Washington, December 06: The Obama administration is on guard against an Al-Qaeda buildup in Yemen and Somalia as it expects the militants to seek refuge there as Washington turns the screws on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“The struggle against violent extremism will not be finished quickly, and it extends well beyond Afghanistan and Pakistan,” President Barack Obama warned Tuesday as he unveiled his revamped strategy for central Asia.
Lanzarote, December 06: Spain said Moroccan authorities Saturday again refused to allow Western Sahara activist Aminatou Haidar to return home, a decision it said it “deeply regrets.”
The decision risked worsening the already tense diplomatic relations between Spain and Morocco over the award-winning activist, who has been on a hunger strike for almost three weeks.
Damascus, December 06: The message from a Syrian security officer was a blow, since I already had the European visa I needed in my passport. “You are not permitted to travel,” he said.
In recent years, Syrian authorities have stepped up punitive measures against activists. In addition to intimidation and imprisonment, officials have banned more than 400 human rights advocates, political dissidents, journalists and intellectuals from travelling.
Cairo, December 06: Saudi Arabia said Saturday that oil prices were “perfect” and the global market stable as Arab heavyweights in the OPEC cartel appeared united in their support for maintaining production quotas.
“Everything is so good now, we don’t have to think very hard,” Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said in Cairo, reflecting an agreement among OPEC members to keep production quotas unchanged at the December 22 conference.
Cairo, December 06: Egypt wants to host a conference for countries demanding the return of ancient relics from foreign museums, antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said on Sunday.
Hawass, who has demanded the return of six priceless ancient Egyptian relics, said he had not yet set a date for the conference. “We are preparing for this conference but we don’t know the date yet,” he said.
Greece, which wants the return of a collection of ancient Greek sculptures known as the Elgin Marbles from the British Museum, and Italy would be among the countries invited.
Beirut, December 06: Pollution and climate change cost Lebanon more than half a million dollars (330 million euros) a year, the environment minister said on Friday ahead of the UN climate talks.
“The state loses up to 550 million dollars (365 million euros) to pollution annually, 100 million of which is due to climate change,” Environment Minister Mohammed Rahhal said at a conference in Beirut.
The tourism, health and agriculture sectors are most affected by the losses, Rahhal said.
London, December 06: George W. Bush and Tony Blair’s conviction that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was a threat blinded them to the lack of evidence justifying a war to depose him, an ex-UN weapons inspector said Saturday.
Hans Blix, who led the UN weapons inspection team in the run-up to the 2003 invasion, told the Daily Mail that the then US and British leaders had “misled themselves and then they misled the public” about the reason for the conflict.
Damascus, December 06: A much tougher anti-smoking law in Syria, signed by President Bashar al-Assad and due to come into force in early 2010, will outlaw smoking in public places, including restaurants and bars, hospitals, sports halls and cinemas.
The law covers cigarettes and cigars as well as traditional ‘shisha’ water pipes.
“The ban is timely,” said Mahmoud Etah, a Syrian doctor. “Smoking, especially of water pipes, has become more prevalent among young people and we are yet to see the full health effects.”
Beirut, December 06: Lebanon’s new cabinet ministers may lock horns on many a political issue but they seem to agree on one thing: the need to resolve an increasingly nightmarish traffic situation.
“The first step in getting ready for the end of year holiday season is dealing with our traffic,” Brigadier General Joseph Doueihy, who is in charge of traffic regulations in Beirut, said on Friday.
The issue is at the top of Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s agenda, whose first stint as a statesman is bogged down by citizens’ complaints of impossible traffic across the capital and its environs.
Abu Dhabi, December 06: Construction worker Bilal is in a happy mood as he takes his lunch break sitting next to an artificial lake near Dubai’s showpiece Mall of the Emirates.
But he admits anxiety about the end of his contract in one year’s time, when the 24-year-old may have to return to Bangladesh.
The shock news of Dubai’s debt crisis is not expected to spark an immediate surge in redundancies in the once-booming desert metropolis, but a gradual exodus is likely as workers’ contracts expire and the lack of new projects means they are unable to find new jobs.
Abu Dhabi, December 06: The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) announced the ten winners in best car decoration competition in the occasion of UAE’s 38th national day.
A specialized committee has chosen the ten winners from 350 cars flocked from all over UAE in the past three days to ADACH celebration location on Abu Dhabi Cornish.
Iraq, December 06: The face of Iraqi farmer Aid Shamkhi darkens as he looks at his parched, weed-strewn ground in the heart of what was once the country’s breadbasket.
“Everything is dry. I have not grown any rice this year; it’s a disaster,” he says.
Shamkhi owns 125 hectares (313 acres) of farmland outside the village of Ghazali in the rich food-producing province of Najaf, south of Baghdad, where production has fallen with the level of the nearby Euphrates River since the early 1990s.
Beirut, December 06: Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s visit to Beirut on Monday casts the spotlight on the plight of nearly 300,000 Palestinians in Lebanon who fear they are doomed to be refugees for life.
His brief trip comes amid renewed efforts to revive the Middle East peace process and concern in Lebanon’s political circles that any deal struck on the refugee issue would be at the expense of the Lebanese.
Amman, December 06: Jordan plans to postpone its parliamentary election, amend the electoral law and organise its first poll for regional councils as part of a decentralisation process, an official said on Sunday.
“The government will ask the king to use his powers to postpone the election, which will be preceded by a regional council election for the purpose of a decentralisation of power,” an official said.
“Jordan wants such councils elected. The regional election will show voting trends ahead of the general election,” he said, declining to be named.
Dubai, December 06: Abu Dhabi and Dubai stock markets opened stronger Sunday after heavy losses last week over Dubai’s debt woes, but the Dubai bourse remained volatile and had slipped back into the red by mid-morning.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, which shed 11.6 percent of its capitalisation last week, opened up 3.9 percent and gained further ground in early trade to hit 2,686.47 points, up 4.4 percent, by mid-morning.
Ankara, December 06: Turkey’s prime minister has ruled out sending additional troops to Afghanistan but says the country is willing to train the Afghan army and police.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday before his departure for talks with U.S. President Barack Obama that Turkey has already contributed the “necessary number” of troops.
Turkey, NATO’s sole Muslim member, took over the rotating command of the NATO peacekeeping operation in Kabul last month and doubled its number of troops to around 1,750.
Athens, December 06: Clashes broke out Sunday during a march to commemorate the first anniversary of the police shooting of a teenager, whose death sparked massive riots.
Police fired tear gas at youths throwing rocks and firecrackers in central Athens, as several thousand demonstrators gathered to mark the death of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos.
Violence also broke out in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, where youths threw petrol bombs at police and smashed the storefront of a Starbucks cafe.
New Delhi, December 06: The Tatas are planning a new-look for their first prestigious acquisition Corus Steel next year, a move that coincides with the company emerging from the financial burdens and the global downturn.
The rebranding exercise for the Anglo-Dutch steel maker is underway and the process will start by the middle of 2010.
“I can confirm that it has always been Corus’ intention to adopt the Tata Steel brand as its visual identity,” a Corus spokesperson said.
London, December 06: Victoria Beckham was spotted sprinkling her fashion charms on the golf course after stepping out braless with family.
The singer-turned-fashion designer was seen sporting an eye-catching shredded jumper as sons Brooklyn, ten, Romeo, seven, and four-year-old Cruz took to the putter.
The 35-year-old mum was said to be the most stylish person on the exclusive Beverly Hills course wearing baseball cap, jeans and flip-flops.
“She left the golf to the boys, which was probably just as well,” News of the World quoted an onlooker as saying.
–Agencies
London, December 06: Actress Anna Friel is considering turning her back on TV and film work in favour of stage roles after falling in love with theatre work during her acclaimed West End run in ‘Breakfast At Tiffany`s’.
The ex ‘Pushing Daisies’ star has received rave reviews for her role as Holly Golightly in the London stage version of the classic 1961 movie.
And Friel is now eyeing stage career because she was shocked by her own reaction to the role.
London, December 06: Colombian Pop star Shakira is smitten with her short legs and says she is proud of her petite figure.
The `She-Wolf` hitmaker insists she doesn`t care if people criticise her for flashing her flesh as the singer`s short legs take her places.
New Delhi, December 06: Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan will once again reunite with ‘Rang De Basanti’ director Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra to spread the message of ‘Athithi Devo Bhava’.
Four new commercials are being made for the Tourism Ministry, featuring the actor who once again is seen appealing to the public to stop defacing monuments and be cordial to tourists.
The aim of the commercials is to take further the ‘Incredible India’ campaign and are part of the ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ initiative aimed at enlightening the public about being tourist friendly.
Mumbai, December 06: Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) centres in India would be subjected to taxation under the new proposed Direct Tax Code (DTC) but some clarifications, especially on double taxation, were still needed, an expert said.
“The (tax) exception given to BPOs has to be withdrawn under section 10 (A) of Income Tax Act. There is no provision in DTC for any such extension of benefits,” tax expert and International Fiscal Association of India Branch Chairman T P Oswal said.
Guntur: A protocol row was witnessed at a meeting of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) Vigilance and Monitoring Committee chaired by Union Minister of State for Textiles P Lakshmi here on Sunday.
Narasaraopet Telugu Desam Party MP M Venugopala Reddy protested against the absence of a seat for him on the dais as he is the co-chairperson of the Committee.
Regretting lapse, Lakshmi and Collector B S R Anjaneyulu repeately requested Reddy to come to the dais. But he declined to oblige them.
Mumbai, December 06: Noted actress Bina Rai, best known for her roles in films like ‘Anarkali’ and ‘Taj Mahal’, passed away here today following a cardiac arrest.
The Filmfare Award winning actress, wife of late actor Premnath, was 78 and is survived by her sons Prem Kishen and Monty.
Prem Kishen is a well known television producer who co-owns the television software company, Cinevista.
“My mother died of a cardiac arrest at 5 am. The funeral will take place tomorrow,” Monty, the actress’s younger son, told.