Section: Gulf News (United Arab Emirates)
International skiers take to the slopes of Pakistan
Skiers descend in long, rhythmic swoops down pristine white slopes in northern Pakistan, braking in a spray of snow as soldiers carrying semi-automatic weapons watch impassively. Dozens of athletes took part at a rare international competition in the South Asian country, which boasts some of the world’s highest mountains but remains...
Hundreds flee US-backed Syria battle for last IS holdout
Exhausted families trudged out of the Islamic State group’s last bastion in eastern Syria yesterday, as Kurdish-led forces boxed holdout militants into an ever-shrinking pocket. Hundreds fled at night but hundreds more during the day as plumes of grey smoke billowed into the sky over Baghouz, where diehard IS fighters are making their last...
Pompeo warns allies Huawei presence complicates partnership with US
* US concerned over Russia, China engagement * Pompeo visits Hungary, Slovakia and Poland * Will attend Middle East conference in Warsaw US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cautioned allies on Monday against deploying equipment from Chinese telecoms giant Huawei on their soil, saying it would make it more difficult for Washington to “partner...
No excuses as VAR set for Champions League debut
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has warned that there will be no more excuses as Video Assistant Referees (VAR) make their debut in the Champions League starting this week. Manchester United host Paris Saint-Germain at Old Trafford on Tuesday while Roma play Porto at the Stadio Olimpico as the last 16, first legs get under way. The system which...
Halep faces tricky path to second Qatar Total Open title
World No. 3 Simona Halep was handed a tricky draw as she chases her second title in the Qatar Total Open which gets underway at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex tomorrow. The 27-year-old Romanian is already a 12-year veteran on the highly competitive WTA circuit, boasting 18 titles and nearly 30 million dollars in prize money...
Klopp excited by title fight with City
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists the Premier League title race is something to get excited about rather than stressed about despite seeing his side overhauled by Manchester City in the past week. City climbed to the top of the table on goal difference with victory against Everton in midweek but Liverpool’s destiny remains in their own...
All for one; one for all
Qatar is a shining example of peaceful co-existence and co-operation among different communities. Although Islam is the official religion of Qatar, all faiths are respected and everyone enjoys the freedom to follow their own sets of belief in complete harmony. Expatriates also have the right to preserve their cultural identity as long as they...
Lithuania fears Russia will attempt to sway its elections
Lithuania’s intelligence agencies fear Russia will interfere in its forthcoming elections, including one in May to find a successor to the staunchly anti-Kremlin president, Dalia Grybauskaite. The Baltic state, ruled from Moscow for much of the 20th century but now a member of both the European Union and NATO, was rattled by Russia’s...
Actor-comedian ahead in Ukraine presidential poll
A Ukrainian comedian who plays the country’s president in a TV series is currently the favourite to take on the real-life role in this spring’s election, recent polls show. As the deadline for candidate nomination expired overnight, surveys showed Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko and incumbent Petro...
Soldiers to stay in Lithuania, vows Germany
Germany will invest a total of €110mn until 2021 in improving military bases in Lithuania, its defence minister said yesterday, underlining Berlin’s continued commitment to the defence of its Nato allies in the Baltic region. Germany leads a Nato force of 1,200 troops from 10 countries sent to Lithuania two years ago as part of...
