Tokyo / Bloomberg Japan will compile a 778 billion yen ($7.2 billion) extra budget to aid the recovery from a series of huge quakes in southern Japan last month, according to ruling party officials with direct knowledge of the spending plan. The government can cover the cost of the supplementary budget because interest payments on Japanese government bonds have ...
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UK trade drags on growth as gap widens to most in eight years
Bloomberg The U.K. economy received no help from its international trade performance in the first quarter, official figures published on Tuesday suggest. The deficit widened to 13.3 billion pounds ($19 billion), the most since the start of 2008, from 12.2 billion pounds in the fourth quarter of 2015, the Office for National Statistics said. The shortfall in goods alone ...
Read More »Global populism wave hits Philippines as Duterte elected
Davao / AFP The election of Rodrigo Duterte as Philippine president marks the latest victory for populist politics, as voters around the world reward candidates offering simple solutions to complex problems. In a country beset by crime, poverty and corruption, Duterte promised voters a raft of quick fixes that many analysts believe will remain empty promises. One of his ...
Read More »Millions in US aid to Syrians suspended over graft probe
Seoul / AFP The US government has suspended millions of dollars in funding to several organisations providing aid for Syria after discovering they were systematically overpaying Turkish companies for basic goods with the collusion of some of their staff. The US Agency for International Development’s independent government auditor said it had “established grounds resulting in the suspension of 14 ...
Read More »Obama to make historic visit to Hiroshima
Washington / AFP Barack Obama will this month become the first sitting US president to visit atomic bomb-struck Hiroshima, but the White House said he will not offer an apology for the devastating attack on the Japanese city in 1945. Obama, accompanied by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will make the deeply symbolic visit on May 27, after attending a ...
Read More »Nissan Patrol Nismo all set to roll out on UAE roads
Sunaina Rana / Emirates Business A new exciting range of series of Nissan Patrol Nismo, with a blend of motorsports and concentrated power in the spirit of SUV, is all set to rule the UAE roads. Arabian Automobiles — the exclusive dealer for Nissan in Dubai and the Northern Emirates — has recently announced that the much-anticipated vehicle would ...
Read More »Stubborn natural gas supply imperils best US rally in 14 years
Bloomberg Natural gas futures have soared since March on speculation that supplies are finally falling after a decade of gains. Production numbers tell a different story. Prices have gained 28 percent from a 17-year low in March, the biggest advance for the period since 2002, as investors including Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn bet the market would put a dent ...
Read More »Innovation key to UAE’s future
DUBAI / WAM Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, said that the UAE has adopted innovation as an institutional approach and a culture of the society that aims at developing its human factor as well government institutions, as part of its drive to build a sustainable ...
Read More »UAE agencies discuss environmental radiation at FANR
ABU DHABI / WAM The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) held a workshop on Monday to review progress towards establishing a present-day measurement of environmental radiation in the UAE. The 6th UAE National Workshop on “Baseline Environmental Radiation Mapping in the UAE”, was held at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi and was attended by representatives of the UAE ...
Read More »Airport Show opens in Dubai
Dubai /Â WAM HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, inaugurated the 16th Airport Show at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) with 300 companies from 55 countries participating in the three-day show, expected to be attended ...
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