The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.

  Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai Parks and Resorts, the Middle East’s largest multi-themed leisure and entertainment destination, will host a dazzling New Year’s Eve celebration on December 31 called the ‘Celebrate Amazing Countdown.’ The event takes place starting at 9 p.m. inside Bollywood Parks Dubai in front of the magnificent Rajmahal Theatre and will feature live music, performances, family ...

  Moscow / AFP Russia President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a nationwide ceasefire deal to come into effect across Syria from midnight and that the warring parties had agreed to sit down for peace talks. The deal brokered by Russia and Turkey could represent a major breakthrough in nearly six years of war in Syria and comes a week after ...

  Moscow / AFP Russian officials probing the crash of a Syria-bound military plane said on Thursday that there was no explosion on board, but equipment was functioning abnormally when it plunged into the Black Sea. “There was no explosion on board, I can say that for certain,” said Sergei Bainetov, head of flight safety for the Russian airforce. “But an ...

  Istanbul / AFP Turkish authorities on Thursday detained a prize-winning journalist over a succession of tweets and articles for an opposition daily, state media said, as alarm grows over press freedom in the country. Ahmet Sik was detained on accusations of making “terror propaganda” and denigrating the Turkish Republic, the judicial authorities and police, according to the state-run Anadolu news ...

  Jerusalem / AFP Israel’s right wing dismissed US Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech on the conflict with the Palestinians on Thursday as a parting shot of little consequence, especially with Donald Trump soon taking office. One minister repeated his assertion that a Palestinian state will be “off the agenda” once expected ally Trump takes over, while others from what ...

  Berlin / AFP German anti-terrorism experts believed Berlin truck attack suspect Anis Amri was unlikely to commit an assault, even though he was a known extremist who had volunteered for a suicide attack, a report said on Thursday. Minutes before Amri allegedly rammed the hijacked truck into a Christmas market in Berlin, he sent an SMS, saying: “My brother, all ...

  Kinshasa / AFP Floods triggered by heavy rains and a river bursting its banks have killed at least 50 people and left thousands more homeless in southwestern Congo, a provincial governor said on Thursday. Torrential rains caused the Kalamu river, which flows through the city of Boma into the River Congo, to overflow for two hours before the waters receded, ...

  Baghdad / AFP Iraqi forces advanced on Thursday after declaring a new phase in their offensive on eastern Mosul, stepping up efforts to reclaim the IS group’s last major stronghold in the country. Elite forces have reconquered several parts of eastern Mosul since beginning the massive operation to recapture the northern city from the extremists on October 17, but ...

  Kiev / AFP Ukraine on Thursday reported the first death of a soldier since Kiev agreed a new “indefinite” ceasefire deal with pro-Russian insurgents in the separatist east last week. The military said the death occurred on Wednesday in the village of Kurti Blaka, some 15 kilometres (nine miles) north of the militias’ de facto capital of Donetsk. The rebels ...

  Manila / AFP At least 39 people have been injured in two separate bomb attacks in the Philippines, authorities said on Thursday. In the first incident, two bombs exploded late Wednesday in the central island of Leyte, wounding 33 people who were watching a boxing match in Hilongos, government officials said. Another unexploded bomb was also found in the town, ...