News

  JUBA / AP South Sudan’s government has accepted with “no conditions” increase the peacekeeping force in the country as mandated by the U.N. Security Council in August, Minister of Cabinet Affairs Martin Lomuro told the Associated Press on Saturday. “I expect them arrive at any time. The challenge is now on the U.N. to implement and fulfill their promises,” ...

  Bloomberg Smothered by increasingly toxic air, India is moving to the forefront of a global push to use more of cleaner natural gas in vehicles. The country’s state-run gas companies are charting ambitious plans to extend the use of natural gas to trucks and scooters, and build infrastructure for long-haul travel on the fuel. Their optimism is reflected in ...

  Bloomberg Japan’s consumer prices fell for an eighth straight month — the longest streak of declines since 2009-2011, underlining how distant the nation is from achieving its 2 percent inflat- ion target. Consumer prices excluding fresh food, the Bank of Japan’s primary gauge of inflation, dropped 0.4 percent in October from a year earlier (forecast -0.4 percent.). Overall consumer ...

  Bloomberg AEP Investment Management Pte, which invests in commercial real estate in Asia Pacific, is considering listing some of its assets through a Singapore initial public offering, people with knowledge of the matter said. AEP has held talks with investment banks about potential exit options, including a real estate investment trust IPO comprising properties held by funds it manages, ...

  Bloomberg Singapore, on track to post its worst economic performance since the 2009 global financial crisis this year, is bracing for more uncertainty as rising protectionism poses risks for the export-dependent nation. While the government is forecasting economic growth of as much as 3 percent in 2017 — double the maximum it sees for this year — the city-state ...

  Bloomberg Granola and oatmeal lovers in the US may need to prepare for some sticker shock. Oat production in Canada, the world’s biggest exporter, is set to plunge after rain and snow delayed harvests across the Prairie Provinces. Because the crop spent too much time in wet fields, grain quality declined, which means more will end up as livestock ...

  Geneva / AP Like other countries after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, Switzerland pledged to abandon nuclear power in coming years. But anti-nuclear advocacy groups say the Swiss government’s timetable isn’t fast enough, and have pushed for a referendum this weekend that would hasten the planned exit. Swiss voters cast ballots on an initiative championed by environmentalists and nuclear foes ...

  LONDON / AP Since Britain voted to leave the European Union, UK officials have had one message: Brexit means Brexit. Now they have EU leaders’ reply: And it’s going to hurt. The prime minister of Malta, whose country is about to assume the EU presidency, is the latest leader to dash Britain’s hopes of an easy divorce, signaling that ...

  Bloomberg Actelion Ltd. said that Johnson & Johnson has approached it about a potential takeover of the $17 billion Swiss drugmaker, as the US health-care giant works to expand its pharmaceutical lineup. Actelion confirmed the approach in a statement and said it’s not certain that a deal will happen. Actelion is working with an adviser to explore options, and ...

  Beijing / AFP China will be handed the opportunity to reshape the rules for global trade and profit from a more isolated US if President-elect Donald Trump carries out his pledge to abandon the landmark TPP pact, observers say. The likely demise of the Trans-Pacific Partnership has been welcomed by state media in China, where the deal had been criticised ...