FRANKFURT AM MAIN: Growth in lending by banks in the eurozone to the private sector rebounded in February, according to figures released Thursday by the European Central Bank (ECB). Loans to non-financial corporations and European households rose by 3.2 percent in February after 3.0 percent in January and 3.4 percent
HANOI: Vietnam police have arrested a Chinese national found with a massive haul of heroin in Ho Chi Minh City, the second such bust in a week as the country cracks down on the illicit trade. Though communist Vietnam boasts some of the world’s toughest drug laws, it is both
PARIS: Iceland’s budget carrier WOW Air collapsed on Thursday, the latest in a string of low-cost airlines to go under after the fiercly competitive industry suffered from rising fuel prices last year. Here is some background on the challenges plaguing the sector. Almost 10 low-cost airlines collapsed in 2018, including
LONDON: Britain has identified “significant” issues in Huawei’s engineering processes that pose “new risks” for the nation’s telecommunications, a government report found Thursday amid lingering global suspicion over the Chinese technology giant. “Further significant technical issues have been identified in Huawei’s engineering processes, leading to new risks in the UK
SYDNEY: The unique mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth has been axed after 31 years and replaced by the ATP World Team Cup, officials said yesterday in a revamp of the season-opening tennis calendar. Two of the three cities to host the new men-only tournament, Sydney and Brisbane, had already
BEIRA: Five cases of cholera have been confirmed in Mozambique following the cyclone that ravaged the country, killing at least 468 people, a government health official said on Wednesday. Cyclone Idai smashed into Mozambique on March 15, unleashing hurricane-force winds and heavy rains that flooded much of the centre of the
SINGAPORE: About 500 people were evacuated Wednesday after a fire at a luxury hotel in downtown Singapore but there were no injuries, emergency services officials said. Television footage showed thick black smoke billowing from the Grand Hyatt Hotel near the Orchard Road shopping district, but the Singapore Civil Defence Force
MADRID: Firefighting crews aided by lighter winds made progress Wednesday in their battle against a wildfire which broke out in northwestern Spain amid unusually warm weather, officials said. Hundreds of firefighters and soldiers backed by seven helicopters and five water-dropping planes were fighting the blaze which broke out on Monday
Germany recorded its warmest year in 2018, a period also marked by a drought lasting months, the country’s DWD weather service said Tuesday. The average temperatures for the year reached 10.5 degree Celsius (50.9 degrees Fahrenheit), a new record high, the DWD said in a statement. “It was the warmest
The US space agency NASA scrapped Monday a planned historic spacewalk by two women astronauts, citing a lack of available spacesuits that would fit them at the International Space Station. Christina Koch will now perform tasks in space Friday with fellow American Nick Hague — instead of Anne McClain as