London / AFP Rival sides threw their efforts into the final day of campaigning on Wednesday, on the eve of Britain’s vote on EU membership that will shape the future of Europe. Prime Minister David Cameron conducted a spate of last-minute interviews to get his pro-EU message to voters before polls open at 0600 GMT on Thursday. “Nobody knows ...

  New Delhi / AFP At least 67 people have been killed by lightning in India over the past two days, disaster management officials said on Wednesday, as the annual monsoon rains sweep the country. Lightning strikes are relatively common in India during the June-October monsoon, which hit the southern coast earlier this month, but this week’s toll is particularly ...

  Los Angeles / AFP A US court convicted two men of attempting to help the IS group in Iraq and Syria, with one attempting to travel to the Middle East. A jury found Nader Elhuzayel and Muhanad Badawi, both 25, guilty of conspiring to provide material support to the extremist group, the US Justice Department said in a statement. ...

  MOSCOW / AP With President Vladimir Putin heading to China this weekend, officials in both countries extoll a blossoming “strategic partnership” between the two former communist rivals. But despite Moscow’s push to strengthen ties with Beijing amid a bitter strain in relations with the West, Russia-China trade has shrunk sharply and a slew of ambitious projects have remained largely on ...

  BEIJING / AP Diplomats from the US and North Korea are attending a six-nation security forum in Beijing on Wednesday, in a rare opportunity for contact between them after the North fired two suspected powerful new ballistic missiles. Despite their attendance at the event, the US State Department has said there were no plans for direct talks between the ...

  LOS ANGELES / AP For days, wildfires have raged amid spiking heat across Southern California and much of the West, driving hundreds of people from their homes. Yet homes have overwhelmingly remained safe so far, after aggressive and strategic firefighting and a dose of luck. In the foothill suburbs northeast of Los Angeles, a major wildfire gave a major ...

  ALKESH SHARMA / Emirates Business Cloud computing is the new means for companies to ensure success and beat the throat-cut competition in UAE’s burgeoning business ecosystem. Not only big enterprises but SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and start-ups also are harnessing wonders of the clouds to optimum levels in order to scale new heights. “There are many secure platforms ...

  Sunaina Rana / Emirates Business With the UAE rapidly progressing towards smarter cities, smart transportation has become an innovative platform which could enhance safe riding and smooth traffic flow. In a similar move, Dubai Government is all set to adapt the latest technology and promote smart buses and smarter transport system in the Emirate. Safder Nazir, vice president of ...

  DUBAI / Emirates Business GAC Dubai’s contract logistics arm has opened a new dedicated co-packing facility in the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) as part of the company’s continued investment and growth strategy. With its workforce of 200 highly experienced operatives, GAC Dubai’s contract logistics team has set its sights on increasing the current throughput of 7.5 million unit ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Young ADIPEC, the annual youth outreach initiative by the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC), has announced it is partnership with the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) as part of government efforts to cultivate the next generation of home-grown energy professionals. The first-time cooperation between the two entities will enable Young ADIPEC ...