Hundreds join funeral of Tibetan ‘schoolboy’

Dharamsala / AFP Hundreds of grieving Tibetans on Sunday joined the funeral procession for a 16-year-old schoolboy who died after setting himself on fire to protest against Chinese rule. Dorje Tsering died from cardiac arrest on Thursday after setting himself ablaze at a housing settlement for Tibetan refugees in India’s northern city of Dehradun. Tsering’s body was Saturday brought to ...

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Slovakia’s Fico loses majority amid extreme right poll gains

Bratislava / AFP Slovakia’s leftist Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Sunday he would begin difficult coalition talks after he won elections on a anti-refugee platform but lost his parliamentary majority as smaller parties, including the extreme right, scored first-time seats. A conservative party leader described the outcome as a “big earthquake” in Slovak politics, as analysts cautioned that Fico ...

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Xi vows to contain moves for Taiwan independence

Beijing / AP China’s President Xi Jinping has pledged to contain any moves by Taiwan toward formal independence in his first public remarks on the issue since the self-governing island democracy elected a president and legislature from the independence-leaning party in January. Speaking to delegates to the annual meeting of China’s ceremonial parliament, Xi said China won’t budge in its ...

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For Trump brand, record doesn’t match the luster

Consider Donald Trump for a moment as a purveyor of men’s cologne. I quote from the merchandise section of trump.com, the website for his portfolio of “great” companies. “‘Empire by Trump’ is the perfect accessory for the confident man determined to make his mark with passion, perseverance and drive. … Bold notes of peppermint, spicy chai and a hint of ...

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ECB must take stimulus steps warily

The European Central Bank’s (ECB) expected move to announce new bold stimulus measures aim to reverse negative economic outlook in eurozone, even as some banking circles doubt such a step could help. The measures may include a further cut in interest rates, an increase in the volume of bonds it buys each month under its so-called quantitative easing or QE ...

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Wage growth conundrum in the jobs report

For all the positives in the latest U.S. jobs report, employees and the Federal Reserve didn’t get one thing they’ve been looking for: higher wages. Therein lies a central conundrum of this economic expansion. The February employment report suggests that the economy weathered January’s stock-market turmoil in decent shape. Nonfarm employers added an estimated 242,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate ...

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Beijing’s architectural crackdown

Jonathan Hall-Eastman SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS A TV network headquarters that resembles a pair of pants. A newspaper headquarters that bears more than a passing similarity to an erect phallus. An arts center that has been described as a “group of space eggs.” These are just a few of the most famous examples of the many ridiculous looking buildings that ...

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Firms ink $3.8bn Cairo mixed-use scheme deal

CAIRO / EMIRATES BUSINESS Egypt’s Sixth of October Development and Investment Company (Sodic) and Heliopolis Development Housing (Heliopolis Housing) have signed a co-development contract for a major mixed-use scheme in Cairo. Sodic will develop 70 per cent and 69.8 per cent of the residential and commercial units respectively, while Heliopolis House will develop the rest, according to a company statement. ...

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Forget the loft: The newest trend in luxury real estate is walls

MANHATTAN / Bloomberg For Wendy Maitland, Town Residential’s president of sales, an Oscar-winning director client of hers was a typical real estate shopper with typical requests. He had a seven-figure budget and was keen to buy into one of the many new luxury condo complexes sprouting around Manhattan. Maitland showed him multiple locations until they whittled his choice down to ...

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Bolivia’s unlikely dream of cashing in on Coca export

DPA Franziska Berra has been plucking coca leaves for 65 years. In scorching heat, from 9 am until at least 5 pm, eight hours almost without a break: just coca. She never learned anything else. “Now the price has hit rock bottom,” says the 80-year-old, who bends down all day to pluck the green leaves and covers her head with ...

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