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BRUSSELS / AFP A series of explosions ripped through Brussels airport and a metro train on Tuesday, killing around 35 people and injuring more than 200 in the latest attacks to rock Europe. Security was tightened across the jittery continent and transport links paralysed after the bombings that Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel branded “blind, violent and cowardly”. “This is ...

Naypyidaw / AFP Aung San Suu Kyi was nominated as a cabinet minister in Myanmar’s civilian government on Tuesday, giving the democracy champion a formal position despite being blocked from the presidency in a nation ruled for decades by the military. The Nobel laureate, who has vowed to rule above the next president Htin Kyaw, was named first in a ...

Bloomberg Britain posted a larger-than-predicted budget deficit in February, leaving Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne little room to meet his full-year fiscal forecast. Government spending exceeded revenue by £7.1 billion ($10.1 billion) compared with 7.5 billion pounds a year earlier, figures from the Office for National Statistics show. Economists in a Bloomberg survey had predicted a £5.9 billion-shortfall. In ...

Washington / AFP Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump exchanged jabs as they separately courted a massive crowd of pro-Israel lobbyists, putting their differing views on supporting the Jewish state front and center in their White House battle. Democrat Clinton positioned herself as an unwavering friend to Israel, while bashing her rival as prejudiced and insufficiently supportive of one of America’s ...

Bloomberg President Barack Obama is in Cuba, and Silicon Valley is tagging along for the ride. Executives from several technology companies are traveling with the U.S. president on his goodwill tour or introducing new business initiatives focused on the island—or both. Among the companies joining the Cuba parade this week are Google parent Alphabet Inc., Airbnb Inc., PayPal Holdings Inc., ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, has attended the signing of an agreement between the Follow-Up Committee of the Initiatives of the UAE President and Arabtec Holding to build 1,100 housing units for Emiratis in Fujairah’s Mohamed bin Zayed City at a total cost of AED1.712 ...

ABU DHABI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, on Monday received the visiting President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, at Al Shati Palace. Sheikh Mohamed welcomed the Somali President and his accompanying delegation. The Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and President Mohamoud discussed ...

DUBAI / WAM Dubai SME, the agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, and University of Dubai (UD), have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly support innovation and entrepreneurship. A key element of the MoU is a joint programme called ‘Witness Innovation,’ sponsored by Citigroup ...

Beijing / AP Vietnam risks being vulnerable to external shocks if it doesn’t push through reforms to strengthen its banking system and restructure state businesses, according to International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde. The Southeast Asian nation isn’t in a position to withstand economic blows from tightening of monetary policies elsewhere, a deep and prolonged drop in commodity prices and ...

Bloomberg Leaving the European Union might cost the UK £100 billion ($145 billion) in lost economic output and 950,000 jobs by 2020, the Confederation of British Industry said as it stepped up its campaign against a so-called Brexit. An exit could, according to the study, meaning unemployment would be 2-3 percent higher by 2020 than if Britain remained in the ...