The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.

  Jakarta / AFP Thousands of workers rallied on Thursday in the Indonesian capital Jakarta against a controversial government scheme to raise revenues that, critics claim, has allowed wealthy tycoons to avoid paying tax. The tax amnesty programme began in July, offering low rates to people who came forward to declare their untaxed wealth stashed at home and overseas. Wealthy ...

  Bloomberg China has punished coal and steel companies for illegal production or unsafe operations as part of the government’s efforts to reduce industrial overcapacity. Following safety checks at 4,624 coal mines, the regulator revoked the licenses of 28 and halted production at 286, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement on its website. Thirty-three coal companies ...

  Seoul / AFP Samsung said on Thursday it would resume sales of new Galaxy Note 7 smartphones in South Korea this week, hoping to turn the page on the troubled device after an ongoing global recall prompted by battery explosions. The company on September 2 suspended sales of the oversized “phablet” and recalled 2.5 million units shipped worldwide after ...

  Bangkok / AP Thailand, the world’s biggest exporter of seahorses, is suspending trade in the animal because of concern about threats to its wild population. The decision was announced at a meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES. Dr. Amanda Vincent, a seahorse expert at The University of British ...

  Hanoi / AFP Vietnam’s economy dipped slightly in the third quarter year-on-year, data showed Thursday, but analysts say the communist country will remain one of Southeast Asia’s star performers. GDP growth in the three months to September hit 6.4 percent, down from 6.81 percent in the same period in 2015, the Government Statistics Office said in a statement. Vietnam ...

  Bloomberg Shareholders at Reliance Capital Ltd. approved the appointment of Jai Anmol Ambani as an executive director, grooming a prospective heir to his billionaire father at parent Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group Anmol, the older son of 57-year-old Reliance Chairman Anil Ambani, was appointed as an additional director by the board in August. A majority of institutional investors, which ...

  Sydney / AFP South Australia braced for a second night of severe weather on Thursday, with tens of thousands of homes still without power after “catastrophic” storms knocked out supply to the entire population. The total blackout caused chaos and widespread damage was reported, as authorities warned of more wild conditions to come including floods, high winds, heavy rain ...

  Geneva / AFP The United Nations described on Thursday a desperate situation in Syria’s rebel-held eastern Aleppo, warning “hundreds” needed medical evacuation and that there was only enough food aid left for a quarter of the city’s population. “Utmost on our mind is the need to address the very concerning medical situation” in the east of Aleppo, UN deputy envoy ...

  Ankara / AFP Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested on Thursday it may be necessary to keep the state of emergency imposed after the July coup bid in place for at least a year. His comments came a day after he chaired Turkey’s top national security body which called for the current state of emergency to be extended when it ...

  Oslo / AFP Norway’s Rafto Prize for human rights was on Thursday awarded to Yanar Mohammed of Iraq for her efforts to help minorities and women subjected to sexual abuse in the war-torn country, the jury said. Mohammed, 55, a journalist and feminist fighting for democratic principles and human rights, is the co-founder and head of the Organisation of ...