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EU seeks to deter Mediterranean refugees The number of asylum applicants to European nations rose by 44 percent last year, with the total reaching 626,000, according to EU statistics. Meanwhile, the EU is planning to intercept refugees in the Mediterranean. According to the European Union's statistics agency, Eurostat, 191,000 more people applied for asylum in European countries in 2014 than the...

Libya’s army strikes on camp in Tripoli People are seen at the scene of an explosion at a checkpoint at the eastern entrance to the city of Janzour in Tripoli March 15, 2015. (Reuters) Libya’s internationally recognized government conducted air strikes on a military camp on Saturday and attempted to hit the airport in Tripoli, the capital controlled by a rival...

Strawberry drink for Summer » Combine 2 ounces basil simple syrup (recipe follows) and 4 ounces fresh lime juice in a pitcher. Stir to mix well. » Add one 750-ml bottle of Chandon Rosé. Fill the pitcher with ice and serve. » To make the basil simple syrup, combine 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup loosely packed basil leaves...

Woqod to open 12 new petrol stations in Qatar this year Qatar’s state-backed fuel company Woqod has said it plans to open more than a dozen petrol stations over the next year, but there appears to be minimal relief in sight for motorists in central Doha faced with a dwindling number of places to fill up their tanks. Woqod’s announcement comes...

Lufthansa pilot union Cockpit announces Saturday strike Pilots of Germany's flagship carrier Lufthansa have announced that they will continue their strike on Saturday. Long distance flights and Lufthansa cargo planes will be affected. Pilot union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) has announced that it will extend their strike to Saturday. In a statement released on its website, the union said the strike would...

Faucon rides Zahrah to Umm Al Afai Cup victory QREC general manager Nasser Sherida al-Kaabi (centre) is seen with the winners of the Umm Al Afai Cup at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club yesterday. Alban de Mieulle trained Zahrah plunged into an all out offensive in the final furlong and launched a fiery gallop to outrun Sraab and...

FIFA confirms winter World Cup in Qatar; sets final for National Day It’s official: Football’s governing body has decided to take the unprecedented step of moving the 2022 World Cup to the winter months to escape Qatar’s searing summer heat. The tournament will now be played in November and December of 2022, ending with a final match on Qatar’s National Day,...

Europe's solar eclipse: live updates An eclipse is darkening parts of Europe on Friday in a rare solar event that won't be repeated for more than a decade. The eclipse - when the moon passes between the earth and the sun - follows a 5,800-kilometer path. Skywatchers have flocked to the remote Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Svalbard in...

Train derails in northern India, killing 15 The mangled coaches of the Dehradun-Varanasi Janta Express that derailed in Raibareli of Uttar Pradesh, India At least 15 people were killed when two crowded coaches of a passenger train derailed in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Friday after the driver overshot a signal, officials said. The ghastly accident took place at Banchrawa,...

Yemen attacks kill 35 during Friday prayers An elderly man reads verses of the Quran, Islam's holy book, in the grand Mosque in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen, July 10, 2013. (AP) At least 35 people were killed in Yemen on Friday and scores were injured after suicide bombers targeted two mosques in central Sanaa, Al Arabiya News Channel quoted...

FIFA meets to decide 2022 World Cup dates FIFA's executive committee started a two-day meeting on Thursday to decide the dates of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which will be the first held in winter. After more than four years of controversy over the tournament, dogged by allegations of corruption in the bidding and concerns over the treatment of migrant...

Qatar, Somalia hold official talks Doha - Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani and Prime Minister of Somalia Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke held official talks at the Emiri Diwan on Wednesday. During the session of talks, they reviewed cooperation between the two countries and ways of developing them, and discussed a...

Qatar News Agency Wins Best Smart Applications Award Kuwait, March 19 (QNA) - The Pan-Arab Excellence Awards Academy awarded Qatar News Agency (QNA) the best smart applications award on the category of media organizations in the State of Qatar. QNA Director of Technical Affairs Eng Khalid Mohammed Al Mutawa received the award and the certificate of excellence during a grand ceremony...

Qatar Emir to make first official visits to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka The Emir will visit India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – countries that are collectively home to about a third of Qatar’s population – on his latest foreign trip next week. It’s the first time Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has made an official state visit to any...