Aleppo / AFP Huge blazes erupted in Syria’s Aleppo as the city was rocked by fighting and air strikes on Thursday, ahead of last-ditch efforts by world powers to salvage a failed ceasefire. The truce deal brokered by Moscow and Washington fell apart earlier this week, ushering in a surge of fighting on all major fronts of Syria’s five-year ...

  Beirut/ AFP A “minister” in Syria’s opposition government was among at least 12 people killed in a car bomb attack in the south of the country on Thursday, the body’s spokesman said. “Twelve people, including the (opposition) provisional government’s local administration minister, Yaacoub al-Ammar, were killed” and dozens more were wounded, Shadi al-Jundi said by telephone. The attack targeted ...

  Aden / AFP An apparent US drone strike killed three suspected Al-Qaeda members on Thursday in Yemen, including a mid-ranking commander, security officials said. A missile destroyed a vehicle which the three suspects were using in the region of Sawmaa in central Baida province, the officials said. One security official said extremists had recently sought refugee in the vicinity ...

  Baghdad / AFP Iraq announced on Thursday that its forces have recaptured a northern town from the IS group in an operation launched ahead of a push for the city of Mosul. Security forces began the operation on Tuesday to oust the IS group from Sharqat, a town near supply lines needed for the battle to retake second city ...

  Baghdad / AFP Iraq has promised to recapture Mosul by year’s end and US top brass have hinted an operation could start next month, but the offensive to retake the extremist bastion faces serious challenges. Mosul, Iraq’s second city, is the ultimate prize in the country’s war against the IS group, which seized it and swathes of other territory ...

  Dubai / WAM The UAE and the Republic of Slovenia are witnessing an evolving economic landscape and have an extraordinary opportunity to take their bilateral relationship to the next level and help each other make a more positive and profound impact on the global economy, Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, said on Thursday. “In recognition of Slovenia’s ...

  Abu Dhabi / WAM Khalifa University was named the top university in the UAE this month by Times Higher Education (THE) University Rankings. Of note, this was also the first time Khalifa University had been listed in THE. Khalifa University was ranked in the 501-600 category, out of 980 universities worldwide. This follows the recent announcement on 6th September that ...

  Abu Dhabi / WAM The General Secretariat of the Executive Council in Abu Dhabi launched the fifth cycle of the Abu Dhabi Award for Excellence in Government Performance, with 55 Abu Dhabi government entities competing for 24 awards. The award seeks to significantly improve institutional performance, evaluate excellent government performance in Abu Dhabi government entities, highlight achievements, and create and ...

  New York / WAM The United Arab Emirates on Thursday formally joined the Paris Agreement on climate change, after Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, submitted the UAE’s instrument of ratification at a high-level event on the agreement’s entry into force, convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the UN headquarters in New York. The ...

  Dubai / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai visited the head office of the Dubai Health Authority to inspect the flow of work and vital projects announced as part of Dubai’s strategic plan for 2016-2021. HH Sheikh Mohammed commended the health authority’s ambitious strategy and stressed that ...