Month: March 2017

Syrian army re-enters town of Palmyra as IS defenses crumble

Syrian government forces battling the Islamic State group re-entered Palmyra on Thursday in their quest to again take the historic town they had lost to the militants in December, state media reported. The Kremlin’s spokesman said President Vladimir Putin was informed by his defense minister that Syrian troops had gained control of Palmyra, with support from Russian warplanes.

North Korea ties at worst point in decades, South Korea says

North Korea relations have fallen to their worst point in decades and talks are off the table until Kim Jong Un’s regime is ready to give up its nuclear weapons, South Korea Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo said in an interview. “It’s been over 20 years since North Korea’s nuclear threats started, and tensions are at their worst,” Hong, who oversees policy on North Korea, said on Thursday in Seoul.

Merkel visits Egypt for talks on stemming migration

Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said ahead of the trip that Germany wants to help Egypt strengthen its coast guard and crack down on illegal trafficking across the Mediterranean, where thousands of migrants die at sea each year. Merkel held talks with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi shortly after her arrival, and is expected to meet with businessmen, civil society representatives, and Muslim and Christian leaders before heading to Tunisia on Friday.

Abu Dhabi hosts military drill amid Yemen war, Iran tensions

The capital of the United Arab Emirates has hosted a major military exercise before a public audience as the nation fights alongside Saudi troops in Yemen and tensions with Iran remain high. Such maneuvers before the public are rare in the United Arab Emirates, a major Western ally that hosts U.S. troops involved in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Croatia creates panel to study its pro-Nazi, Communist past

Croatia’s conservative government on Thursday formed a council to deal with the country’s previous pro-Nazi and Communist regimes in a bid to overcome the deep divisions that still exist over the Balkan nation’s past. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said that the move is an attempt to resolve the issues of the past for the future of new generations in the European Union’s newest member state.

China makes another jab at US in SCS war of words

A senior Chinese politician A defended Beijing’s right to build facilities on artificial islands in the South China Sea in comments that were seen as a veiled attack on the United States. The remarks on Thursday by Wang Guoqing, spokesman for the country’s top political advisory body, came after a US aircraft carrier group was sent to the disputed waters, and the PLA Navy staged combat exercises in the Western Pacific.

The Latest: N. Korean envoy rejects Malaysian autopsy

Media film and photograph a North Korean diplomatic vehicle leaving the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, March 2, 2017. Malaysia is scrapping visa-free entry for North Koreans traveling into the country, the state news agency said Thursday in the latest fallout from a deadly nerve agent attack at Kuala Lumpur airport.

BRIEF-Hongkong Land posts FY profit after tax attributable of $847.8 mln

* Declaration of a fourth interim dividend for year ending 31 december 2016 of 3.274 pence per share Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: ZURICH, March 2 GAM Holding’s management has met with activist investor RBR Strategic Value, Chief Executive Alexander Friedman said on Thursday but he declined to give any details on what was said at the meeting.

Sights set for modest achievements in Syria talks

Syria’s main opposition High Negotiations Committee leader Nasr al-Hariri, informs the media after the round of negotiation with the UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria Staffan de Mistura at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, March 1, 2017. less Syria’s main opposition High Negotiations Committee leader Nasr al-Hariri, informs the media after the round of negotiation with the UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria Staffan de … more GENEVA – Diplomats and negotiators have set their sights on modest achievements in the latest round of Syria talks in Geneva, after a week of discussions centering on setting an agenda for future talks.

BRIEF-Deutsche Boerse says expects 68 mln eur from BATS stake sale in Q1

* Declaration of a fourth interim dividend for year ending 31 december 2016 of 3.274 pence per share Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: ZURICH, March 2 GAM Holding’s management has met with activist investor RBR Strategic Value, Chief Executive Alexander Friedman said on Thursday but he declined to give any details on what was said at the meeting.

Qatar tells banks to obey new FX limits by April 1

Qatar’s central bank told commercial banks on Thursday that they would have to obey new restrictions on their open positions in foreign currency by April 1. In April 2016, the central bank had said it planned to introduce a ceiling on total foreign currency positions – surplus or deficit – of 30 percent of each bank’s capital and reserves. On Thursday, the central bank said the rule, which would “limit the risks of foreign currency open positions”, would also apply to Qatari banks’ foreign branches.

LPC-Park Square and SMBC to launch a 3bn direct lending JV

Park Square Capital and SMBC are setting up a new 3bn direct lending fund which will be a joint venture between the two firms, banking sources said on Thursday. Fundraising is expected to close shortly on the joint venture, which will provide unitranche loans to European mid-market companies, the sources said.

Want to become a councillor? Here’s your big chance

With the Scottish council elections taking place in less than three months, the countdown is on for anyone who is thinking about standing as a candidate. Voters will go to the polls on Thursday, May 4, to elect 22 councillors to serve the seven wards which make up the East Dunbartonshire area.

US rapper Silento has passport seized over UAE dispute

A U.S. rapper known for his hit song “Watch Me ” has had his passport seized by authorities in the United Arab Emirates over a business dispute. State-owned daily The National first reported on the case, saying a court in the city of Al Ain imposed the travel ban on rapper Silento after promoter Makki Taj El Sir Abdel Halim accused him of failing to appear at shows he booked.

Who will succeed Luis Enrique at Barcelona?

Luis Enrique on Wednesday night announced he will be stepping down as Barcelona head coach at the end of the current season. The only club able to breach the Barcelona-Real Madrid duopoly and win the LaLiga title in the last 13 years has been Atletico Madrid.

Hebron shooter’ Elor Azaria appeals already lenient sentence

An Israeli soldier , sentenced to 18 months in prison for shooting dead a wounded Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank last year, has filed an appeal against his manslaughter conviction and already-lenient jail term. In the petition to the court, the lawyer asked that the date his client is due to arrive to serve his time, slated for March 5, be deferred until the end of legal proceedings.

Boxing Club gets a new home thanks to Chris McEwan’s whole hearted efforts

There was great delight amongst the sporting fraternity in the south of the county last when, after many years as enforced nomads, the Pembroke and Pembroke Dock Amateur Boxing Club finally settled into its new home in the old snooker hall and fitness suite in Water Street in the Pater town. Small wonder then that coaches Ralph Gammer, Nathan Probert and Andy Edmondson were delighted because they now have space aplenty, not only for their sparring ring, wall-fitted punch bags and speed balls but are able to execute circuit training and generally have room to breathe in nice surroundings.

Wie uses helping hands to climb up Singapore leaderboard

Britain Golf – RICOH Women’s British Open 2016 – Woburn Golf & Country Club, England – 29/7/16 USA’s Michelle Wie on the 18th during the second round Action Images via Reuters / Andrew Couldridge Livepic Michelle Wie has endured a startling decline since her U.S. Open triumph in 2014 following a string of niggling injuries but the American made the most of a couple of favors to climb to the top of the HSBC Women’s Champions leaderboard on Thursday. Ranked as high as world number two after her maiden major victory at Pinehurst, the 27-year-old Hawaiian has only managed one top-10 finish since and has undergone a series of swing and putting style changes in a bid to arrest her extended slump.

MP says hospital will ‘succeed’ despite remaining in special measures

Watford MP Richard Harrington says he remains “committed” to Watford General Hospital after it emerged yesterday that it would remain in special measures. England’s chief hospital inspector Mike Richards said West Hertfordshire Hospital Trust, which runs the hospital along with St Albans and Hemel Hempstead, still required improvement despite it making progress since 2015.

[Interview] Sikorski: Let’s give Trump time to be ‘educated’

Sikorski: “I hope EU leaders will have enough statesmanship and persuasive power on things that are out of the ordinary.” The election of Donald Trump has added to the “deep trouble” that Europe is in, but the new US president might change when he learns how the world works, according to former Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski.

Nepal seeks foreign investment to help recovery from quake

Nepal made a pitch to foreign investors Thursday for help in developing its struggling economy as the Himalayan nation recovers from a devastating 2015 earthquake. The government hopes to attract at least $1 billion in new foreign investment during the two-day conference in the capital, Kathmandu.

Tibet womena s football team a denied US visasa

A Tibetan women’s football team has claimed that they have been denied United States visas to take part in a tournament in Texas. US President Donald Trump has imposed a travel ban on nationals from seven countries, but neither India or China is on the list.

Your chance to share in Games dream

FROM the hands of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to the hands of thousands of people around the world – the Queen’s Baton Relay is your chance to be part of history and a key supporter of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. When the Baton leaves the commencement ceremony at Buckingham Palace on March 13 it will wend its way through 70 Commonwealth nations and territories before starting its Australian journey on December 25 this year.

Malaysia to release, deport N. Korean in nerve agent probe

This file image provided by Star TV of closed circuit television footage from Feb. 13, 2017, shows Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, left, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, who police say was arrested in connection with the death of Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Because of a grainy security camera photo that went viral, she is now known to many as the LOL assassin.

Shooting in Thailand’s south kills four despite safety zone deal-police

Insurgents in one of Thailand’s mostly Muslim southern provinces shot and killed four people, including a child, and wounded another two children on Thursday, police said, days after a deal was reached with the Thai government to establish a safety zone. A decades-old separatist insurgency in the Muslim-majority southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat has claimed more than 6,500 lives since it escalated in 2004, according to independent monitoring group Deep South Watch.

Akfen Working With Morgan Stanley, Goldman on Asset Sales an hour ago

Turkey’s Akfen Group is in talks with banks including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to advise on the sale of assets after completing its restructuring this month. The Ankara-based company is also in discussions with Credit Suisse Group AG and Deutsche Bank AG to find potential buyers for its overall holding businessAkfen Holding AS or stakes in individual companies such as Mersin International Port and renewable energy producer Akfen Yenilenebilir Enerji AS, Akfen Group Chairman Hamdi Akin said.

Breakfast Inequality: Some Work Nine Hours to Buy Milk and Toast

Residents of Abu Dhabi, Osaka and Zurich can earn enough in less than five minutes to buy their first meal of the day, according to the Bloomberg Global City Breakfast Index. Ghanaians in Accra need closer to an hour, and people in Caracas, where inflation is While budgeting for breakfast may be an afterthought in richer economies, prohibitively priced staples have led to malnutrition and food riots in poorer countries, including protests that engulfed more than a dozen Middle Eastern and North African nations in 2010 and 2011.