China’s diesel exports rise to record as flooding damps demand

  Beijing / Bloomberg China’s diesel exports rebounded to a record in July as severe flooding in some parts of the country curbed domestic fuel demand. The world’s largest energy consumer exported 1.53 million tons of diesel last month, a 39 percent jump from June and beating the previous record in May, according to data posted Sunday on the website ...

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‘Rural India to become the next driver of e-commerce’

  New Delhi / Bloomberg A surge in internet connectivity in rural India, home to some 870 million people, will lead much of the nation’s e-commerce activity to move into regional areas during the rest of the decade, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group. The number of web-connected rural consumers will more than double to 315 million by ...

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Vanke profit gains on strong sales amid ownership fight

  Beijing / Bloomberg China Vanke Co., the developer at the center of a battle for control, posted a 10 percent increase in first-half profit as a home-market recovery boosted sales, helping offset uncertainties over the company’s future because of the ownership struggle. Net income at the nation’s largest residential developer climbed to 5.35 billion yuan ($804 million), or 0.48 ...

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Philippine president threatens to take country out of UN

  Manila / AFP President Rodrigo Duterte threatened on Sunday to withdraw the Philippines from the United Nations, as he launched another profanity-laced tirade against the organisation for criticising his bloody war on crime. More than 1,500 people have been killed since Duterte took office and immediately began his law-and-order crackdown, according to police statistics, triggering fierce criticism from the ...

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Japan protests as China ships sail near disputed islands

  Tokyo / AFP Tokyo protested to Beijing on Sunday after Chinese coast guard ships sailed into territorial waters surrounding disputed islands in the East China Sea, Japan said. Four Chinese vessels entered the waters surrounding islets, called the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, around 10.00 am local time (0100 GMT), according to Japan Coast Guard. They left ...

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Protest over election ban on Hong Kong activists

  Hong Kong / AFP Hundreds of protesters marched through Hong Kong’s main streets on Sunday against a ban on pro-independence candidates from running in an upcoming legislative election, as fears grow over Beijing’s influence in the city. In the last month five candidates who advocate a split from China were rejected from standing in the September 4 vote, with officials ...

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S Korea warns of possible N Korean assassination squads

  Seoul/ AFP South Korea warned on Sunday of possible North Korean assassinations and kidnappings in revenge for recent high-profile defections to the South. With tensions also high before a large-scale South Korea-US military exercise starting on Monday, the Unification Ministry in Seoul said Pyongyang was bent on provocation. A ministry official told reporters the defection to Seoul of North Korea’s ...

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Bangkok bomb trial looms without masterminds in dock

  Bangkok / AFP Two Chinese nationals will go on trial this week for their alleged roles in a deadly bombing at a Bangkok shrine one year ago, an attack whose motive remains clouded in mystery following a murky and at times surreal investigation. The trial, which starts on Tuesday, is being held at a military court in Bangkok and ...

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Indian troops kill 3 militants near Kashmir border

  Srinagar / AFP Indian soldiers killed three suspected rebels in a gun battle on Sunday in Indian-administered Kashmir, the army said, as the region reels from weeks of deadly violence between protesters and security forces. The rebels were killed in Tangdhar north of the main city of Srinagar after crossing over from the Pakistani side of the heavily militarised border ...

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Are aging and the economic slowdown linked?

  An aging America reduces the economy’s growth — big time. That’s the startling conclusion of a new academic study, and if it withstands scholarly scrutiny, it could transform our national political and economic debate. We’ve known for decades, of course, that the retirement of the huge baby-boom generation — coupled with low birthrates — would make the United States ...

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