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SHARJAH / WAM Sharjah’s Environment and Protected Areas Authority (EPAA) is to collaborate with the Emirates Marine Environment Group (EMEG) to establish a large-scale coral nursery off the coast of the island of Sir Bu Nair. The project, part of EPAA’s annual programme of conservation initiatives for the island, is designed to mitigate the impact of coral bleaching events that ...

Bloomberg Reliance Industries Ltd started testing its online shopping portal three days after Facebook Inc said it will invest $5.7 billion in digital assets controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani. JioMart, an e-commerce venture of Reliance Retail, went live in three neighbourhoods surrounding Mumbai, leveraging a deal that gives it access to WhatsApp’s 400 million users in India currently under lockdown. ...

Bloomberg Indonesia opted for less punishing social-distancing measures than its neighbours to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Now analysts are warning its economy will take much longer to recover than others in Southeast Asia. With the pandemic’s peak expected in late May, President Joko Widodo is recalibrating his strategy of large-scale social distancing rules and calling for a ramp-up ...

Bloomberg Singapore home prices fell less than initially estimated in the first quarter, with an extended lockdown threatening to further push down values as the residential property comes to a standstill. Housing prices fell 1% in the three months ended on March 31, data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed. That compares to a preliminary estimate of a 1.2% decline. ...

Bloomberg The Philippines is known for training nurses and exporting them to all corners of the world, but now the nation finds itself shorthanded just as its number of coronavirus infections and deaths skyrocket. The islands’ death toll from Covid-19 has surged nearly fivefold since April 1 to 462, and the confirmed cases have tripled to 6,981 as of April ...

Bloomberg Low oil prices are usually a curse for green energy, but this time might be different. The collapse of the crude market has seen prices fall below zero for the first time in history. Yet Royal Dutch Shell outlined a bold programme to slash carbon emissions and invest in clean energy, while Eni said it’ll consider accelerating its ambitious ...

Bloomberg Eni SpA reported a 94% drop in first-quarter profit and cut its production forecast for the year as demand is crushed by the coronavirus pandemic. While the large decline in earnings reflects in part a high tax rate, it provides signals for the rest of the industry, with the worst impact of oil’s historic plunge likely in the coming ...

Bloomberg Bank of China (BOC) Ltd’s estimate for the carnage to retail investors from the collapse in a product linked to US crude oil futures has surged 11-fold to more than $1 billion as it consolidated reports from its nationwide network, according to people familiar with the matter. The lender’s estimate of losses to customers across China increased from about ...

Bloomberg Argentina’s decision to pull out of regional trade negotiations will exacerbate the country’s economic crisis, a coalition of opposition lawmakers said. Citing economic policy priorities and the effects of the Covid-19 crisis, President Alberto Fernandez’s administration withdrew from ongoing and future talks with several countries as part of the regional South American trade bloc known as Mercosur, the group’s ...

Bloomberg Plant shutdowns are leaving the US dangerously close to meat shortages as coronavirus outbreaks now spread to suppliers across the Americas. The first big poultry plants closed in the US and experts are warning that domestic shortages are just weeks away. Brazil, the world’s No. 1 shipper of chicken and beef, saw its first major closure with the halt ...