BRUSSELS / AP The European Union has decided with immediate effect to allow Austria, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway to keep border controls in place for up to six months to deal with the migrant influx. EU headquarters said in a statement on Thursday that the controls should be “targeted and limited in scope, frequency, location and time, to what ...

  BRUSSELS / AP Germany’s foreign minister says “the ball is in Turkey’s court” as the Turkish government and the European Union face off over conditions for Turkish citizens to be granted visa-free travel to Europe. The visa waiver is one of the incentives offered by the EU for Turkey to stop migrants leaving for Europe and take back those who ...

  Washington / AFP The White House is considering lifting a decades-old arms embargo against Vietnam in time for President Barack Obama’s visit to the booming Southeast Asian nation this month. As both countries warily eye China’s military build-up in the disputed South China Sea, officials said Obama is weighing an end to the Cold War-era ban on lethal weapons ...

  DEVESELU / AP A US missile defense site in Romania aimed at protecting Europe from ballistic missile threats becomes operational on Thursday, angering Russia which opposes having the advanced military system in its former area of influence. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is due to speak at a ceremony later attended by US, NATO and Romanian officials to mark the ...

  Manila / AFP Philippine communist rebel leader Jose Maria Sison has expressed hopes of ending nearly three decades in exile under the new presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, a potentially explosive homecoming opposed by senior military figures. Sison, now 77, fled to Europe soon after peace talks failed in 1987 and has stayed abroad since, while one of Asia’s longest-running ...

  Paris / AFP France’s already unpopular Socialist government faces a no-confidence vote Thursday after it bypassed parliament and forced through a labour reform bill that has led to two months of demonstrations. The government said it would resort to the controversial move in the face of fierce opposition from within President Francois Hollande’s own party that was set to ...

  BLOOMBERG U.S. and European stocks rose, as oil advanced on a softer forecast for a surplus from the International Energy Agency, sending currencies of commodity-exporting nations higher. The S&P 500 rebounded from yesterday’s drop, while the Stoxx Europe 600 Index reversed a decline. Crude gained for a third straight day as the IEA said robust demand in India and ...

  ABU DHABI / EMIRATES BUSINESS The Emirates Securities Market Index has increased by 0.13% to close at 4436.25 points. Accordingly the Market Capitalization has gained AED 0.92 billion attaining AED 721.81 billion. A total of 423.83 Million Shares were traded with a total value of AED 0.57 billion during the trading session of 12-05-2016 through 5051 transactions. The number of companies ...

  Bloomberg Credit Agricole SA reported a 71 percent drop in first-quarter profit, hurt by a decline in consumer lending margins and trading revenue as the bank began a reorganisation to streamline its capital structure. Net income declined to €227 million ($259 million) from €784 million a year earlier, Credit Agricole, based near Paris, said in a statement on Thursday. ...

  Reuters Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group will establish a banking unit in Morocco once it receives approval from local authorities, the Islamic lender said in a statement, adding it aimed to launch the new business soon. The bank, which has operations across the Middle East, Asia and Africa, said entry to the Morocco market would significantly help diversify assets ...