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  Bloomberg  Everything that could go wrong for Singapore’s commercial property market already has. The city-state’s export-driven economy is slowing, banks are shrinking, industrial production is sputtering, home prices are falling, and consumers are the glummest in seven years. To make matters worse, tourism and hospitality businesses are being threatened by the Zika virus, which has infected more than 300 ...

  Bloomberg The new U.K. appointee to the European Union’s executive arm pledged to act independently of the British government as the rest of the EU waits for Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger Brexit negotiations. Julian King, a career British diplomat designated to become counter-terrorism chief at the European Commission, told a confirmation hearing that he has the international ...

  Bloomberg Brazilian President Michel Temer is turning to an unlikely source to help solve his country’s fiscal crisis — deadbeat taxpayers. Temer, 75, who was sworn in after President Dilma Rousseff’s Aug. 31 impeachment, wants to turn a chunk of uncollected taxes into securities and sell them to investors, an idea that only a few governments have ever tried. ...

  Cairo / WAM President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El Sisi, received on Thursday at Al-Ittihadiya Palace, HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and his accompanying delegation. During the meeting, they discussed cooperation between the UAE and Egypt, issues of mutual concern, and the latest regional and international developments. ...

  Dubai / WAM HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, affirmed that he would closely monitor the progress of the tourism industry in Dubai so as to fulfil the vision of Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to welcome 20 million tourists by ...

  AFP Formula One entered a new era as US billionaire John Malone’s Liberty Media agreed a takeover that values the motorsport at $8 billion and raises questions over the role of its colourful, long-time mastermind, Bernie Ecclestone. In a deal that ends years of speculation over F1’s future, Liberty said it had struck an agreement to buy out Formula ...

  AFP ITT Educational Services Inc said it would shut its flagship ITT Technical Institutes, following a U.S. Department of Education order, affecting thousands of students and employees. ITT’s move is the latest blow to the over $20 billion U.S. for-profit education industry, which has come under fire from the government in the past couple of years for its poor ...

  Vientiane / AFP US President Barack Obama warned Beijing on Thursday it could not ignore a tribunal’s ruling rejecting its sweeping claims to the South China Sea, driving tensions higher in a territorial row that threatens regional security. The dispute has raised fears of military confrontation between the world’s superpowers, with China determined to cement control of the strategically vital ...

Geneva / AFP The US and Russia conducted last-minute negotiations on Thursday over a fresh bid for a Syrian peace deal ahead of an expected high-level meeting in Geneva. Foreign ministers from the two powers, which support opposite sides in the five-year conflict, were poised to hold a “personal meeting” in the Swiss city to push for a peace agreement, according ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai Design Week’s popular exhibition Abwab will return to this year’s program, festival organizers have announced. A showcase of emerging and established creative talent from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region, Abwab (‘doors’ in Arabic) will showcase entirely new work from designers and studios from Algeria, Bahrain, India, Iraq, Palestine and ...