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  Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the largest Islamic bank in the UAE, announced on Saturday the launch of its credit card in partnership with Dubai-based flydubai. The credit card will enable customers to enrol in OPEN, a newly launched rewards programme from flydubai. By joining the programme, customers will earn OPEN reward points every time they ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai Road and Transport Authority (RTA) has been announced as a Host Partner for PayExpo MENA, and will welcome global experts coming to Dubai to discuss the revolutionary changes in smart transport ticketing. Transport Ticketing MENA forms part of PayExpo MENA, which will bring together over 1000 senior decision makers to discuss innovations across the ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MoCCAE) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the Environment Agency- Abu Dhabi, on Saturday has launched the “Our Generations” initiative and the “Sustainable Schools” initiative as its execution arm. The launch was announced at a press conference in Festival Arena, Dubai in the presence of ...

  Istanbul / AFP Iraq’s parliament on Saturday voted to accord full legal status to government-sanctioned Shiite militias as a “back-up and reserve” force for the military and police and empower them to “deter” security and terror threats facing the country, like the IS group. The legislation, supported by 208 of the chamber’s 327 members, was promptly rejected by Sunni ...

  Istanbul / AP President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned the European Union that Turkey could extend by at least another three months a state of emergency that has been in place since the failed July coup. In a a speech in Istanbul, Erdogan launched another stinging attack on the EU after the European Parliament voted on Thursday to back ...

  Hasakeh / AP A string of explosions on Saturday rocked a munitions storage site in northeastern Syria used by the US-led coalition battling the IS group, a monitor and a local official said. “At least five explosions occurred on Saturday morning at the arms and munitions depots in a base close to Tal Tamer” northwest of the city of Hasakeh, ...

  Seoul / AFP Up to 1.3 million protesters braved sleet and freezing temperatures in Seoul on Saturday to demand President Park Geun-Hye resign over a corruption scandal or face impeachment. People beat drums and chanted “Park get out now” as they walked towards the presidential Blue House that had been cordoned off by thousands of police deployed in the South ...

  Manila /AFP Up to 100 extremists from a group behind a deadly bombing in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s home city were on Saturday under siege in a remote mountain town, officials said. Residents of Butig, which has a population of 17,000, have fled after the IS-linked militants holed themselves up in an abandoned government building, Philippine military spokesman Brigadier-General ...

  Teknaf / AFP Alam’s short life ended on Saturday in a dark, tattered tent in Bangladesh, the Rohingya child’s skeletal body succumbing to illness contracted while fleeing Myanmar where his stateless people are under attack. He was six-months-old. Alam died hours after arriving at makeshift refugee camp close to Teknaf, the gateway to Cox’s Bazar, a poor, densely populated coastal ...

  Islamabad/ AFP Pakistan on Saturday appointed General Qamar Javed Bajwa as its new military chief, the prime minister’s office said, in a surprise pick for arguably the most powerful role in the country. Bajwa will take over from the hugely popular General Raheel Sharif, who won the hearts of millions with his bruising campaign against Islamic militants. “President Mamnoon ...