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  New Delhi / AFP Prime Minister Narendra Modi will look to reinvigorate the BRICS group of emerging nations at a summit this weekend with India seen as a bright spot in a bloc whose clout has been undermined by economic woes. BRICS — a club made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — was formed in ...

  Mumbai/ AFP Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley warned on Thursday that growing opposition to globalisation and free trade in Western countries would hurt the world economy, echoing concerns by the IMF and others. Jaitley told a gathering of officials from the BRICS group of emerging nations ahead of a summit this weekend that he was concerned about protectionist movements ...

Bangkok / AFP Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest-serving monarch, has died at the age of 88, the palace announced on Thursday, leaving a divided nation bereft of a rare figure of unity. “Although the team of doctors treated him to the best of their ability, his condition deteriorated,” the Royal Household Bureau said in a statement. “At 15:52 ...

  Dubai / AP The US military directly targeted Yemen’s Houthi rebels for the first time on Thursday, hitting radar sites controlled by the insurgents after US warships came under missile attacks twice in four days. The Iran-backed rebels have denied carrying out the attacks, which saw missiles fired at US warships in the Red Sea on Sunday and Wednesday ...

  Bloomberg Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said predictions of “doom” for the British economy following the decision to leave the European Union are misplaced and “will continue to be proved wrong” as the U.K. negotiates its departure from the bloc. Britain will get a good deal from the remaining member states because it is in the interests of those ...

  Caracas / AFP Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro can pass his 2017 budget without the approval of the opposition-majority legislature, the Supreme Court ruled, triggering an outcry from the leftist leader’s opponents. Maduro and the National Assembly have been at each other’s throats since the center-right opposition took control of the legislature in January, ending the left’s 17-year monopoly on ...

  DUBAI / Emirates Business As much as 94% of all companies in the UAE are SMEs. Together, they contribute 30% of the country’s GDP, and employ 72% of the country’s working population. The figures come from BLOOVO.COM’s latest research on the beneficial role SMEs play in catalysing economic diversification and employment regionwide. SMEs operate extensively throughout the rest of ...

  ABU DHABI / Emirates Business Etihad Airways has received the Skytrax Certified 5-Star Airline Rating — the most coveted quality standard in the airline industry, further strengthening its position as a leader in innovative guest experience, service and hospitality. The rating follows an exhaustive three month audit of the airline’s global product and service offering by the London-based research ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Fears of an imminent disruption to traditional banking from the financial technology sector are overblown, with a collaborative approach being the most likely way forward, according to experts at the Global Islamic Economy Forum being held in Dubai. Speaking at a plenary session titled: The Tesla of finance is coming: are Islamic banks ready for ...

  Ankara / AFP Turkey said on Wednesday it fears the world will be plunged into a global conflict with superpowers Russia and the US on opposing sides if the proxy war in Syria continues. “If this proxy war continues, after this, let me be clear, America and Russia will come to a point of war,” Deputy Prime Minister Numan ...