DUBAI / WAM Thuraya Telecommunications Company on Tuesday announced its service partner agreement in Bulgaria with NBS Maritime company, marking an important strategic milestone in company’s expansion plans and advancing its regional maritime strategy. Thuraya’s technology in other waters, such as the Caspian Sea, can now be replicated in the Black Sea. “Thuraya offers exactly what the market needs: a ...

  DUBAI / WAM The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai and the International Migration Service (IMS) of the Republic of Azerbaijan discussed ways to strengthen co-operation and exchange knowledge in the field of border security, customer services, and other smart services. These issues came up during the recent visit of a high-level delegation headed by Major ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business The fifth EmiratesGBC Congress, organised annually by the Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), commenced on Tuesday at Dusit Thani Hotel in Dubai with international experts in sustainable development for the built environment presenting actionable insights for strengthening energy and water use efficiency and cutting the ecological footprint of buildings. Held under the patronage of the ...

Calais / AFP Workers were set to begin demolishing the notorious Calais “Jungle” camp on Tuesday as a second batch of migrants boarded buses under a massive operation to clear the squalid settlement. More than 1,900 left the slum on Monday, ahead of work to tear down the makeshift shelters and eateries in the camp that has become a symbol of ...

  Erfurt / AFP German police on Tuesday raided apartments across five states in a probe against 14 Chechen asylum seekers over suspected financing of terrorist groups and links to the IS organisation. The raids were part of a running investigation which began last year into a 28-year-old Russian of Chechen origin who is suspected of “preparing an act of ...

  Kampala / AFP Two Ugandans were arrested outside the US Embassy in Kampala on Tuesday morning while taking part in a demonstration of support for US presidential candidate Donald Trump. Carrying placards, one emblazoned with the slogan “A vote for Trump is a vote against African dictatorship!”, the two men attempted to enter the US embassy grounds in the ...

  Tokyo / AFP President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday urged foreign businesses in the Philippines worried about his deadly drug war to “pack up and leave”, as he launched another anti-American tirade before flying to Japan to attract investments. Duterte voiced outrage at comments made the previous day by the top US envoy to Asia that his fiery rhetoric and crime ...

  Brussels / AFP NATO’s commitment to defend all allies against any threat is “unconditional” and irrespective of whether they pay their dues, alliance head Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday. Asked his view of remarks by US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that, should he win, US commitment would depend on members keeping up with their contributions, Stoltenberg stressed first ...

  Gold Coast / AFP Two women and two men were killed at a theme park on Australia’s popular Gold Coast on Tuesday, police said, with witnesses describing how “everyone was screaming” after a raft apparently flipped on a water ride. Queensland police said the four victims died on the Thunder River Rapids ride at the Dreamworld park, as Prime Minister ...

  Colombo/ AFP Sri Lankans went on strike across the island’s north on Tuesday as anger mounted over the police killing of two Tamil university students at a checkpoint. Shops, banks and other offices were closed across the war-ravaged Jaffna peninsula and public transport was halted in protest against the shootings last week. “The entire province is paralysed by the ...