Abu Dhabi / WAM The UAE is to participate in the activities of the 19th session of the Arab-German Business Forum, which opens on Thursday in Berlin. A UAE delegation, headed by Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, will attend the two-day forum held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The UAE will attend the forum as the main partner, ...

  New Delhi / Bloomberg India’s finance minister has ratified a decision that Apple Inc. must meet local sourcing rules to open its own stores, according to people familiar with the matter, dealing what may be a fatal blow to the iPhone maker’s effort to open retail outlets in the country. Minister Arun Jaitley decided to support the decision by ...

  Tokyo / Bloomberg Mitsubishi Motors Corp. booked a 19.1 billion yen ($174 million) charge to reflect losses related to its fuel economy testing scandal, which reduced profit last fiscal year by 19 percent and prompted a shake-up in top management. The Japanese automaker said it earned 72.6 billion yen for the fiscal year ended in March, rather than the ...

  KUALA LUMPUR / AP Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. said on Wednesday that it will build a second factory in Malaysia as part of expansion to meet rising local demand. The new 2 billion ringgit ($488 million) plant will be built by Toyota and its local partner, UMW Corp. Toyota said that the plant, to be built in the ...

  Singapore / AFP More than 60 percent of all computer software installed in the Asia-Pacific in 2015 was unlicensed, the worst of any region, despite growing economies and anti-piracy efforts, an industry watchdog said on Wednesday. The Software Alliance — which includes giants like Microsoft, Apple, Intel, Oracle and Adobe — said in a report that the unlicensed software ...

  KUALA LUMPUR / AFP Malaysia’s Sime Darby, the world’s biggest listed palm-oil producer, on Wednesday announced a 60 percent quarterly profit rise but warned of a tough outlook amid slow global demand and lower weather-reduced output. In a statement, Chief Executive Mohamad Bakke Salleh attributed the improved year-on-year earnings to sales of certain assets. The company had said in ...

  Kuwait City / AFP The UN envoy said on Wednesday that Yemen’s warring parties were closer to agreement at peace talks in Kuwait as he headed to New York to brief the Security Council. “We are moving towards a general understanding that encompasses the expectations and visions of the parties,” Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said in a statement. “The discussions ...

Nairobi / AFP Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki has claimed the exodus of youth to Europe is a deliberate policy fomented by foreign powers to weaken the country, in a speech released on Wednesday. The hardline regime is accused of jailing thousands of political prisoners while refugees from the repressive Red Sea state have in recent years made up one of ...

  Ramallah / AFP The appointment of a hardline right-winger as Israel’s defence minister represents a “real threat” to regional stability, a senior Palestinian official said on Wednesday. “The existence of this government brings a real threat of instability and extremism in the region,” Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said, adding that the appointment would “result in apartheid, racism and ...

  Kabul / AFP The Afghan Taliban on Wednesday announced Haibatullah Akhundzada as their new leader, elevating a low-profile religious figure in a swift power transition after officially confirming the death of Mullah Mansour in a US drone strike. The surprise announcement coincided with a Taliban suicide bombing that targeted court employees near Kabul, killing 11 people in an assault ...