle East’s largest consumer IT and electronic show, which will take place from October 1-8 at ...

  MARGARITA ISLAND / WAM “The UAE stands firmly against all forms of terrorism and religious extremism that destroy the social fabric of society, affect national harmony and threaten global peace and security,” said Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, at the 17th meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), being held in Margarita, Venezuela. Making ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) inaugurated on Monday the second Global Solar Leader’s Summit, which took place at Dubai World Trade Centre on September 19. The Summit highlighted the latest techniques in solar energy, and was attended by HE Dr Matar Al Neyadi, Undersecretary of ...

  Damascus / AFP Syria’s armed forces said on Monday that a week-long ceasefire brokered by the United States and Russia was over, blaming rebels for the failure of the truce. US Secretary of State John Kerry said meanwhile that the terms had not been met for a key aspect of the deal — US-Russia cooperation against extremists in Syria. ...

  Brussels / AFP The EU launched an in-depth probe on Monday into alleged sweetheart tax deals between French gas group Engie and Luxembourg, taking on a major European multinational after similar high-profile investigations into US giants. “The Commission has concerns that several tax rulings issued by Luxembourg may have given GDF Suez (now Engie) an unfair advantage over other ...

  London / AFP The European Union will make Brexit “very painful” for Britain, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said in an interview published on Monday, adding that London was “bluffing” over its pre-Brexit negotiating power. “The EU will take this opportunity to show the public: ‘Listen guys, now you will see why it is important to stay in the ...