Iranians celebrate 2nd Oscars win for Farhadi

Hundreds of Iranians gathered Friday at Tehran Cinema Museum to celebrate Asghar Farhadi’s recent Academy Awards win for best foreign language film. In his short speech, Farhadi said the film was not a pre-planned project but, he added, ” was not supposed to be made at all.

Back to her Yorkshire roots

WHEN Mary Fawcett Watko treads the boards in an American production of Calendar Girls she will be returning to her Yorkshire roots. Mary, who grew up in Guiseley, moved to the US half a century ago – but she has maintained her links with frequent visits to family back home.

China’s ‘unofficial’ sanctions rattle South Korea

South Korean businesses were rattled Friday by signs that the deployment of a controversial U.S. missile system in the country could spark a travel boycott by China. The government in Seoul said it believed Chinese authorities had told travel agencies in Beijing to stop selling trips to South Korea, intensifying fears of a trade war between the neighbors.

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.

Suspend visa-free EU travel for US citizens, MEPs say

United States citizens should be denied visa-free access to the European Union before summer because Washington does not allow some EU nationals to enter there without visa, EU lawmakers said in a vote today . The European Parliament vote is set to put pressure on the European Commission, the EU’s executive, to enforce a one-year suspension as a tit-for-tat measure for Washington’s denial of visa-free access to citizens of Poland, Croatia, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria, all members of the 28-country bloc.

Saudi king continues tour in Indonesia

Cheering crowds welcomed King Salman Wednesday as he began the first visit by a Saudi monarch to Indonesia for almost 50 years, seeking stronger economic ties with the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country. The king – who is accompanied by about 1,000 people, including princes and ministers – disembarked from his plane using an escalator as he arrived at an airport in Jakarta, the latest stop on an Asian tour.

Bellamy’s raises fresh China concerns

Troubled baby formula marketer Bellamy’s Australia has raised the prospect of not being able to sell to its core market of China next year. In order to sell in China, Bellamy’s will need to be registered with the China Food and Drug Administration from January 1, 2018.

Palestinian envoy warns against moving US embassy in Israel

The Palestinian’s top envoy to the United States is warning that moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem could disrupt efforts to secure peace in the Middle East. Maen Areikat says an “emotional decision” to shift the embassy’s location “is going to have very, very negative repercussions” and could seriously complicate and undermine any future efforts to resolve the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

UPDATE 1-Hong Kong pins Aramco IPO hopes on China’s deep pockets

HONG KONG, Feb 27 Hong Kong’s stock exchange will bank on its role as a gateway to mainland China’s deep-pocketed investors to take on other leading venues and win the coveted $100 billion listing of Saudi Arabia’s giant state oil company, Aramco, it said on Monday. Charles Li, the CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing , said access to Chinese capital and China’s role as the world’s largest importer of oil made Hong Kong a viable contender in the frantic race between listing venues.

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Kristine Stiphany uses digital technologies to draw social parameters into the design and construction of infrastructure in the urban Global South. Undertaken in collaboration with residents of Brazilian informal settlements, her current study privileges situated data for revealing how people shape housing systems in evolution, and the political implications for doing so.

China urges Myanmar to act after workers raid factory

Chinese embassy to Myanmar lodged solemn representations to local authorities on Thursday after a Chinese factory was raided by striking workers, The Paper reported. A Chinese-invested garment factory in an industrial zone in Hlaingtharyar, a new satellite town in the north of Myanmar’s Yangon, was raided by employees Thursday.

Japan PM’s wife cuts ties with school at center of political scandal

Akie Abe, wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, walks past an installation from a Japanese artist while visiting the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, January 14, 2017. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s wife has cut ties with an elementary school whose operator is under fire for buying state-owned land at a rock-bottom price in a furor rapidly developing into a political headache for Abe.

Duterte, Widodo eyed to launch Davao-GenSan-Bitung sea route

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo are being eyed to launch the Davao-General Santos-Bitung Shipping Route this April 30, 2017. “We are looking into having President Widodo and Philippine Duterte to jointly launch the maiden voyage here in Davao City,” said assistant secretary Romeo Montenegro, Mindanao Development Authority Deputy Executive Director, on Tuesday at the sidelines of the press briefing of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market at Pidoks, Davao City.

$65 flights to Europe offered from Conn, NY

If you act quickly, you can get one of Norwegian Air’s heavily discounted $65 flights to Europe to promote its new regular trans-Atlantic service. The discounted flights that went on sale Thursday are from such airports as Bradley International in Windsor Locks and Newburgh-Stewart in New York.

Brazil’s sexy Carnival puts Pentecostal mayor in tight spot

While campaigning last year to become Rio de Janeiro’s mayor, Marcelo Crivella, a retired Pentecostal bishop, insisted his faith would not get in the way of governing the nation’s most famous city. The former gospel singer and missionary, a high-profile member of one of Brazil’s most powerful evangelical churches, captured 59 percent of the vote and took office Jan. 1. But less than two months into his four-year term, Crivella’s promises are about to be tested by Carnival, Rio’s annual weeklong party often marked by heavy drinking and drug use, wild sex and round-the-clock dancing.

Best places to experience multicultural Australia: The parts of…

It’s amazing that some places that are iconically Australian can sometimes feel like it doesn’t belong here at all. As you sit at a pavement cafe on Jonson Street on a humid, sweltering evening, listening to the foreign accents, checking out the artsy hippie shops next door, watching barefooted tourists wandering past, there’s a distinct feeling that you’ve suddenly been transported to Thailand.

Best places to experience multicultural Australia: The parts of…

It’s amazing that some places that are iconically Australian can sometimes feel like it doesn’t belong here at all. As you sit at a pavement cafe on Jonson Street on a humid, sweltering evening, listening to the foreign accents, checking out the artsy hippie shops next door, watching barefooted tourists wandering past, there’s a distinct feeling that you’ve suddenly been transported to Thailand.

Police chief: Airport women smeared poison on Kim’s half-brother

Two women suspected of fatally poisoning the half-brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un were trained to coat their hands with toxic chemicals then wipe them on his face, Malaysian police have said. Inspector general of police Khalid Abu Bakar also announced authorities were now seeking a North Korean diplomat in connection with the attack on Kim Jong Nam on February 13 at Kuala Lumpur’s airport.

Emerging Markets-Emerging stocks sail to new 19-month highs

Feb 22 Wall Street’s record run helped emerging stocks sail to new 19-month highs on Wednesday with year-to-date gains of over 10 percent, while the rand firmed ahead of a key budget speech by the finance minister. MSCI’s emerging equity index firmed half a percent , led by a 1 percent rise in Hong Kong after New York shares hit record highs and European bourses were boosted by upbeat factory data in Germany and France.

Relais & Ch teaux GourmetFest Pours the Spectacular into…

The culinary world alights in Carmel-by-the-Sea this March during the 2017 Relais & ChA teaux GourmetFest . This four-day celebration of extraordinary cuisine and rare wines will showcase the mastery of world-renowned Relais & ChA teaux and Michelin-starred chefs Daniel Boulud, Michael Tusk, Shinichiro Takagi, among others.

TripAdvisor names 2017’s best beaches in the world

‘Do not breathe under the water’? ‘Falling can be deadly’? You don’t say! The world’s most entirely pointless signs revealed You can marry a dog in India and identify as a dragon in Russia: Revealing the most baffling laws in the world Tourist in Thailand faces up to a year in prison for ‘feeding BREADCRUMBS to fish in a forbidden part of the sea’ A secret floor, a chauffeur-driven Tesla and exclusive ocean views: The $2,100-a-night hotel-within-a hotel where the one per cent hide out in Florida Forget Bond Street: Why a trip to Bicester Village will satisfy all designer label junkies A 15,000sq-foot spa, a cigar room and an in-house cinema: The Austrian ski-in-ski-out five-star hotel that will appease even the most reluctant snow bunny ‘They’re just bags of intestines – full of faeces’: Explorer Ed Stafford reveals that eating TADPOLES was a new low as he tackled the Patagonia wilds … (more)

Wisycom Appoints Al-Futtaim Technologies as New Dubai DistributorBy…

Al-Futtaim Technologies provides complete business solutions for a variety of customers, including networking solutions, IP telephony, infrastructure, contact center solutions, business applications, ELV systems, professional audio visual and broadcasting solutions, and managed services. “We are proud to announce the distribution of Wisycom products here at Al-Futtaim Technologies,” says Hassan Ali, Al-Futtaim Technologies.