Bloomberg Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s party won almost 90 percent of the seats to give the premier an unprecedented fourth term in a vote marked by tight security, violence and a crackdown on the opposition. Hasina’s Awami League and its close allies won 267 of the 299 seats up for a vote, Election Commission Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed told ...
Read More »Russia apartment block blasts kill 4
Bloomberg Four people died and 68 remain unaccounted for after a gas explosion in a residential building in Russia on Monday morning. Russia’s Investigative Committee launched a criminal case into the incident in Magnitogorsk, about 1,700 kilometres east of Moscow. The inquiry will consider all possible versions of what happened, according to a statement. “Currently, the priority version is explosion ...
Read More »Moscow detains US citizen for ‘espionage’
Bloomberg Russia’s Federal Security Service detained a US citizen in Moscow on suspicion of espionage on December 28, Interfax news agency reported. The investigation department of the FSB, as the domestic security service is widely known, started a criminal case and investigations are underway, Interfax said, citing the FSB. It didn’t provide any details on where the person was being ...
Read More »Indian PM plans cash handout for farmers before vote
Bloomberg Prime Minister Narendra Modi is studying three options, including a cash handout for farmers, people with knowledge of the matter said, as his administration seeks to ease an agrarian distress and shore up popular support ahead of next year’s general election. The government is weighing options including a monthly income support programme for farmers, a cash handout plan for ...
Read More »UK needs leadership, says US envoy
Bloomberg The UK is in need of leadership, US Ambassador to London Woody Johnson said, as he also cast doubt on the chances of a bilateral trade deal if Prime Minister Theresa May manages to push her Brexit agreement through Parliament. “I’m feeling the country is in need of leadership,†Johnson said on Monday in a BBC Radio interview. “You ...
Read More »Opposition decries flaw as Congo counts votes
Bloomberg The Democratic Republic of Congo counted ballot papers on Monday after an election that the opposition described as chaotic and flawed, with problems ranging from broken voting machines to delays and vote-buying. Congolese went to the polls on Sunday to find a successor to long-serving President Joseph Kabila in a vote that was already two years overdue, with Kabila’s ...
Read More »US stocks pare December slide; dollar edges lower
Bloomberg US stocks rose, paring a December slump that is among the worst in history, after President Donald Trump reported “big progress†in trade talks with his Chinese counterpart. Treasuries slipped and oil erased gains. The S&P 500 trimmed its monthly loss to 9 percent, the steepest of the record bull market, as Trump said in a tweet that negotiations ...
Read More »Yen, strongest major currency of 2018
Bloomberg The yen is set to end the year as the biggest winner against the dollar among major currencies as investors sought out safety amid 2018’s uncertainties. The haven asset outperformed as the pound and euro faced headwinds from Brexit and Italy’s budget crisis, while the US-China trade war and plunging oil prices pressured commodity-related peers such as the Canadian ...
Read More »Emirates hints peak period after New Year 
DUBAI / Emirates Business Travel to and from Dubai is expected to reach another peak towards the end of this week, as Emirates anticipates yet another busy period of outbound travel after New Year’s celebrations and inbound travel for the Dubai Shopping Festival. More than 180,000 travellers will be making their way to Emirates’ dedicated Terminal 3 facilities from January ...
Read More »Nestle plans vegan push with a meat-free burger
Bloomberg Hold the ground chuck: Nestle SA sees the future in a meat-free burger made from soy and wheat protein. Soon you may be able to wash it down with purple walnut milk or a spirulina latte. The Swiss company is gearing up for its biggest push yet into the booming vegan market: the Incredible Burger, to be introduced under ...
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