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  GENEVA / AP The number of Syrians who have fled their country after six years of war has surpassed the 5 million mark, the UN refugee agency said on Thursday. UNHCR announced the milestone a year after participating countries at a Geneva conference pledged to “resettle and facilitate pathways for 500,000 refugees” from Syria — but that only half ...

  DUJIANGYAN / AP Failing eyesight, poor digestion, bad teeth, limbs no longer so limber: With captive giant pandas living longer than ever, the list of their physical and even emotional needs is growing. China, the pandas’ native home, is seeking to cater to those requirements with a special home for the old timers along with customized diets, exercise and other ...

  Bloomberg China’s state-owned enterprise regulator has asked coal mining giant Shenhua Group Corp. and power generator China Datang Corp. to discuss a possible merger, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The talks are at an early stage and there’s no guarantee of a deal, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t ...

  Bloomberg Signs of growing US fuel demand are propping up oil above $49 a barrel, with more refinery purchases seen helping ease a glut in American stockpiles. Futures in New York were holding gains after rising 2.4 percent on Wednesday, when US government data showed that gasoline inventories dropped more than expected. Additionally, refineries boosted the amount of crude ...

  Bloomberg As they guided Europe’s largest oil companies through the industry’s worst slump in two decades, the bosses of Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc had a simple message for investors: we’ll protect the dividend at all costs. Not everyone is convinced they’ll be able to keep their word. Even after they raised billions of dollars by cutting ...

  Bloomberg With Indonesia’s tax amnesty coming to an end, authorities are now setting their sights on those who didn’t participate and continue to evade taxes. Officials plan to scrutinize credit-card data from banks and compare those with tax reports after the amnesty program uncovered more than $355 billion in previously undeclared assets. While the participants in the amnesty would ...

  Bloomberg China’s central bank will keep a tight rein on money-market rates this year, raising the cost of short-term funds at least twice in moves that will pressure bonds. That’s the consensus view in a survey of 29 fixed-income traders and analysts, with 20 saying that the People’s Bank of China will increase open-market operation rates by 10 basis ...

  Bloomberg The UK economy’s sweet spot is about to be challenged. Prime Minister Theresa May kickstarted the formal withdrawal from the European Union on Wednesday, leaving businesses and investors facing the realities of Brexit and changes to everything from regulation to the movement of workers and goods. There’s also a lack of clarity over whether a good deal — ...

  Bloomberg Euro-area economic confidence unexpectedly slipped this month, an indication that the region’s recovery may not be as immune from political uncertainty as anticipated. An index of executive and consumer sentiment in the region dipped to 107.9 from 108 in February, the European Commission in Brussels said on Thursday. While that’s lower than the 108.3 median estimate in a ...

  Bloomberg One of the world’s biggest drugmakers has a new plan to get more medicines to more people: tapping funds from wealthy investors to build up health-care systems in low-income countries. Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG is in talks with banks to create a fund for investors interested in opportunities that have a social impact, Harald Nusser, the company’s ...