Nairobi / AFP The death toll from a fireball caused by a crash involving a tanker carrying flammable materials rose to 40 Monday, as Kenya faced calls to improve safety on its perilous roads. The east African nation was left reeling by devastating scenes from the crash late Saturday in which the tanker ploughed into 11 vehicles, leaving a trail ...

  Beijing / AFP Beijing issued its first clear warning on Monday over Donald Trump’s fiery rhetoric, as state media said the Asian giant could back “forces hostile to the US” if the president-elect follows through with threats to drop Washington’s One China policy. It was the strongest signal yet from Chinese authorities that abandoning the One China policy, which ...

  New York / AFP Donald Trump announced on Monday he will nominate retired general John Kelly to head the Department of Homeland Security, the third ex-military man tapped for a top job in his presidential administration. “General John Kelly’s decades of military service and deep commitment to fighting the threat of terrorism inside our borders makes him the ideal choice ...

  Nairobi / AFP Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Monday his country was seriously thinking of quitting the International Criminal Court, after several other African nations moved to pull out of the tribunal. Kenyatta and his Vice President William Ruto were dragged before the court after deadly 2007-08 election violence left over 1,200 dead. However the charges were dropped in ...

  Brussels / AFP The European Union and Cuba on Monday signed a deal to normalise ties that had been blocked for decades by human rights concerns under revolutionary icon Fidel Castro. Cuba was the only Latin American country not to have a “dialogue and cooperation” deal with the 28-nation EU covering issues such as trade, human rights and migration. But ...

  Rome / AFP New Italian premier-designate Paolo Gentiloni raced to put together a cabinet team on Monday as the market welcomed the apparent rapid resolution of the country’s political and banking crises. Gentiloni, 62, was asked by President Sergio Mattarella on Sunday to form a new centre-left government that will guide Italy to elections due by February 2018, following the ...

  Belgrade / AFP Eight Serbian men appeared on Monday before a Belgrade court over their alleged role in the Srebrenica massacre, Europe’s worst atrocity since World War II, in the first-ever such case to be handled by the country’s judiciary. The suspects’ defence attorneys cited procedural issues, demanding notably the replacement of judges, and opening of the trial was ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business The healthcare industry in the GCC is expected to continue its robust growth propelled by demographic and macroeconomic factors in the region; said a market analysis report that was recently released by Al Masah Capital Limited. Given the demand for specialized services amidst an ageing population and prevalence of lifestyle diseases, the GCC healthcare sector ...

  Emirates Business UAE’s leading financial institution, Mashreq and Novo Cinemas, a leading cinema chain in the Middle East announced the launch of a new strategic partnership that is set to completely change customers’ cinema experience. The official signing was attended by Subroto Som, Head of Retail Banking Group at Mashreq and Debbie Stanford – Kristiansen, CEO of Novo Cinemas, ...

  Ras Al Khaimah / Emirates Business The attraction of Ras Al Khaimah as one of the UAE’s top investment destinations has been boosted by new legal steps designed to promote economic growth, secure foreign investment, and protect assets of investors and residents. The legal package, signed at the Al Dhait Palace and witnessed by His Highness Sheikh Saud bin ...