Author: AFP

Asian markets mostly down as global outlook hits sentiment

HONG KONG: Asian markets stuttered Thursday after New York equities retreated from record highs, with weak economic data around the world offsetting a forecast-beating earnings season. While the mood on trading floors remains broadly positive after a blockbuster start to the year, there are lingering concerns that growth in most

Big, mean bird that killed US owner will be auctioned

WASHINGTON: For sale: a giant, ornery bird that killed its last owner. The creature called a cassowary – boasting long, dagger-like claws, standing as tall as a tallish person and sporting a truly foul disposition – will be auctioned tomorrow, two weeks after slashing to death 75-year-old exotic animal lover

Facebook leads police to weed-growing Americans

YANGON (Myanmar): Myanmar police have arrested one American and two locals after photos on Facebook led them to a huge plantation of towering marijuana plants near Mandalay. Pictures of the fields of weed started circulating on the platform last week – a rare sight online in a country where police

Emirati woman wakes up after 27 years in a coma: Family

DUBAI (United Arab Emirates): An Emirati woman opened her eyes and regained consciousness after spending 27 years in a coma induced by a serious brain injury, her family said Wednesday. Munira Omar was 32 when she was injured in a road traffic accident in 1991 after picking up her son

Rescuers battle to find dozens killed in Myanmar mudslide

HPAKANT (Myanmar): Myanmar recovery teams battled treacherous conditions Wednesday to pull a fourth body from the sludge left by a mudslide that buried more than 50 jade miners – the latest fatal accident in a notoriously dangerous but highly-lucrative industry. Dozens die each year in landslides caused by jade mining,

China defends Belt and Road, vows to battle debt

BEIJING: China launched on Thursday a staunch defence of its Belt and Road global infrastructure project as it opened a summit with a pledge to ease concerns about debt linked to its signature foreign policy. President Xi Jinping’s pet project is a reboot of the ancient Silk Road to connect

Bank of Japan cuts inflation, economic growth forecasts

TOKYO: Japan will fail to hit its two percent inflation target even by 2022, the central bank predicted on Thursday as it also revised down its estimate for growth in the world’s third-largest economy. In its closely watched quarterly report, the Bank of Japan forecast inflation of 1.6 percent in

Norwegian losses deepen as 737 MAX grounding adds to problems

OSLO: Troubled low-cost airline Norwegian said Thursday its net losses deepened in the first quarter of the year as the grounding of its Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft could cost it $58 million. The net loss swelled to 1.48 billion kroner ($171 million, 154 million euros) from 46 million kroner

OECD: Rich nations must help workers adapt to automation

BERLIN: Robots and computers threaten 14 percent of existing jobs over the next 20 years, so countries must retrain workers for a transformed labour market, the OECD warned Thursday. In a report published in Berlin, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates that in addition to the destruction

UK bank Barclays rebounds into quarterly net profit

LONDON: British bank Barclays rebounded into net profit in the first quarter, as a year-earlier heavy US fine was not repeated this time around, it said Thursday. Profit after taxation hit £1.04 billion ($1.34 billion, 1.20 billion euros) in the three months to the end of March, Barclays said in