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  Aleppo / AFP The United Nations suspended all humanitarian convoys in Syria on Tuesday following a deadly air strike on aid trucks, as fighting intensified after the regime declared an end to a week-long truce. Both Syria and Russia denied they were behind the raid on the convoy near northern city Aleppo, which the Red Cross said killed “around ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business With a finger on the pulse of the fast-paced consumer electronics industry, GITEX Shopper tracks top 10 trends for tech savvy consumers looking to update devices and tap into the latest developments in the industry. Visitors to the Middle East’s largest consumer IT and electronic show, which will take place from October 1-8 at ...

  MARGARITA ISLAND / WAM “The UAE stands firmly against all forms of terrorism and religious extremism that destroy the social fabric of society, affect national harmony and threaten global peace and security,” said Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, at the 17th meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), being held in Margarita, Venezuela. Making ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) inaugurated on Monday the second Global Solar Leader’s Summit, which took place at Dubai World Trade Centre on September 19. The Summit highlighted the latest techniques in solar energy, and was attended by HE Dr Matar Al Neyadi, Undersecretary of ...

  Damascus / AFP Syria’s armed forces said on Monday that a week-long ceasefire brokered by the United States and Russia was over, blaming rebels for the failure of the truce. US Secretary of State John Kerry said meanwhile that the terms had not been met for a key aspect of the deal — US-Russia cooperation against extremists in Syria. ...

  Brussels / AFP The EU launched an in-depth probe on Monday into alleged sweetheart tax deals between French gas group Engie and Luxembourg, taking on a major European multinational after similar high-profile investigations into US giants. “The Commission has concerns that several tax rulings issued by Luxembourg may have given GDF Suez (now Engie) an unfair advantage over other ...

  London / AFP The European Union will make Brexit “very painful” for Britain, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said in an interview published on Monday, adding that London was “bluffing” over its pre-Brexit negotiating power. “The EU will take this opportunity to show the public: ‘Listen guys, now you will see why it is important to stay in the ...

  Sydney / AFP An Australian-led consortium with Chinese investment won a 50-year-lease on Monday on the nation’s biggest container and cargo port for Aus$9.7 billion (US$7.3 billion), the latest maritime asset to be privatised. The Port of Melbourne, which deals with more than 3,000 ships annually, was snapped up by a consortium including Australia’s second-largest wholesale funds manager the ...

  Seoul / AFP Hanjin Shipping Co., the South Korean container line that sought bankruptcy protection last month, received a court advisory to return all chartered vessels to cut costs while the company is in the midst of reducing its fleet. Giving the ships back to the owners makes sense as they were chartered at high rates, a spokesman at ...

  Moscow / AFP Russia’s ruling United Russia party has won a record number of seats in parliamentary polls that could pave the way for President Vladimir Putin to glide to a fourth term in 2018 elections. With more than 98.3 percent of the ballots counted, United Russia had garnered 54.2 percent of the votes for parties, giving it a ...