Category: World News

Syrian government takes back Palmyra from ISIS

Syrian government had previously seized back the town from Islamic State last March but lost it again 10 months later BEIRUT-Syria’s military announced on Thursday it has fully recaptured the historic town of Palmyra from the Islamic State group as the militants’ defences crumbled and IS fighters fled in the face of artillery fire and intense Russia-backed airstrikes. The development marks the third time that the town-famed for its priceless Roman ruins and archaeological treasures IS had sought to destroy-has changed hands in one year.

Suspicious device found in housefire

SPECIALIST bomb squad police are on scene at a house in Redcliffe where a “device” has been found following a fire. Queensland Fire and Emergency Services were called to the Klingner Driver home at 6.35am after reports the house was well alight.

Tension continues in UP town over objectionable video

Lucknow: Tension continued in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri town following violence that erupted over the circulation of a video that showed objectionable comments on Hindu gods, goddesses and women, police said on Friday. The violence broke out on Thursday night after the video was posted on social media and curfew was clamped in some parts of the city.

Locked out Vic workers reject EBA offer

Workers locked out of a major dairy processing plant in Victoria’s north have resoundingly rejected the factory’s latest EBA offer. More than 70 workers locked out of Parmalat’s Echuca site without pay since January 18 voted against the factory’s “unfair deal” on Friday.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

UPDATE 1-Nigeria files new charges against Shell, Eni, others over…

Nigeria’s financial crime watchdog has filed new corruption charges against Royal Dutch Shell, Eni and others regarding the $1.3 billion purchase of a long-disputed oilfield in 2011, according to court documents released on Thursday. The charges of conspiracy to commit a felony and official corruption were made after an investigation by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission found new evidence, Jonson Ojogbane, an EFCC senior prosecutor named in the documents, told Reuters by telephone.

Kyo-Shin-An Arts to Present Kammerraku Show at Tenri Cultural Institute This Month

A 2016 and 2013 CMA/ASCAP Adventurous Programming Award Winner, KYO-SHIN-AN ARTS is a contemporary music organization dedicated to the integration of the Japanese instruments koto, shakuhachi and shamisen into Western classical composition. Kyo-Shin-An Arts’ award-winning concert series at the Tenri Cultural Institute in Manhattan features a blend of KSA commissions with World, American and NY premieres, traditional and contemporary music for Japanese instruments and Western repertoire.

Horrified Press Launches in the Briar Chapbook

Nathan Rowark, editor of Horrified Press in London England, has released “In the Briar,” a chapbook written by Florida author Cynthia Morrison. Morrison, a writer of horror fiction, was compelled to include Florida’s Cassadaga psychic community as well as the infamous urban legend of the “Devil’s Chair” of Lake Helen cemetery located in close proximity.

The Latest: Geneva talks to focus on Syria transition Friday

In this Wednesday, March 1, 2017 frame grab from video provided by the government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media, Syrian forces take up positions during fighting between Government forces and Islamic State group militants in the ancient city of Palmyra, near Homs, Syria. Syrian state media says government forces have reached the edge of Palmyra and are poised to reclaim the historic town from the Islamic State group.

Xi Jinping may have signaled a huge transformation for China’s economy

More specifically, he gave a speech about the death of highly indebted industrial state-owned enterprises to make room for new more privately owned service industry companies, a painful process to be sure. Which is why it isn’t surprising that since this talk began in earnest, at the end of 2015, Chinese officials spoke in little detail, especially regarding “Authorities must deal with zombie companies in a ‘resolute manner,’ offer laid-off workers new posts or vocational training opportunities, and ensure those who are unable to find a job are covered by the social safety net or other aids, Xi said at the meeting of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economic Affairs, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.”

BBVA to invest $1.5 bln in Mexico over next four to five years

Spanish lender BBVA will invest $1.5 billion in Mexico over the next four to five years, its chairman, Francisco Gonzalez, said on Thursday at an event in Mexico City. By Jeffrey Dastin SAN FRANCISCO, March 2 Amazon.com Inc has launched a new program to help students build capabilities into its voice-controlled assistant Alexa, the company told Reuters, the latest move by a technology firm to nurture ideas and talent in artificial intelligence research.

March 2, 2017 – Discriminatory’ housing policy raises ire in Rahat

AN UNEXPECTEDLY LARGE crowd of Rahat residents waits yesterday in Beersheba to apply to purchase housing plots.. An incident this week that illustrated the inability of the authorities to organize the marketing of housing plots in Rahat has heightened anger among Beduin residents there who have long felt they are the victims of discrimination by the state.

Maharashtra govt launches pilot project to map wakf lands

State government statistics suggest that Maharashtra has around 93,418 acres of wakf land spread over about 23,566 registered properties. In a first step to assess the extent of wakf lands spread out in prime areas across the state, the Maharashtra government has launched a pilot project to map out these properties and the encroachments on them.