A Pakistani cabinet minister says Islamabad will continue to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar under a 15-year agreement, despite the severing of diplomatic ties with Qatar by Saudi Arabia and some other countries.
Shahid Khaqan Abb
A Pakistani cabinet minister says Islamabad will continue to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar under a 15-year agreement, despite the severing of diplomatic ties with Qatar by Saudi Arabia and some other countries.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, the federal minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, said Qatar and Pakistan last year signed a $1 billion agreement, under which Qatar's Liquefied Gas Company Limited will sell LNG from 2016 to year 2031 to state-run Pakistan State Oil.
He said since no sanctions have been imposed on Qatar by the United Nations, Pakistan and Qatar were bound to abide by the agreement.
Qatar has released an initial report into the alleged hack of its state-run news agency, an incident which helped spark a diplomatic crisis between the energy-rich country and Arab nations.
The Qatari Interior Ministry said late Wednesday that the website of the Qatar News Agency was initially hacked in April with "high techniques and innovative methods."
It said hackers installed a file and then published a fake news item attributed to Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, just after midnight May 24.
The ministry did not say who it suspected carried out the attack. It also thanked the FBI and the British National Commission for Combating Crime for assisting it in its investigation.
The alleged fake news item, which had Sheikh Tamim making controversial comments on Iran and Israel, immediately was picked up by Saudi and Emirati media, laying the groundwork for the crisis that began Monday (05.06.2017.)
Kuwait's emir has traveled to Qatar and met that country's leader as part of his efforts to mediate an end to a crisis that's seen Arab nations cut ties to the energy-rich country and attempt to isolate it.
Kuwait's Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah was met planeside by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, when he arrived on Wednesday night.
The two held talks, though details of their discussions were not released. Sheikh Sabah earlier Wednesday traveled to Dubai where he met with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also serves as prime minister and vice president of the UAE.
Sheikh Sabah also has traveled to Saudi Arabia in his efforts.
It said hackers installed a file and then published a fake news item attributed to Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, just after midnight May 24.
The ministry did not say who it suspected carried out the attack. It also thanked the FBI and the British National Commission for Combating Crime for assisting it in its investigation.
The alleged fake news item, which had Sheikh Tamim making controversial comments on Iran and Israel, immediately was picked up by Saudi and Emirati media, laying the groundwork for the crisis that began Monday (05.06.2017.)
Kuwait's emir has traveled to Qatar and met that country's leader as part of his efforts to mediate an end to a crisis that's seen Arab nations cut ties to the energy-rich country and attempt to isolate it.
Kuwait's Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah was met planeside by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, when he arrived on Wednesday night.
The two held talks, though details of their discussions were not released. Sheikh Sabah earlier Wednesday traveled to Dubai where he met with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also serves as prime minister and vice president of the UAE.
Sheikh Sabah also has traveled to Saudi Arabia in his efforts.
Dubai airport, one of the world's busiest, witnessed major disruption for a third straight day Thursday after the heaviest rains on record drenched the desert United Arab Emirates. Emirates, Dubai's state-owned flagship airline, and sister carrier flydubai resumed check-ins after telling passengers to stay away on Wednesday, when thousands of delayed passengers clogged the airport. The airport, which handles more international passengers than any other, hopes to resume «something approaching normality» within 24 hours, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths told AFP. Some 1,244 flights were cancelled and 41 diverted on Tuesday and Wednesday, after torrential rains flooded the Middle East financial centre including its homes, malls and offices, and highways. Traffic congestion remained severe on Thursday, two days after the storms, with at least one major road completely blocked by water and multiple junctions cut off by flooding. Climate experts say the rains, the UAE's heaviest since records began 75 years ago, are consistent with changes caused by global warming. «There's no news here,» Karim Elgendy, associate Director at the Buro Happold engineering consultancy and associate fellow at Britain's Chatham House think tank, told AFP. «We are expecting an increase in variability of rainfall, which means more extreme events, more drought and an increase in intensity of rainfall when it does rain.» - 'Deeply distressed' - Dubai airport has witnessed chaotic scenes with crowds of marooned travellers clamouring for information about their flights. Even as Emirates and flydubai resumed check-ins, more than 200 departures were listed as delayed or cancelled on the airport's website. Griffiths said it was «challenging» to get the airport fully functional, with supplies and staff also held up on flooded roads. «Getting supplies through, people and all of the necessary things to the airport to help the schedule recover, was a massive challenge because all of the roads were blocked,» he said in an interview. «We just hope that the level of customer care that we've been able to provide will go some way to mitigate the impacts that we had to customers. But obviously we're deeply distressed by all of the disruption and concern that we've created,» he added. One elderly couple's 14-hour flight from Brisbane took 24 hours on Tuesday after it was diverted, and they were then unable to reach their hotel because of the flooding. «It's just the start of our holiday and I feel like going home -- and I don't know how to do that either,» Julie, 72, told AFP through tears. «When they landed the plane on this airfield that was deserted, there was no terminal, there were no other planes and I thought we had been hijacked by terrorists,» she added, without giving her surname. - Makeshift ferry - Although schools and public sector offices have been closed until next week, traffic returned to the roads with some motorists, finding their route blocked, driving the wrong way down highways. Supermarkets had empty shelves as deliveries failed to arrive, and retail staff reported having to stay overnight or sleep at hotels because they could not get home. «We're working but the problem is we're not receiving chicken,» said one employee at a chicken restaurant that had no chicken or fries on display. «The delivery cannot come here because of the flood.» In the Arjan district, a man used a canoe to paddle passengers across a flooded street. With taxis hard to book and hail, private motorists were stopping at queues of people and offering rides for high prices. British visitor Chris Moss, 30, was one of those looking for a cab as he tried to reach the airport and locate his lost luggage. «When we arrived the baggage area was full of bags but my luggage was nowhere to be seen,» said Moss, whose plane, hastily booked after his original flight was cancelled, arrived five hours late. «It was still on the plane because the baggage area was flooded and they couldn't get the bags off.» © Agence France-Presse
Voting starts today to elect the 18th Lok Sabha. From Udhampur to Kanyakumari and Ganganagar to Itanagar, 102 constituencies in 17 states and 4 UTs go to polls in the first and largest phase, the only one with 100+ seats in the 7-phase election. BJP-led NDA is aiming for a hat-trick and the oppn, under INDIA bloc, is out to stop Modi
CPI(M) emerged victorious in Coimbatore's recent election, with key contenders from BJP, DMK, and ADMK. The battleground showcased national allies, post-1998 serial blasts impact, and environmentalists in the Vanniyar heartland.
As heavy rain lashes the Gulf nation, the Indian Embassy in Dubai on Thursday emphasised that they are in constant touch with the UAE authorities and airlines, and have facilitated connect between stranded Indian passengers and their family here.
Google has unveiled a new Doodle to commemorate the start of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which began in India on Friday. The Google Doodle, which replaces the iconic «Google» logo on the search engine's homepage, features an uplifted index finger marked with indelible ink, symbolizing the essence of Indian elections.
In Mahmoud Abbas' opinion, Washington’s foreign policy constitutes «an outrageous aggression against the international law»
According to Bloomberg, Israel informed the United States about its plans to strike Iran within the next 24-48 hours
RIYADH: The Italian Embassy in Riyadh on Tuesday celebrated the inaugural “Made in Italy Day” with the opening of a new visa application center and exhibition space. Giuliano Fragnito, the deputy head of the mission, told Arab News the event provided an opportunity to showcase Italian expertise in a variety of fields, including the fashion, design, automotive and space industries. “Today we are celebrating ‘Made in Italy Day,’ which is a day that celebrates the creativity, innovation and the territories of Italy and Italy’s products,” he said.
Vasily Nebenzya described the US veto as a «fruitless attempt to stop the inexorable course of history»
Fu Cong denied claims that direct talks with Israel are a vital precondition for Palestine’s UN membership
The movement called upon the international community to «break free from Washington’s influence and support the struggle of the Palestinian people»
Fox News said the Jewish state delivered a limited strike on Iran
«The overwhelming support for Palestine’s membership makes it crystal clear that the State of Palestine is worthy of its rightful place among member states of the United Nations,» Amar Bendjama said
B.C.'s highest court has dismissed an appeal by an RCMP officer who was found guilty of sex crimes involving teen girls, upholding his conviction.
The judge presiding over the trial of a man accused of fatally running over a Toronto police officer is telling jurors the possible verdicts they may reach based on the evidence in the case.
SINGAPORE – A woman who was sexually exploited by her step-uncle as a teenager broke her silence about it several years later, after she spotted the man in public while she was with her husband and in-laws. On April 18, the 39-year-old man, who is the younger brother of her stepmother, was sentenced to 18 years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane by the High Court. He had pleaded guilty to two charges of aggravated sexual assault by penetration and one charge of outrage of modesty. Another eight charges for various sexual offences, including sexual penetration of a minor, were taken into consideration. The man cannot be named because of a gag order to protect the identity of the victim, who is now 27 years old. She was 13 years old when he began committing sexual acts on her. In 2010, they moved together with their families to live in a maisonette flat. The victim and her sister shared a room on the second level, while the man’s room was on the first level. That year, the perpetrator, who was then 26 years old, began entering the victim’s room at night while she and her sister were sleeping.
Israel has launched a strike against Iran in retaliation for its weekend attack, US media reported Thursday night. ABC and CBS News reported the strikes early Friday Mideast time, quoting US officials. There was no immediate comment from the White House or Pentagon. Iran activated its air defense system over several cities, state media reported, after the country's official broadcaster said explosions were heard near the central city of Isfahan. Israel had warned it would hit back after Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel over the weekend. Most of them were intercepted. That strike came in the wake of an attack on Iran's consulate in Damascus widely blamed on Israel. © Agence France-Presse
Igor Krasnov reiterated the importance of control over anti-corruption measures and related legislation
Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister said Kiev required US-made Patriot systems and Italian-French Samp-T theatre antimissile systems
Dmitry Polyansky said «this shameful neocolonial tactics are fully exposed now in the context of Gaza War»
According to the Al Hadath television, a military bus was ambushed by members of the Islamic State terrorist group
«The UN history has precedents when states were not admitted on their first try. The number of attempts is not limited,» Nadezhda Sokolova said
A police team reportedly seized a Glock pistol with a magazine containing three rounds of ammunition after being shot at along Hagley Park Road in St Andrew on Thursday. The police say about 2:50 p.m., three men were seen travelling in a...
L'affaire dite du «Liberty» sur fond de trafic d'ice fera l'objet d'un procès en mai prochain au tribunal correctionnel. En 2022, 6 personnes avaient été mises en examen et placées en détention provisoire. Une chasse à l'homme avait eu lieu avec des tirs de fusils à pompe en plein Papeete.
Une polynésienne au conseil d'administration des jeux olympiques. Anne-Caroline Graffe, la championne de taekwondo, actuelle conseillère technique nationale, médaillée d'argent au JO de Londres en 2012, est appelée à rejoindre l'organisation de Paris 2024.
Depuis quelques mois maintenant, Tahiti est reliée directement à Fidji grâce à l'un des avions d'Air Calin. La compagnie étoffe son offre vers les îles du Pacifique Sud. Depuis le 6 décembre dernier, il est donc possible de monter à bord de l'A320 direction Nadi.
Ce jeudi, la cour d'appel a confirmé la peine de cinq ans d'inéligibilité et de neuf mois de sursis à l'encontre de Gaston Flosse, déjà condamné en première instance dans l'affaire du faux bail. Elle a également ajouté trois ans d'inéligibilité à l'encontre de sa compagne Pascale Haiti.
The model, 45, recalled her fling with the football manager and former player, 58, on Thursday.
The defense and the prosecution still must select alternate jurors for the trial, the first ever in which a former U.S. president is the defendant..