Ras Al Khaimah / Emirates Business The emirate of Ras Al Khaimah welcomed approximately 60,000 residents and visitors to its Awafi area over the past three weeks during its annual cultural festival, which concluded on Saturday 7 January. The 14th Awafi Festival, which celebrates the UAE’s most northern emirate’s ethnic and cultural heritage, attracted its largest visitation to date, …

  WASHINGTON / AP Pointing towards possible confrontation, Donald Trump’s selection for secretary of state likened Beijing’s island-building in the South China Sea to a takeover of another country’s territory and spoke of forcing Beijing to fully apply sanctions on North Korea. China will likely be alarmed by former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson’s Senate confirmation hearing remarks on Wednesday. …

  PARIS / AP France’s government has quietly backtracked on a policy that allowed children to leave the country without their parents’ permission, after years of complaints from families of radicalized teens who left to join extremist groups. The new rules requiring parental permission go into effect on Sunday, five years after the government lifted the restriction with little fanfare, …