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Emirates Business Dar Al Ber Society has spent AED 133,668,828 on 62,294 diverse water aid and irrigation projects around the world since 2004, as was always urged by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of the UAE. The leading projects, in line with the generosity and exemplary vision of the UAE’s prudent leadership, have helped provide ...

Emirates Business The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment joins the global celebration of World Water Day, which is being held under the slogan, ‘Water and Jobs.’ This worldwide celebration aims to showcase the ability of the water sector to provide job opportunities, thereby helping out in the move to eradicate global poverty while also enhancing work environment conditions and ...

Beijing / AP China’s top planner tried to reassure foreign companies they are welcome in its slowing, state-dominated economy in a speech on Sunday aimed at dispelling growing anxiety Beijing is squeezing them out of promising industries. Speaking to an audience that included executives of top global companies at a government-organized conference, Xu Shaoshi pledged to “promote two-way opening up ...

Astana / Bloomberg Kazakhs are going to the polls in early parliamentary elections called after President Nursultan Nazarbayev warned of a “real crisis” facing the Central Asian nation because of the slump in oil prices. Six parties are competing for 98 elected seats in the 107-member parliament, which also has nine appointed delegates. Voting on Sunday begins at 7 a.m. ...

New Delhi / Bloomberg Jewellers in India, the world’s second-biggest gold consumer, ended a strike to protest against a new tax announced in the budget after the government assured them the charges won’t lead to harassment by authorities. The strike, which started on March 2, ended after the government agreed not to “trouble the industry” over the excise levy, Ketan ...

Manila / AFP When mystery hackers launched a stunning raid on Bangladesh’s foreign reserves, a plot worthy of a John le Carre spy novel was sparked in the Philippines, exposing the Southeast Asian nation as a dirty money haven. The $81 million stolen from the Bangladesh central bank’s American accounts last month was immediately sent via electronic transfer to the ...

Beijing / Bloomberg Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei downplayed a decision by Moody’s Investors Service Inc. to cut his country’s credit-rating outlook, saying leaders “didn’t care that much” because the move had little market impact. The March 2 downgrade didn’t lead to irrational market behavior or aggressive short-selling, Lou said at the China Development Forum, a gathering of world business ...

Sydney / Bloomberg The Australian government is focusing on boosting jobs and economic growth as it prepares for the annual budget, which is still scheduled to be delivered on May 10, according to Cabinet Secretary Arthur Sinodinos. “The overriding objective is how do various government policies contribute to higher jobs and growth, in other words how do we continue to ...

Singapore / DPA The surging gold price has lifted gold mining stocks in Singapore. The precious metal has jumped almost 20 per cent in price since the end of last year to trade above US$1,250 per ounce in recent weeks. Of the three gold miners listed on the Singapore Exchange, two have bucked the bearish tide across the wider market ...

Paris / AFP The European Central Bank’s plan to buy corporate bonds to help the eurozone economy is boosting the private-sector debt market which promptly responded with a new record-sized company bond. With interest rates near or below zero and few other monetary policy tools left in its arsenal, the ECB announced earlier this month that it would begin buying ...