London / AFP It’s a snapshot from another political era. Forty-one years ago, in Britain’s last referendum on Europe, Margaret Thatcher hit the campaign trail clad in a woolly jumper emblazoned with a Union flag. But the 1975 poll, which saw Britain embrace membership of what was then the Common Market, has plenty in common with the current bitter and …

  TEHRAN/ AP Iran on Sunday rejected an annual US State Department report that called it the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism. State TV quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari as saying the report is “false” and further evidence of the “lack of credibility of reports by the US State Department.” As in many previous years, the report identified …

  LONDON Misery loves company, so refugees from America’s Republican Party should understand that theirs is not the only party that has chosen a leader who confirms caricatures of it while repudiating its purposes. Jeremy Corbyn, the silliest leader in the British Labour Party’s 116-year history, might kill satire as well as whatever remains of socialism. Labour was founded in …

The pollution that caused mass death of fish and other marine life in Vietnam did not only spark widespread anger nationwide, but was also a rude awakening for its people who began to see vividly lack of transparency when handling public issues in their country. According to a figure given by an official on May 5, the disaster had killed …

  Justin Fox Home prices in US went up in March. That was the news last Tuesday from S&P/Case-Shiller; all indications are that April was an up month too, and that this summer’s “selling season” will see continued price increases. Bit by bit, prices are regaining the ground lost during the long collapse from 2006 through early 2012. In some …

  Speaking on Saturday at this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue – Asia’s premier defense summit – U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter delivered an important address outlining what he called the “principled security network” – a growing set of bilateral, trilateral and multilateral mechanisms in the region focused on preserving key values and promoting greater burden-sharing among all nations. Little of what …

  Dubai / Emirates Business The upturn in the UAE’s non-oil private sector regained some momentum midway through the second quarter, thanks mainly to a sharp expansion of output. Activity increased at the fastest pace in eight months during May, helped by a pick-up in new business growth. However, data pointed to areas of underlying fragility, as both employment and …

  Dubai / Emirates Business ENOC Global Marine, a specialized business division of ENOC Lubricants Marketing (ELM) under the Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) Group, is set to showcase its marine lubricants portfolio at Posidonia 2016, the industry’s largest shipping and maritime exhibition. Taking place in Athens, Greece from June 6-10, ENOC will also highlight its technical support competences for …

  ALKESH SHARMA / Emirates Business Facing a tough competition from smart-phones and tablets, the personal computer (PC) industry has witnessed a sharp plunge in the shipments coming to this region. Besides mounting competition, market pundits also attribute this dive to less tourist arrivals, and diminishing confidence of customers. These were pegged as major drivers leading to the industry decline. …

  DUBAI / WAM The Supreme Committee for Strategic Planning at the Roads and Transport Authority, RTA, headed by Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA, has approved the authority’s revised strategic plan, 2016-2020. The objectives of the strategic plan have been revised in keeping with Dubai Government’s drive, and RTA’s values …