Paris / AFP Hamza Attou, who helped key Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam flee to Brussels, has been charged and taken into custody in France, the Paris prosecutor said on Thursday. The 22-year-old Belgian has been charged over his role in accompanying Abdeslam back to Brussels shortly after the IS-claimed attacks in the French capital on November 13 left 130 ...

  MELBOURNE / AP A teenager pleaded guilty on Thursday to plotting to run over and behead a police officer as part of an IS group-inspired attack on an Australian Veterans’ Day ceremony. Sevdet Besim, 19, pleaded guilty in Victoria state’s Supreme Court to one count of planning for a terrorist act, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. ...

  Manila / AFP Authoritarian firebrand Rodrigo Duterte warned of a “rough ride” after being sworn in as the Philippines’ president on Thursday, promising a relentless war on crime and corruption, but also to be a unifying leader. Duterte, 71, won last month’s election in landslide after a campaign dominated by foul-mouthed threats to kill tens of thousands of criminals ...

  Beijing / AFP Beijing will reject any ruling by an international tribunal in a contentious case brought by the Philippines over the South China Sea, the foreign ministry said, as tensions mount over the disputed waters. The United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) said Wednesday it will rule on July 12 in a closely watched case challenging China’s ...

  Kuala Lumpur / AFP A vocal critic of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was charged with corruption on Thursday in a further blow to the divided opposition, which alleged that the case was politically motivated. Lim Guan Eng, who has repeatedly demanded that Najib explain a massive financial scandal that engulfed his administration last year, appeared in the High ...

  Mumbai / AFP Eight people were killed when a fire gutted a pharmacy in India’s financial capital Mumbai on Thursday, police said. One other person was seriously injured in the blaze, which broke out early Thursday morning, Mumbai police spokesman Ashok Dudhe said. “The primary reason for the fire seems to be a short circuit. But officials will have ...

  Sunaina Rana / Emirates Business The holy month of Ramadan brings in lots of joy. However, the season also witnesses an increased rate of food wastage. It is estimated that the over 50 percent of food is wasted every day during the period. According to Ivano Lanelli, CEO of Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence, “Food wastage is generated across ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business In keeping with the spirit of the Holy Month of Ramadan, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) hosted a lecture delivered by Omar Habtoor Al Darei, Director of Fatwa Department at the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments, on the importance of loyalty and belongingness to one’s homeland. In his lecture, Al Darei ...

  DUBAI / Emirates Business ‘Jeans for Refugees’, is a Johny Dar project and artistic fundraising initiative dedicated to helping refugees around the world, with all proceeds going to the International Rescue Committee (rescue.org). Dubai based agency White Water PR has been chosen to generate awareness amongst people in this region and support the cause. One hundred and one celebrities ...

  Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is working on targets to cut pollution on Germany’s roads that may effectively force carmakers to switch most of their sales to electric vehicles by the end of the next decade. Merkel’s chancellery is reviewing a draft of her coalition’s Climate Protection Plan 2050, which would require fossil-fuel emissions cuts of 45% for cars ...