Riyadh / AFP Saudi Arabia on Thursday projected a 2017 budget deficit of about $53 billion and a lower than expected shortfall for this year after government cost-cutting in response to lower oil prices. Expenses next year will reach 890 billion riyals ($237 billion) against revenues of 692 billion riyals ($184 billion), cabinet said in a statement. It said …

  Beijing / AFP China saw 66,000 workplace deaths in 2015 despite strengthened legislation, Chinese authorities said, highlighting often dangerous labour conditions in the world’s second largest economy. The world’s workshop also saw 282,000 workplace accidents in 2015, according to a report posted on Wednesday on the official website of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of China. Deaths have dropped 50 …

  ABU DHABI / WAM The Board of Executive Directors of the Arab Monetary Fund on Thursday held its 181st meeting to discuss activities in the first quarter of 2016 as part of its five-year strategy 2015-2020 for lending. The board also discussed the activities of the fund’s technical teams working in some Arab countries on carrying out agreed reform …