Uncategorized

Beijing / AFP Beijing is installing radar facilities on its artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea, an American think tank has said, in a move analysts warned would “exponentially improve” the country’s monitoring capacities. Satellite imagery of Cuarteron reef in the Spratlys released by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) showed what appeared to be ...

Kiev / AFP Germany and France on Tuesday urged Kiev to root out corruption and quickly adopt a law on elections in the pro-Russian east that may help resolve Ukraine’s separatist war. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived in Kiev amid political chaos that has seen ministers in the pro-EU government trade accusations of ...

Riyadh / AFP The leader of Africa’s number one oil producer was in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, with analysts forecasting his country’s eventual support for an output freeze to stabilise prices. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is to meet King Salman before travelling on to Qatar. The official Saudi Press Agency reported late Monday that Buhari had landed in Riyadh, where ...

Damascus / AFP Syria’s regime agreed on Tuesday to a ceasefire deal announced by the United States and Russia, but there were widespread doubts it could take effect by the weekend as hoped. The agreement, announced on Monday, does not apply to extremists like the IS group and Al-Nusra Front, putting up major hurdles to how it can be implemented ...

Alkesh Sharma / Emirates Business Instant replies to customer queries always bring brisk business. Dubai-based start-up Brndstr is creating ripples in the industry with its new auto-reply tool which would enable technology entrepreneurs and corporates to promptly interact with their targeted customers, by using intelligent robotic responses. Brndstr is offering a wholesome directory of hashtag and emoji on Twitter platform ...

London / AFP The bosses of more than a third of Britain’s top companies on Tuesday urged voters to keep the country in the European Union, warning that an exit from the bloc would threaten jobs. Some 198 business leaders including Roger Carr, chairman of BAE Systems, BP CEO Bob Dudley and Ron Dennis, chief of F1 team McLaren, wrote ...

Bloomberg With Jeb Bush’s departure from the presidential race on Saturday, a mighty fundraising army scattered. The question the troops face: pick another side or retreat? Bobbie Kilberg chose quickly. A top Republican fundraiser in Virginia, she got the news of Bush’s withdrawal Saturday night over text messages at a dinner. By the next morning, she was giving interviews about ...

Kandahar / AFP Afghan troops have retreated from two districts in the southern province of Helmand, officials said on Monday, a move which highlights the challenge from Taliban fighters in the opium-producing region. “The Afghan army retreated from two army bases in Musa Qala and one base from Nawzad district” on Saturday, provincial governor Khan Rahimi said, leaving no troops ...

New Delhi / AFP Much of New Delhi’s water supply was cut off on Monday after members of an influential Indian caste sabotaged a canal as part of protests seeking preferential treatment that have killed at least 19 people. A representative of the Jat caste said they had called off their week-long protests which saw thousands of troops deployed in ...

Kampala / AFP Uganda’s main opposition leader was held by police on Monday at a police station outside the capital after being taken from his home where he had been under house arrest. Kizza Besigye has rejected the results of Thursday’s election won by veteran President Yoweri Museveni, and called on his supporters to join a protest march to the ...