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Kuwait project activity gathered pace in fourth quarter of 2021
KUWAIT: The total value of project awards in Kuwait surged to KD 556 million (+265 percent q/q; +279 percent y/y), according to MEED Projects. This brings the total value of awards in 2021 to KD 1.5 billion, up 13 percent on 2020. The figure falls short of the KD 2.4 billion that was forecast earlier, a likely outcome of government tendering delays amid cutbacks in capital spending and pandemic-linked supply chain constraints. The surge in...
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Medvedev, Tsitsipas march into last 16 as Halep fires warning
MELBOURNE: World number two and title favorite Daniil Medvedev won over the Australian Open crowd yesterday as the Russian “villain” eased into the last 16 along with Stefanos Tsitsipas. After the drama of Friday, when defending champion Naomi Osaka exited Melbourne in the third round, the leading women’s seeds were also mostly untroubled on day six. Second seed Aryna Sabalenka overcame some of her serving yips and Simona Halep was an...
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Deadly fighting between IS, Kurdish forces in Syria
HASAKEH, Syria: Fighting raged for a third day yesterday between the Islamic State group and Kurdish forces in Syria after IS attacked a prison housing jihadists, with the violence killing nearly 90, a monitor said. The assault on the Ghwayran prison in the northern city of Hasakeh is one of IS's most significant since its "caliphate" was declared defeated in Syria nearly three years ago."At least 28 members of the Kurdish security forces, five...
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The dribble test: How toddlers spot social ties
WASHINGTON: The thought of sharing an ice cream cone with a stranger can trigger feelings of disgust – however that's often not the case with someone close to us, such as a romantic partner or child. A new study in the journal Science shows that children are aware of this dynamic from a very young age, and see saliva exchange – through activities like kissing, sharing food, or wiping away dribble – as a cue to tell whether two people have a...
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Taleban say Oslo talks with West will 'transform atmosphere of war'
KABUL: The Taleban's first official talks with the West on European soil since seizing power in Afghanistan will help to "transform the atmosphere of war" after a two-decade insurgency against NATO forces, the group's top spokesman told AFP yesterday. The hardline Islamists stormed back to power in August as US and foreign troops began their final withdrawal from the country following a stalemate on the battlefield. No country has yet recognised...
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Monk who brought mindfulness to West dies in Vietnam
HANOI: Vietnamese monk-turned-peace-activist Thich Nhat Hanh, a hugely influential Buddhist credited with bringing mindfulness to the West, has died aged 95. The Zen master, whose reach within Buddhism is seen as second only to the Dalai Lama, spent nearly four decades in exile after being banished from his homeland for calling for an end to the Vietnam-American War.Thich Nhat Hanh "passed away peacefully" at the Tu Hieu Temple in the city of...
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Omicron ‘sub-variant’ throws up new coronavirus questions
PARIS/WASHINGTON: Scientists are keeping a close watch on a recently-discovered sub-variant of the Omicron version of the COVID-19 virus to determine how its emergence could affect future pandemic spread. The initial Omicron variant has become the dominant virus strain in recent months but British health authorities have notably identified hundreds of cases of the latest version, dubbed BA.2, while international data suggest it could spread...
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Coalition denies air strike on Yemen prison
SAADA, Yemen: The Saudi-led coalition yesterday denied carrying out an air strike on a prison in Yemen’s rebel-held north that aid groups said killed at least 70 people. Claims the military coalition ordered the raid, which reduced buildings to rubble and left rescuers scrabbling for survivors with their bare hands, were “groundless”, the alliance said.The attack, which coincided with a coalition strike on the Yemeni port of Hodeida that...
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Pakistan proud of pig-to-human heart transplant pioneer
KARACHI: Friends and former classmates of the Pakistan-born surgeon behind the world’s first pig-to-human heart transplant say they earmarked him for greatness from his medical school days. Karachi-born Muhammad Mansoor Mohiuddin made headlines last week as the co-founder of the US university program that successfully transplanted the heart of a genetically modified pig into a gravely ill American man.While hailed as a medical breakthrough, the...
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Airbus cancels Qatar Airways order in feud
PARIS: Airbus has taken the extraordinary step of cancelling a multibillion-dollar order of 50 planes from Qatar Airways, a major customer, in an escalating feud over the airline’s grounding of A350 aircraft. The Qatari company, one of the Gulf region’s “big three” carriers, has grounded nearly half of its 53-plane A350 fleet over degradation of exterior fuselage surfaces.The airline has taken the dispute to the High Court in London and...
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Adding peanuts to children’s diet can help avoid allergy
PARIS: Including peanuts in children’s diets early in life could help stave off allergies against the legume, which can be fatal and affect swathes of youngsters globally, according to a new study Friday. Researchers found that introducing peanut products to babies and infants, and gradually increasing exposure, led to greater tolerance for the common allergen. The peer-reviewed study, published in The Lancet, involved 146 peanut-allergic...
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'Bat Out of Hell' singer Meat Loaf dead at 74
US singer and actor Meat Loaf, famous for his "Bat Out of Hell" rock anthem, has died aged 74, according to a statement on Friday. "Our hearts are broken to announce that the incomparable Meat Loaf passed away tonight with his wife Deborah by his side," read a statement on his Facebook page."Daughters Pearl and Amanda and close friends have been with him throughout the last 24 hours." No cause of death was given in the statement. The beefy...