DUBAI / WAM Dr Mohammad Salim Al Olama, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHP), and Kanji Fujiki, Ambassador of Japan to the UAE, discussed ways to achieve joint co-operation in the health care sector between the two countries. During the meeting held in the ministry, Al Olama reviewed ways to enhance joint work between the two ...

  DUBAI / WAM Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) said that International Environment Day is an opportunity for everyone to realise their responsibility to protect the earth, and renew our national commitment to protecting our natural resources, by rationalising our usage, and contributing to achieving sustainability by addressing the issue of ...

  Herat / Agencies Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Afghanistan on Saturday to inaugurate a $290 million hydroelectric dam with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, the latest Indian investment which highlights strengthening ties between the two countries. The 42 megawatt Salma dam in western Herat province, bordering Iran, is one of two major projects carried out under India’s development partnership ...

  Colombo / AFP The IMF on Saturday released the first tranche of a $1.5 billion bailout for Sri Lanka, which is reeling after a government spending spree and facing a balance of payments crisis. The International Monetary Fund said the formal approval of a 36-month loan under its Extended Fund Facility (EFF) will also help Sri Lanka secure another ...

  Hong Kong / Hong Kong Hong Kong railway operator MTR Corp. increased the size of a two-part loan to about HK$25 billion ($3.2 billion), after the city gave the green light for it to resume construction on a high-speed rail link to China earlier this year, people familiar with the matter said. MTR, three-quarters owned by the government, lifted ...

Beijing / Hong Kong China is approaching global economic organizations including the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to establish an annual meeting that would offer the nation a stronger policy voice on the world economic stage, according to a person familiar with the talks. The Ministry of Commerce and other agencies are leading discussions under the guidance of the ...

  Singapore / AFP Chinese construction on a South China Sea islet claimed by the Philippines would prompt “actions being taken” by the United States and other nations, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter warned on Saturday. Speaking at a security summit in Singapore, Carter said Beijing risks building a “Great Wall of self-isolation” with its military expansion in the contested ...

  Niamey / AFP Thirty-two troops have been killed in a clash with Boko Haram extremists on Niger’s border with Nigeria, Niger’s defence ministry said on Saturday. “Hundreds of assailants” attacked a military post at Bosso on Friday evening, it said in a statement that gave a “provisional toll” of 30 Nigerien and two Nigerian soldiers killed and 67 wounded. ...

  Lagos / AFP Nigerian troops killed 19 Boko Haram militants during clashes in northeast Borno state, while two soldiers suffered gunshot wounds, the army said on Saturday. Acting upon an intelligence report on the presence of Boko Haram fighters in the militants’ Chukungudu camp, troops and civilian JTF (joint task force) members, launched the attack on Friday. “During the ...

  Beijing / AFP Chinese police have detained several activists while others were placed under surveillance for the anniversary of the bloody 1989 crackdown in Tiananmen Square, which was heavily policed on Saturday. On June 4 1989 military tanks rolled into the square in the centre of Beijing to crush pro-democracy protests, killing hundreds of unarmed civilians—by some estimates thousands. Nearly ...