February, 2016

• 17 February

  Direct ‘Turkey-Russia clash’ brews on Syrian border

  

  Bloomberg There’s only one major group of combatants in the Syrian war that’s backed by both Russia and the US—and now Turkey is attacking it. For a fourth day on Tuesday, Turkey unleashed its 155- millimeter heavy guns across the border with Syria. The targets were Kurdish forces, whose recent advance is a key part of the Russian plan to ...

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• 17 February

  USA flies F-22 in show of force to N Korea

  

  Yangon / Bloomberg The US Air Force flew four F-22 fighter jets through South Korean airspace in the latest show of force against North Korea over its nuclear test and long-range rocket launch. The flight took place on Wednesday south of Seoul alongside South Korean F-15 fighter jets and demonstrated “the resolve of both nations to maintain stability on the ...

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• 17 February

  3 Dead in Philippines as troops, rebels clash

  Manila / AFP Three civilians were killed in a roadside bomb explosion in a remote Philippine region where the army and Muslim rebels have engaged in sporadic fighting for days, police said on Wednesday. Muslim insurgents booby-trapped a highway to target military convoys, but it detonated when a van with six people aboard drove through late Tuesday, according to a ...

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• 17 February

  Boko Haram bombs cut 3mn Nigerians from outside world

  

  Bloomberg A twin bombing that killed 58 people at a camp in a northeastern Nigerian town last week underlies the destructive capacity of extremist militant group Boko Haram two months after President Muhammadu Buhari said they had been defeated. The camp at Dikwa stands in a town where shops and homes have been deserted by residents who fled Boko Haram’s ...

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• 17 February

  EU defenseless against flow of migrants: Hungary Minister

  

  Bloomberg The European Union is “defenseless” against mass migration from the Middle East and the inflow of refugees constitutes the “most serious issue” the 28-nation trading bloc has faced since its founding, according to Hungary’s minister of foreign affairs and trade Peter Szijjarto. “If we don’t find a way to cut this defenselessness, then it’s going to be a real ...

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• 17 February

  The menace in the machine

  

  The Munich Security Conference is an annual catalog of horrors. But the most ominous discussion last weekend wasn’t about IS terrorism but a new generation of weapons — such as killer robots and malignly programmed “smart” appliances that could be deployed in a future conflict. Behind the main events at the annual discussion of foreign and defense policy here was ...

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• 17 February

  Embracing digitization will help UAE banks

  To sustain the competitive edge, the banking sector in the UAE has to digitize to keep pace with international standards, and retain customer base as well as reach out to young customers through the social media networking. Corporate banks that will lag behind the digitization process could risk drop of profits, and hence lose qualified staff compared to other competitors ...

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• 17 February

  Keep politics out of your investing strategy

  

  Barron’s cover story this weekend asked, “Trump and Sanders: Are They Killing the Stock Market?” Noting the correlation between the rise of so-called outsiders and movement in the equities markets, the business weekly said, “US stocks have fallen sharply since Trump and Sanders began rising in popularity in the polls. It could be more than coincidence.” The story hits upon ...

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• 17 February

  China’s Antarctic air squadron

  

  China is going to set up its first air squadron in Antarctica in 2016, China Daily reports, citing the State Oceanic Administration. The squadron will support China’s ongoing scientific explorations in the Antarctic. As China Daily noted, China currently has 277 researchers in Antarctica, working out of four research stations. The SOA didn’t provide details about the squadron, other than ...

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• 17 February

  Dubai foodstuff foreign trade hits AED68.6bn in 9 months

  

  DUBAI / Emirates Business Dubai Customs has effectively contributed to the growth of food trade by providing quality Customs facilities for this sector, and ensuring speedy customs clearance of all its shipments, in order to cater to the food needs of the community without unnecessary delays. Figures released by Dubai Customs, in parallel with Gulfood 2016; the world’s largest annual ...

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