Paris / AFP French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday joined calls for international observers to oversee the evacuation of civilians trapped under fire in the wrecked Syrian city of Aleppo. At a meeting with his defence cabinet, Hollande said those trapped by the fighting should “be evacuated in a dignified and safe manner, under the supervision of international observers and ...

  Riyadh / AFP Saudi Arabia is determined to prevent external “interference” in neighbouring war-torn Yemen, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud said in an annual address on Wednesday. He did not explicitly refer to the kingdom’s regional rival Iran but Saudi officials have accused Tehran and the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah of aiding rebels in Yemen. Since March 2015, ...

  Juba / AFP President Salva Kiir called on Wednesday for a “national dialogue” to end the three-year-long civil war in South Sudan. In a speech to parliament, Kiir, whose wrangling for power with his former deputy Riek Machar plunged the world’s newest nation into a brutal, destructive and ongoing civil war in December 2013, said the dialogue would “consolidate peace” ...

  Qaraqosh / AFP Factories churning out tens of thousands of munitions and an entire street turned into a conveyor belt for car bombs: advances by Iraqi forces around Mosul have laid bare the scale of the IS group’s arms industry. In the more than two years since it seized control over swathes of the country, IS established a sprawling and ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business The 2016 edition of the International Franchise Conference & Exhibition began yesterday, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC). The event, which is organized by the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, gathers companies and brands together with the goal of providing investment opportunities for entrepreneurs and businesses in the United Arab ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Marking a significant milestone, Dubai South celebrated its 10th Anniversary in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group. The ceremonies, held at the Palazzo Versace, also saw Dubai South award the contribution of its key stakeholders and partners. ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF) held a press conference at its headquarters in Dubai on Wednesday, to disclose details surrounding the fourth edition of its Bil Arabi initiative. Launched in 2013, the initiative seeks to promote Arabic-language communication on traditional and social media platforms, in an effort to reinstate Arabic as an ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Two teachers from the UAE are among the teachers from the Middle East who have been included in the top 50 shortlist for the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2017. Now in its third year, the US$1 million award is the largest prize of its kind and is awarded under the patronage of His Highness ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business The Dubai Courts has entered into a strategic partnership with Zajel Courier Services for faster, more efficient and accurate postal service delivery of legal documents to its customers. The collaboration ensures one-day delivery period for Dubai Courts’ individuals, government and non-government customers living in Dubai and two days for those residing in other emirates. The ...

  Bloomberg OPEC said its agreement to cut production, while speeding up the re-balancing of the global oil market, won’t result in demand exceeding supply until the second half of next year. The Dec. 10 agreement between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-members such as Russia and Kazakhstan “will accelerate the reduction of global inventories and bring forward ...