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

  New Delhi / AFP Three staff at an Indian hospital have been suspended after a deadly blaze in the intensive care unit, authorities said on Tuesday, as the toll from the disaster rose to 20.Fire broke out on Monday night in the dialysis ward of the hospital in eastern Odisha state before quickly spreading to other floors, killing 19 ...

  Berlin /AFP Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to Berlin on Wednesday for a summit focussing on escalating tensions between Moscow and the West over the Kremlin’s strategy in Ukraine and Syria. The meeting—the first in a year between the Russian, German, French and Ukrainian leaders—will “evaluate the implementation” of the Minsk peace accords for Ukraine, Berlin and Paris said ...

  United Nations / AFP The UN Security Council on Monday denounced North Korea’s latest test of a powerful missile that one leading US expert warned could be put into operational service as early as next year. North Korea test-fired the medium-range Musudan—capable of hitting US bases as far away as Guam—on Saturday. Although the exercise was a failure, with ...

  Chíos /AFP Standing with a group of children outside a refugee camp on the Greek island of Chios, little Roza can’t wait to get an early start to her day. “Good school, good school!” she beams, her backpack on and pigtails bobbing. Roza, a Syrian Kurd, is one of a small group of children in Greece’s island camps fortunate ...

  Tokyo/ AFP Dozens of Japanese lawmakers visited a controversial war shrine on Tuesday in an annual pilgrimage criticised by China and South Korea, which see it as a painful reminder of Tokyo’s aggressive past. The group of about 85 politicians arrived at the leafy Yasukuni shrine in central Tokyo during a four-day autumn festival. Led by priests, the dark-suited ...

  Qayyarah / AFP Iraqi forces were making gains as tens of thousands of fighters advanced on Mosul on Tuesday in an unprecedented offensive to retake the city from the IS group. With the crucial battle in its second day, Iraqi commanders said progress was being made as fighters pushed on two main fronts towards the city. The US military, which ...

  London / AFP Paramilitary groups and government forces in Iraq have tortured, arbitrarily detained and executed thousands of civilians escaping areas controlled by the IS group, Amnesty International warned Tuesday. The London-based rights group said the abuses, often revenge attacks directed at Sunnis suspected of being complicit with IS, must not be repeated as Iraqi forces advance on the jihadists’ ...

  Dhaka / AFP A Bangladeshi radical party allied to the opposition has elected a new chief untainted by war crime allegations, seeking to turn the page after the execution of several of its top leaders. Jamaat-e-Islami said in a statement late Monday it had sworn in former school teacher Maqbul Ahmed as its leader after a secret ballot of party ...

  Aden / AFP The United Nations has announced a new ceasefire in war-ravaged Yemen from early Thursday, after a week of escalated fighting sparked new international calls to end the conflict. While President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi’s government and its Saudi backers said they would support the truce, there has been no word from the Iran-backed rebels who control the ...

  Johannesburg / AFP South Africa’s government has descended into open warfare as a clash between President Jacob Zuma and his finance minister unveils rivalries that could tip the country into instability. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) party looks set for worsening strife as its divided leadership struggles with falling popular support, a weakening economy and violent student protests. Finance ...