TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday he would compile a second extra budget to respond to urgent needs including disaster relief in the current fiscal year, following instructions from the prime minister. Aso also told reporters after a cabinet meeting that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told his cabinet to take […]
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman will inaugurate on Thursday the Waad Al-Shamaal project, a 440-square-km city for mining industries in the country’s northern region, Al Arabiya TV said, quoting energy minister Khalid al-Falih. The project will cost 85 billion riyals ($22.7 billion) and create 10,000 jobs, Falih said. It is part of an […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – One of the Federal Reserve’s most influential policymakers said on Monday he expects to continue the gradual rate-hike cycle at a meeting next month, in order to extend the U.S. economic expansion. “What we’re going to do over the next FOMC monetary policy meeting, we’re going to do what we’ve been […]
Bollywood actress Preity Zinta has been criticised on social media for making comments perceived to be trivialising the #MeToo movement. She has in turn blamed “bad editing” of her interview for the controversy. The movement, which began in Hollywood a year ago, has seen thousands sharing their stories of sexual harassment. In recent months, #MeToo […]
LONDON (Reuters) – European shares started the week on the front foot, against spreadbetters’ early expectations for a fall, as signs of an easing in U.S.-China trade war tensions boosted mining and technology stocks. Miners drove the lion’s share of gains in Europe, with the basic resources sector .SXPP up 1.2 percent and construction & […]
SINGAPORE – An unlicensed driver put the lives of his passengers – his wife and baby daughter – as well as other motorists at risk when he took a van out for a spin and tried to evade police officers at a road block. In an attempt to flee the authorities on Feb 1, Muhamad […]
SINGAPORE – After being on the run for nearly seven years, the last member of a four-man Sarawakian gang that went on a violent late-night robbery spree here in 2010 was sentenced on Monday (Nov 19) to 33 years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane. Donny Meluda, 27, who played a supporting role in the […]
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The CEO of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX) told a public inquiry into financial-sector misconduct on Monday that senior staff had felt powerless to stop wrongdoing including thousands of breaches of anti-money laundering laws. Matt Comyn was the first chief executive of a top bank to be grilled at the powerful Royal […]
BEIJING (AFP) – China’s former top trade negotiator has questioned Beijing’s strategy in the trade row with Washington, offering a rare window into a policy disagreement in the Communist-ruled country. Mr Long Yongtu, who paved the way for the country’s admission to the World Trade Organisation, suggested the government erred by immediately retaliating against Washington […]
Nine pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong have pleaded not guilty in a trial seen as a test of judicial independence from Beijing. They have been charged with “public nuisance” over the 2014 “Umbrella” movement that demanded Hong Kong choose its own leader. Three of those accused founded the civil disobedience movement before student groups joined […]