Aleppo / AFP For much of the past four years, taking a bus between the two sides of Syria’s divided second city Aleppo meant an arduous, and sometimes dangerous, 10-hour road trip. But on Saturday, the trip took just half an hour, as buses travelled directly from the government-held west to recently recaptured neighbourhoods in the east. At least 10 ...

  New Delhi / AFP Afghan President Ashraf Ghani accused Pakistan on Sunday of waging an “undeclared war” and said Taliban insurgents battling his government would not last a month without sanctuary in the neighbouring state. Ghani also urged Pakistan to spend around $500 million pledged in aid for Afghanistan to tackle extremism instead. “Despite our intense engagement with Pakistan ...

  Ramallah / AFP Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah party is to announce results of a vote for its ruling bodies Sunday, an election watched closely for clues of how the 81-year-old sees his succession. The election for both the party’s central committee and its parliament, known as the revolutionary council, is also expected to sideline Abbas opponents — a key ...

  The Pentagon has begun briefing key allies on plans for advanced weapons technologies aimed at offsetting Russian and Chinese military gains. But the next round of these discussions is on hold awaiting approval of the programs by the Trump administration. Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work said that he met in early November for “formal collaborations” with close foreign partners ...

  Brazil’s stand-in president Michel Temer hasn’t had it easy. In the six months he’s been in office — following the suspension and then impeachment of his predecessor Dilma Rousseff for budget crimes — Temer has lost his sixth minister to scandal, stood by while key allies led a shameless assault on Brazil’s anti-corruption efforts, and seen a wan economic ...

  Next week marks the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor that triggered the U.S. entry into World War II. Now America’s two main antagonists in that war — Germany and Japan — will have to become more prominent defenders of the international order the U.S. built after its victory. President-elect Donald Trump — who adopted the prewar ...

  Contrary to the global trend of economic slowdown, UAE posted a significant economic growth. Country’s vital sectors are growing at a substantial pace. The UAE has taken a major step forward in achieving socio-economic developments. A sustainable, diverse and globally competitive economy is the need of the hour. And this is possible only with participation of citizens, who are ...

  Industrial Strategy is making a comeback. One of Theresa May’s first acts as prime minister was to create a new “Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.” That may sound impressive, but history is littered with equally well-intentioned but unsuccessful industrial strategies. For every case of success one can find more than one case of failure. Previous attempts at ...

  McDonald’s Corp. looks like it’s gotten itself a happy meal in China. The consortium purchasing the assets, however, risks a bout of indigestion. The world’s biggest fast-food chain couldn’t have done much better than locking up Citic Group Corp. and Carlyle Group LP as buyers of its franchise in Asia’s largest economy. The $3 billion price tag that’s being ...

  US airlines rejoiced earlier this year when it was announced that commercial flights would resume to Cuba after more than a half century, with one executive at a major carrier calling it almost a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Yet as service begins this week to Havana, the long-awaited travel surge to the island is already in doubt. Citing weak demand, American ...