TOKYO: A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck southern Ibaraki Prefecture in eastern Japan at 10:06 a.m. on Wednesday morning, shaking the Kanto region and causing buildings in Tokyo to sway, while authorities said there was no tsunami warning. The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake was centered at a…
YAOUNDE: The World Trade Organization’s 14th ministerial conference ended early Monday without agreement on extending the long-running moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions, a lapse that sharpened questions about the body’s ability to update trade rules and advance wider institutional reform. WTO officials said the moratorium had…
TOKYO: Japan’s industrial output fell 2.1% in February from the previous month, official preliminary data showed on Tuesday, as weaker production in autos, fabricated metals and electronic parts reversed some of January’s strength. The decline matched economists’ median forecast and marked the first monthly drop in three months. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the index of industrial…
SEOUL: The Bank of Korea said on Friday that its 2025 net income climbed to a record 15.3275 trillion won, nearly doubling from the previous year as gains on foreign-currency assets and stronger securities prices lifted results. The total marked a 96.03% increase from 2024 and surpassed the central bank’s previous high of 7.8638 trillion won set in…
CHONGQING: China’s medical equipment market expanded 60.5% between 2021 and 2025, reaching 1.44 trillion yuan ($208 billion) last year, according to data released at the 2026 China Medical Equipment Conference in Chongqing. The figures also showed medical equipment exports totaled $45.8 billion in 2025, up 62.4% from 2019. The China Association of Medical Equipment said the country…
GABORONE: Botswana is facing renewed pressure on its diamond-driven economy after S&P Global Ratings lowered the country’s long-term sovereign rating to BBB- from BBB and its short-term rating to A-3 from A-2, while keeping a negative outlook. The cut leaves Botswana at the lowest investment-grade level and comes as weaker rough diamond sales continue to squeeze export…
SEOUL: South Korea posted an 11.3 trillion won managed fiscal surplus in January as stronger tax collection offset higher government spending, with value-added tax and income tax leading the increase in receipts. Finance ministry data showed tax revenue reached 52.9 trillion won in the month, up 6.2 trillion won from a year earlier, while the managed fiscal…
MUMBAI: India’s foreign exchange reserves rose to a record $728.494 billion in the week ended Feb. 27, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India on Friday. The stockpile increased $4.885 billion from $723.608 billion a week earlier, reversing the prior week’s decline. India’s forex reserves comprise foreign currency assets, gold, Special Drawing Rights and the…
Health
DUBAI: UNICEF, Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) have launched a US$300 million partnership aimed at helping save 3 million children from malnutrition, the organisations announced on March 12. The partnership is tied to Dubai’s Ramadan humanitarian drive, known as 11.5: Edge of Life, which is seeking to mobilise large-scale funding for child nutrition programmes in vulnerable communities. The partners…
LYON: Nearly four in 10 cancer cases worldwide could be prevented by reducing exposure to known, modifiable risk factors, according to a new analysis from the World Health Organization and its cancer research agency released for World Cancer Day. The assessment estimated that 37% of new cancer diagnoses in 2022, about 7.1 million of 18.7 million cases, were linked to risks that can be reduced through public health measures…
MENA Newswire, WASHINGTON: U.S. regulators have classified a recall affecting more than 80,000 single serve coffee pods made for Keurig brewers after a labeling error raised concerns for consumers who avoid caffeine. The action covers McCafé Premium Roast Decaf Coffee K-Cup pods distributed by Keurig Dr Pepper, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recall listing. The FDA categorized the action as a Class II recall on Jan. 23, 2026.…
MENA Newswire, BOSTON: Scientists at Tufts University say they have developed a more efficient way to make tagatose, a naturally occurring “rare sugar” that tastes close to table sugar while delivering fewer calories and a much smaller rise in blood glucose and insulin in published clinical studies. The team reported that engineering bacteria to convert widely available glucose into tagatose could address a longstanding obstacle that has kept the…