BLOOMBERG Japan and China finished setting up a military hotline aimed at reducing tensions between the two largest economies in Asia, just ahead of a rare meeting of their foreign ministers in Beijing. The installation of equipment and lines has been completed, Japan’s Ministry of Defense said on Friday in a statement, calling it a “linking mechanism” that will build …

BLOOMBERG The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is calling on its wealthier member nations to contribute to a trust for the poorest countries that is short billions of dollars at a time of rising demand from economies in debt distress. The IMF needs about $6.3 billion to meet its fundraising target for the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, its main vehicle …

LUCKNOW (INDIA) / WAM At least 35 people were killed and 16 were injured after the roof of a stepwell in a temple complex collapsed in central India, Reuters quoted a local government official as saying on Friday. The incident occurred in the central Indian city of Indore after a concrete slab covering the roof of a stepwell in a …