Libreville / AFP Police arrested 1,000 people as security forces fanned out across Gabon’s capital on Thursday after a night of riots and looting that erupted when President Ali Bongo was declared winner of disputed polls. Thousands of angry protesters poured onto the streets of Libreville late Wednesday, accusing the government of stealing the election after Bongo won a second …

  Berlin / AFP The father of Aylan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian refugee boy whose body washed ashore on a Turkish beach a year ago, on Thursday denounced the world’s failure to stop the bloodshed in his home country. “The politicians said after the deaths in my family: Never again!” the bereaved father, Abdullah Kurdi, 41, told Germany’s Bild daily. “Everyone …

  Karkamis / AFP Turkish military experts on Thursday cleared mines from the area of the Syrian town of Jarabulus captured from extremists last week, using controlled explosions that sent clouds of dust and smoke into the sky, an AFP photographer said. Pro-Ankara Syrian rebels, backed by Turkish aviation and tanks, took Jarabulus from IS fighters in a lightning operation and …

  Istanbul / AFP On Sunday, Nadim Fawzi Jouriyeh participated in a ceremony in Amman, Jordan, to mark the United States hitting its target of taking in 10,000 Syrian refugees in a year-old resettlement program. On Wednesday, the 47-year-old former construction worker and his family were walking grocery aisles, stocking up on roasted chicken, milk and lemons for their new …

  Naypyidaw / AFP Delegates from one of Myanmar’s most heavily armed ethnic groups stormed out of peace talks on Thursday in an early blow to a landmark gathering aimed at ushering in a new era of peace. The five-day conference in the capital Naypyidaw has been hailed as the best chance in a generation for Myanmar to end wars …

  Geneva / AFP The UN Syria envoy on Thursday criticised Damascus’ “strategy” of forced evacuation from Daraya following a brutal four-year government siege, warning that other besieged towns could follow. Staffan de Mistura told reporters in Geneva that there were “indications that after Daraya we may have other Darayas,” adding that “there is clearly a strategy at the moment to …

  Dubai / Emirates Business Forbes Middle East held an event to recognize the prolonged success of the region’s real estate sector. The event for the first time ranked the Arab world’s Top 100 real estate companies and consultants and celebrated business leaders and the vision of top enterprises and their contribution to the economic development of the Arab world. …

  Dubai / Emirates Business Leading financial institution, Mashreq, appointed Basker Rangachari as its new head of Marketing & Customer Experience. With more than 29 years of diverse leadership experience across consumer banking, payments services, private equity, retail and consulting, Basker will be responsible for driving the bank’s brand and marketing strategies, customer communications, analytics and digital marketing. Prior to …

  Dubai / WAM The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) received a string of brilliant ideas thanks to the initiative launched by Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, entitled, ‘Mohammed bin Rashid Smart Majlis Initiative’. 4,077 ideas and improvement observations have been received so far, and 4,040 cases have been …

  Abu Dhabi / WAM The Abu Dhabi Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) announced the appointment of ART Marine company as operator of its marinas located at the Eastern Mangroves complex and at Marsa Al Bateen. The Eastern Mangroves Marina has 30 berths that can house boats and yachts from 8 to 33 metres long, and Marsa Al Bateen has …