Malaysia Scraps Visa Waiver for N.Koreans

Malaysia on Thursday abruptly scrapped a visa-free pact with North Korea over the assassination of Kim Jong- nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Feb. 13. Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the move was motivated by concerns for national security, according to the Bernama news agency. The North has infuriated Malaysians by denouncing the police investigation after four suspects fled to Pyongyang while two others remain holed up in the embassy.

Paine, Moroz win US Sailing Rolex awards

Olympic bronze medalist Caleb Paine of San Diego and 16-year-old Daniela Moroz of Lafayette, California, have won the US Sailing Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year awards. Paine, 26, was the only American medalist at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Restaurant Brands gets Yum sign-off for Hawaiian deal but delay dents guidance

Restaurant Brands New Zealand says it has gained approval from Yum! Brands, the parent company of Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, to acquire the only franchisee for those stores in Hawaii but the time taken for sign-off means full-year profit was at the lower end of guidance. The fast-food retailer announced its conditional agreement to buy Pacific Island Restaurants , which has 82 Taco Bell and Pizza Hut stores, last October and had expected to complete the $US105 million deal by late December.

VIDEO: Trudeau takes tough stance on marijuana regulations

Despite promises to legalize marijuana, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a tough stance on current marijuana regulations, saying “the law remains the law” during a visit to Esquimalt Thursday. “We are moving forward on a framework to regulate and control marijuana, to protect our kids and keep our communities safer from criminals and organized crime,” Trudeau said while he was at CFB Esquimalt.

UAH Global Temperature Report: February 2017 warmest in 39 years

Notes on data released March 2, 2017: The 2015-16 El NiA o Pacific Ocean warming event has faded into history, but the globe still saw its fourth warmest February in the satellite global temperature record, including the warmest February in that time for the contiguous 48 U.S. states, according to Dr. John Christy, director of the Earth System Science Center at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. The average temperature over the U.S. was 2.1 Celsius warmer than seasonal norms in February 2017.

Most asylum seekers slip into B.C. through Peace Arch Park

Approximately 80 per cent of refugee claimants to B.C. cross the Canada-U.S. border through Peace Arch Park, in Surrey. The surge of asylum seekers walking across the Canada-U.S. border, in Surrey B.C., accounts for 80 per cent of the people who have made refugee claims in Vancouver, B.C., since April 2016.

Canada Jetlines has been planning to launch for several years | Canada Jetlines

Vancouver-based upstart airline Canada Jetlines has closed a transaction to be taken over by Jet Metal Corp. and to trade on the TSX-Venture Exchange starting March 7. It remains unclear, however, when the ultra-low-cost carrier, which plans to charge fares that are an average of 40 per cent to 50 per cent less than Air Canada and WestJet, will get off the ground. “We’re not going to promise we’ll be flying by ‘X’ date.

Dog poo bags given thumbs up

Dog poo bags introduced for a one-year trial at the dog off-leash area at lower Pitt Park in Wentworth Falls are here to stay. Dog poo bags introduced for a one-year trial at the dog off-leash area at lower Pitt Park in Wentworth Falls are here to stay.

NokScoot hopeful of profit in 2018 as losses narrow

The Thai-Singapore budget airline aims to reduce this year’s loss to 170 million baht, down from 612 million baht and 1.22 billion baht in losses recorded in 2016 and 2015, respectively. “We are on course to turn the corner and become profitable next year,” NokScoot chief executive Piya Yodmani said yesterday.

Japan Inc feels demographic pinch

University students attend Rikunabi Live, a job fair hosted by Recruit Career Co Ltd, at the Makuhari Messe convention centre in Chiba, Japan on Wednesday.a < TOKYO: Ask the president of Japan's largest daycare chain what his biggest headache is, and Kazuhiro Ogita doesn't hesitate: workers and wage costs. Not enough of one, too much of the other.

C9: Samui vies for year-round bookings

A ferry takes passengers from Donsak pier in Surat Thani to Koh Samui, which has benefited from Bangkok Airways’ flight expansion.a Increased air services are pushing Koh Samui into a year-round tourist destination, says hospitality market researcher and consultant C9 Hotelworks Co. The flight expansion by Bangkok Airways and the emergence of Surat Thani as a secondary aviation gateway to the South have dramatically benefited tourism activities on the resort island of Samui.

The PA Succession Struggle

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas made new appointments to the Fatah leadership on February 15, 2017, and also named a deputy Chairman of the movement. He did not, however, solve the problem of the Palestinian succession struggle for the chairmanship.

Deal made after Mexican man died at border gets initial OK

A federal judge tentatively approved an agreement Thursday for the U.S. government to pay $1 million to the children of a Mexican man who died after being detained by immigration authorities and shot several times with a stun gun. The settlement considered by U.S. Magistrate Judge Louisa Porter is intended to end a nearly 7-year case that prompted widespread complaints that U.S. immigration authorities tolerated agents who use excessive force.

Georgia row over TV channel ruling

Georgia’s Supreme Court has ordered to return the nation’s biggest independent TV channel to its previous co-owner, a move denounced by government critics. The court backed a claim by owner Kibar Khalvashi that the former government illegally forced him to surrender his shares in Rustavi 2. He also invited Mr Khalvashi to sell Rustavi 2 to its current management, after the owner had suggested he would sell the channel in the future.

Ancient human tree cultivation shaped Amazon landscape

Ancient indigenous peoples had a far more profound impact on the composition of the vast Amazon rainforest than previously known, according to a study showing how tree species domesticated by humans long ago still dominate big swathes of the wilderness. Researchers said on Thursday many tree species populating the Amazon region appear to be abundant because they were cultivated by people who populated the area before Europeans arrived more than five centuries ago.

Xolos soccer is more fun than you never knew it could be

Across the border, past the Costco and the Marriott and the Tijuana Country Club, down an alley and before the mall entrance, past the greyhounds being led to the starting line for the sixth race, is one of those experiences you don’t know you’re missing. It is happy, friendly chaos.

Marco Silva is described as “intense” by his players

It would have been so easy to dismiss the Hull manager as a club puppet, brought in to oversee a fire sale ahead of near certain relegation. They were bottom of the Premier League when Silva took over Hull on January 5 and given even less chance of survival when they sold Robert Snodgrass and Jake Livermore during the transfer window.

Donald Trump says he has ‘total’ confidence in Jeff Sessions; no need to recuse from Russia probe

Update: President Donald Trump says he “wasn’t aware” that his attorney general — former Sen. Jeff Sessions — had contact with the Russian ambassador during last year’s White House campaign. A growing number of Republicans joined Democratic leaders Thursday in calling for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to step aside from an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 White House election.

Air NZ contract for Virgin Australia planes to be serviced in Nelson

Air New Zealand chief operations officer Bruce Parton, left, and general manager regional maintenance operations Adam McMillan look at one of Virgin Australia’s ATRs at the regional maintenance base in Nelson. A fleet of Virgin Australia’s turboprop planes are now being serviced at Air New Zealand’s regional maintenance facility in Nelson.

FX’s ‘Feud: Bette and Joan’: Another total knockdown, drag-out hit from Ryan Murphy

Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events Susan Sarandon, left, as Bette Davis and Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford in FX’s “Feud: Bette and Joan.” A fantastic miniseries has arrived that at last fully tells the painful history of being gay in modern America – and no, silly, it’s not ABC’s dourly dutiful “When We Rise.”

Adele drops fireworks from stadium show after sona s injury

On Wednesday , Adele played her first-ever stadium show in Perth, Australia, but she explained to fans that one special effect she had planned had been scrapped due to injuryher son’s injury. According to TheMusic.com.au , Adele was going to end her performance of “Set Fire to the Rain” with a fireworks display, but called it off.