BERLIN Ronnie Harrison Hoodie , May 28 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel's political union stays strong against its major rivalries months ahead of the federal election, according to a latest poll released on Sunday.
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Germany, led by Merkel, got 38 percent of the voter support while the Social Democratic Party(SPD), headed by ex-President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, fell to 25 percent, according to the opinion poll designed by research institute Emnid and local media Bild am Sonntag.
The supporting rate for the Free Democratic Party(FDP), the Green Party, the Left and right-wing Alternative for Germany (AFD) were equally at 8 percent.
The poll also showed that if German chancellor were directly elected, 52 percent would opt for Merkel and 29 percent would choose Schulz.
German Federal elections will be held in Germany on Sept. 24. Many local media noted the focus would be on Merkel's re-election bid facing Schulz's powerful challenge.
Earlier in February, some opinion polls have constantly showed Schulz will have the edge over Merkel in the coming election. Some local media even dubbed it as "Schulz effect," and speculated Schulz might substitute Merkel since she lost momentum due to the migrant crisis.
In a similar questionnaire in February, Schulz won 46 percent over Merkel's 40 percent.
But the recent SPD setbacks in state elections, in Saarland, Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia have dimmed the hope of Schulz since he failed to transform his popularity into votes.
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WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday blacklisted three individuals working for the Islamic State (IS) group, in an effort to attack its finances and disrupt its ability to profit from illicit oil sales.
The move targets senior IS oil official Faysal al-Zahrani, foreign fighter facilitator Husayn Juaythini, and senior IS official Turki al-Binali, the Treasury Department said in a statement.
As a result of the designations, any property or interest in property of the individuals within U.S. jurisdiction is frozen. Transactions by U.S. persons involving the designated individuals are also generally prohibited.
""Treasury and our partners worldwide are aggressively targeting ISIL's ability to earn and make use of its money, and we are making progress on many fronts,"" said Adam Szubin, Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, using an alternate acronym for the extremist group.
""Today's action targets key ISIL leadership figures responsible for oil and gas production, foreign terrorist fighter recruitment and facilitation, and other financial facilitation,"" Szubin said.
The designations came in advance of the first-ever joint session of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL's Counter ISIL Finance Group (CIFG), which is taking place on Feb. 14 in Paris.
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DUBAI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Following additional planned extensions, the Dubai Al Maktoum International Airport is expected to handle up to 26.5 million passengers annually by 2025, up from 463,236 in 2015.
Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the President of Dubai's Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Airline signed a contract Wednesday with Al Jaber Legt Engineering and Contracting LLC (Alec).
The contract stipulates the expansion of the passenger terminal building at Al Maktoum International Airport, poised to become one of the world's biggest civil aviation hubs.
Under the agreement, the first phase of this project, the increase of the Passenger Terminal Building area from its existing 66,107 square meters to 145,926 square meters, will be completed by June 2017.
Sheikh Ahmed said in an e-mailed statement ""Today's announcement is a historic milestone in Al Maktoum International Airport's journey, set to become the world's largest airport.""
Al Maktoum International Airport is located in the southwest of Dubai and will ultimately have the capacity to handle over 220 million passengers annually, he added.
The departure building will have its public hall, commercial areas and offices as well as the check-in hall expanded in order to accommodate 64 check-in counters.
An additional 10 counters will be specifically dedicated to business class check-ins.
Expansions will also include 12 new boarding lounges as well as an extension of the emigration transfer and security area.
A new arrivals baggage screening area will be added while the current baggage reclaim area will have three new carrousels.
The baggage claim area and related services, as well as the arrival baggage handling system, will feature an immigration hall with a 55 control counters capacity, visa and passenger utilities.
""Al Maktoum International Airport is being prepared to become the airport of the future,"" said Sheikh Ahmed.
In 2015, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said his vision for Al Maktoum International Airport is as a hub where passengers can check in hasslefree as luggage is checked in advance at Dubai Metro stations.
While Al Maktoum International Airport is not yet connected to the Dubai Metro network, plans exist for future connections.
Al-Maktoum International Airport was inaugurated for cargo traffic in June 2010 while passenger traffic was . Tremaine Edmunds Jersey Taysom Hill Jersey Sam Darnold Jersey Authentic Russell Wilson Jersey Rob Gronkowski Youth Jersey Phillip Lindsay Youth Jersey Odell Beckham Jr Kids Jersey Myles Jack Kids Jersey Mitchell Trubisky Bears Jersey Minkah Fitzpatrick Dolphins Jersey