January, 2017

• 26 January

  UK firm to build Iraq airport

    Bloomberg Copperchase Ltd., a UK-based contractor, began the first phase of construction of an airport in central Iraq that will help ease travel for millions of religious pilgrims who visit the city of Karbala each year. The company is building a runway, terminal, control tower and other facilities at a cost of between $250 million and $500 million, Nahidh ...

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• 26 January

  American Airlines drops seat-back video screens

    Bloomberg Passengers who want to watch a movie on American Airlines Group Inc.’s new 737 Max better bring a device to watch it on. The carrier said it won’t feature seat-back video screens on the Boeing Co. aircraft because almost all travelers now carry mobile phones, tablets and laptops. Satellite-based systems have improved on-board internet speed and access, which ...

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• 26 January

  Target tightens grip over chemicals

  

    Bloomberg Target Corp. introduced a sweeping new policy governing chemicals in products, a move that will push hundreds of suppliers to list ingredients in everything from fragrances to floor cleaner. The guidelines include removing perfluorinated chemicals and flame retardants from textiles in the next five years, as well as eventually disclosing ingredients in all products. Target’s new rules come ...

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• 26 January

  Keeping ancient art live

  

    Bursa / DPA Ercan Aksakal carefully picks up the coloured shadow puppet and examines the workmanship with an expert’s eye. It is a model for Karagoz, or “Black-Eye,” the protagonist and crowd-pleaser in Turkish shadow theatre. A coarse, crafty and forthright exemplar of the common people, Karagoz was also a favourite target of Ottoman censors in centuries past. Now ...

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• 26 January

  Smog pushes them to innovate for world!

  

    BEIJING / AP Beijing residents concerned about breathing the capital’s thick gray air are adapting, inventing and even creating businesses to protect the health of their families and others. Some of their efforts could help people around the world. Already this year, the smog-shrouded capital has suffered particularly hazardous bouts of pollution caused mainly by coal burning and vehicle ...

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• 26 January

  Trump’s immigration actions mark sharp shift in US policy

  

    WASHINGTON / AP President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging executive actions tightening border security— and the prospect of additional measures restricting refugee flows — mark a sharp shift away from Washington’s elusive efforts to forge comprehensive immigration legislation. “We do not need new laws,” Trump said Wednesday during remarks at the Department of Homeland Security. “We will work within the existing ...

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• 26 January

  Yemeni army captures air defence base from rebels

    AL MOKHA / WAM With the support of the Arab Coalition, Yemen’s national army, has captured the air defence camp and continued its push in Al-Muhajir area, east of Al Mokha city, west of Taiz Governorate. Yemen’s official news agency quoted a military source as saying, “The army launched a major offensive on Al Houthi militia and Saleh group’s air ...

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• 26 January

  Austrian police arrest 8 over alleged IS links

    VIENNA/ AP Austrian police arrested eight suspected terrorists on Thursday in a series of early-morning raids in the country’s two largest cities that mobilized heavily armed SWAT teams and hundreds of officers supporting them. A statement from the public prosecutor’s office in Graz, one of the cities involved, said those detained were suspected of involvement with the IS extremist ...

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• 26 January

  Somalia says presidential election on Feb. 8, after delays

    MOGADISHU / AP Somalia’s electoral commission says the presidential election will be Feb. 8, after four delays and amid allegations of bribery, fraud and voter intimidation. Opposition candidates have accused the government of monopolizing the electoral process. The electoral commission said late Wednesday that registration of presidential candidates starts Thursday. The development comes shortly after this Horn of Africa ...

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• 26 January

  US President seeks probe into unproven voter fraud claim

  

    WASHINGTON / AP President Donald Trump declared on Wednesday that he is ordering a “major investigation” into widespread voter fraud, raising the prospect of a federal government probe into a widely debunked claim and sparking alarm among experts and Democrats. Trump announced in a pair of tweets early Wednesday that the investigation will look at those registered to vote ...

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