Germany: 280,000 new migrants last year, far lower than 2015

Germany saw about 280,000 new asylum-seekers arrive last year, less than a third of the previous year’s huge influx of 890,000, the interior minister said Wednesday. While new arrivals declined, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said that the number of rejected asylum-seekers who left Germany was up – though still not to authorities’ satisfaction.

Iraqi forces push further into northeast Mosul, military says

Iraqi forces made new advances against Islamic State in east Mosul and fought the militants in areas near the Tigris river on Wednesday, seeking to build on recent gains, military officials said. A Reuters reporter in eastern Mosul said CTS forces were engaged in clashes in Sadeeq and were firing into neighbouring Hadba, where their units had been fighting the day before.

Polish lawmakers return to work as blockade continues

Polish lawmakers are returning to parliament after a holiday recess marked by an unprecedented political crisis – weeks of occupation of the parliament’s plenary hall by opposition lawmakers angry over moves by the conservative ruling Law and Justice party. Parliament was to open its session in the afternoon Wednesday with no compromise yet reached between the government and opposition.

Demonetization a disaster, worse yet to come: Manmohan Singh

The former Prime Minister said that due to demonetization, things are going from ‘bad to worse’ and the worse is yet to come. Amid fears of a decline in the country’s GDP, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cautioned the people on Wednesday that the worse was yet to come in the wake of demonetization which he termed as a “disaster”.

MCA remembers Adenan’s deeds

MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai described Adenan as a great leader, statesman and political icon, saying that his death was a “great loss” for Malaysia and Sarawak. “Condolences to Puan Sri Jamilah and family, as well as all the people in Sarawak for the passing of Tan Sri Adenan Satem,” said Liow in a statement.

Senior Curriculum Leader of ScienceNorfolkOld Buckenham High School…

Old Buckenham High School is a comprehensive school set in rural Norfolk but with close transport links to Attleborough and Norwich. We are proud of our strong reputation for providing all our students with an inspiring and challenging learning experience based around excellent teaching, traditional student standards and values, as well as high quality pastoral care, guidance and support.

Sabahans mourn death of ‘Borneo hero’ Adenan

KOTA KINABALU: The sudden death of Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem came as a shock to many in neighbouring Sabah as they looked at him as a champion of state rights for the two east Malaysian states. Always held in high regard for a firm stand for better deals for Sarawak and, by extension Sabah, under the Malaysia Agreement, both Sabah Barisan Nasional and Opposition leaders looked at him as a “Borneo hero”.

Building innovation centre expands with Hamilton facility

Scotland’s publicly-backed innovation centre for the construction sector is set to create a new facility in Lanarkshire in a bid to increase collaboration across the industry. The Construction Scotland Innovation Centre said the site, at Hamilton International Technology Park, will deliver 30,000 square feet of workshop space housing state-of-the-art equipment, including a five-tonne overhead gantry crane.

United Arab Emirates says 5 diplomats killed in Afghan blast

The United Arab Emirates announced on Wednesday that five of its diplomats were killed in a bombing in southern Afghanistan the day before, one of the worst attacks to target the young nation’s diplomatic corps. The federation of seven sheikhdoms, founded in 1971 on the Arabian Peninsula, said it would immediately fly the nation’s flag at half-staff for three days in honour of the dead from the attack Tuesday in Kandahar.

Iraqi forces advance in east Mosul

Iraqi forces patrol a street in Mosul next to the Al-Salam Hospital in the Wihdah neighborhood after recapturing the area from Daesh. A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on January 11, 2017, on page 9.

The Failure of Jewish Universalism

The never-ending push by numerous Jews to universalize all aspects and rituals of Judaism is shortchanging and endangering the Jewish people. Hermann Cohen was an influential German Jewish philosopher who felt there was no distinction between being Jewish and a citizen of the world because the purpose of the Jew was to sacrifice his “parochial” Jewish interests in causes for humanity that, for him, were greater than immediate Jewish needs.

LG, UAE join hands over apps for disabled people

LG Electronics said Tuesday that it will help students in Korea and the United Arab Emirates develop a mobile application for disabled people. The Seoul-based company has recently selected a group of 10 university students in Korea, offering them education courses – such as computer coding and cultural differences between the two countries.

I had every right in contesting and winning Madina seat – ” Boniface

The Member of Parliament for Madina, Alhaji Abubakar Siddique Boniface says he was not being picky with constituencies following his successful move from the Salaga South constituency in the Northern Region, to the Madina constituency in the Greater Accra Region to contest for parliament. Alhaji Siddique Boniface’s move to the Madina constituency followed his defeat in the parliamentary polls in the Salaga South Constituency during 2012 general elections, where he contested on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party .

Euro could be dead in 10 years, says France’s Macron

The euro may not exist in 10 years’ time if Paris and Berlin fail to bolster the single currency union, French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday, adding the current system benefited Germany at the expense of weaker member states. Macron was economy minister under Socialist President Francois Hollande until he resigned last year to create his own political movement and stand as an independent candidate in this year’s presidential election.

Jordan’s police chief replaced after deadly IS attack

” State media in Jordan say King Abdullah II has replaced the head of public security in the wake of deadly shootings that rattled the kingdom and exposed its vulnerability to attacks by Islamic militants. Jordan’s security establishment has been criticized for its handling of the December shootings in the central Karak province that killed 11 officers and three civilians, including a Canadian tourist.

Jailed, fined for hitting brother

Kota Kinabalu: A 37-year-old local man, who hit his younger brother with a gas stove during a drinking session in Penampang last year was jailed 10 months and fined RM2,000 or four months’ jail on Tuesday. Unemployed Damian Duni admitted before Magistrate Stephanie Sherron Abbie to causing hurt to one Lazarus Duni, 32, with the stove at 11.30pm on Nov 13, 2016 in a house at Kampung Moyog.

Warrant of arrest against supervisor

Labuan: The Special Corruption Sessions Court here has issued a warrant of arrest against a 62-year-old entertainment outlet supervisor who failed to turn up to answer a bribery charge Tuesday. Kenny Chong was nabbed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in 2014 after allegedly being caught in the act of bribing a police officer.

Full trial for lawsuit against MIC – SPresident and 7 others

Putra Jaya: The Court of Appeal Tuesday ordered the suit against MIC President Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam and seven others over an alleged conspiracy to topple former president Datuk G.Palanivel to go for full trial. Justice Datuk Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat leading a three-member bench held that there were issues pleaded in the suit that should have been sorted out and determined during the trial.

Uncertainty over Brexit deal could cost finance industry hundreds of thousands of jobs, MPs warned

BRITAIN’S powerhouse financial sector would face heightened risk and an exodus of 232,000 jobs without certainty over the country’s Brexit deal, MPs have been told. Xavier Rolet, Chief Executive of the London Stock Exchange[LSE] Group, said two thirds of the job losses would be felt outside Greater London with the blow coming as soon as the euro clearing operation left the UK’s shores.

Timaru electrician’s leg, arm and chest tattoos are all pure Kiwi

Tattoos on Jonty Penney’s right leg read like a Kiwiana exhibition: the goodnight kiwi and cat, jandals, gumboots, Horse from Footrot Flats , a Morris Minor, a tomato-shaped squeezable sauce dispenser, Buzzy Bee, the Four Square guy and a tiki. The electrician’s first tattoo, of a tiger, at the age of 16 on his right upper arm shocked his mum and he has since covered it up with other tattoos.

NZ to benefit from Trump/Brexit?

New Zealand could be the accidental beneficiary from the election of Donald Trump as US President and the Brexit vote if it speeds up the pace of free trade talks with the European Union in a bid to stamp out protectionism. Prime Minister Bill English met with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels earlier this morning.

Iraq Confirms Oil-Output Cut Even as Scheduled Exports Rise

Iraq has reduced its oil production by 160,000 barrels a day and will comply with cuts it agreed to make under an OPEC output deal, Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi said, even as ship loading data suggested that exports are set to increase next month. The Persian Gulf producer is poised to ship 3.64 million barrels a day of crude oil in February from its ports in southern Basra province, according to a loading program obtained by Bloomberg, more than its December average of 3.51 million barrels a day, which itself was a record high.

Feds: Ex-U.N. official’s relatives indicted in bribe scheme

Two relatives of former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon were charged in an indictment unsealed Tuesday with plotting to bribe a Middle East official to influence the $800 million sale of a building complex in Vietnam. Ban’s nephew, Joo Hyun Bahn, was released on $250,000 bail over the objections of prosecutors, who sought to deny bail on the grounds that he is a flight risk and a financial threat to his community.

‘We know this won’t be a rescue’

It’s been a week today since Colin McCormick went missing on Lake Rotoiti – and his family are preparing themselves for the possibility his body may never be found. He dropped below the surface of the lake just a short distance from his partner and his 9-year-old son, who were unable to manoeuvre the boat to his aid.

Uruguay Highlights Importance Of China For Latin America

The President of the House of Representatives of Uruguay, Gerardo Amarilla, visiting here today, has highlighted the importance China has for his country, which is the main trade partner, and for Latin America in general. In a meeting with Ibero-American diplomatic representatives, journalists and intellectuals, he stated that Uruguay and China have much to grow together, ‘they complement each other and have unlimited potentiality, which can and will be exploited in favour of the development of both peoples.’

Natalia Wilkanowska’s body lay undiscovered under rubble for 12 years in Luton

Missing mother’s body ‘lay under garden rubble for 12 years and was only discovered after ex-husband’s brother revealed: ‘He killed her and chopped her up and she’ll never be found” The body of Natalia Wilkanowska lay undiscovered for more than 12 years after she was killed by her ex husband, a jury heard A woman’s body lay under builder’s rubble in a back garden for more than 12 years before it was discovered, a jury heard today. Natalia Wilkanowska, 50, disappeared in 2003 after visiting her ex-husband Gerald Doherty in Luton from her home Eastbourne.

Talk on Axminster Carpets’ founder

Fire crews were called to Beer after an electricity pole caught fire – causing 10 people to be without power for almost six hours. Firefighters from Sidmouth and Seaton were called to Fore Street shortly before 4.30pm to protect the surrounding area,