Business

DUBAI, Mar 1 (NNN-WAM) – Expo 2020 Dubai announced a world class music recording studio, that will become a permanent facility as part of its legacy plans in the future city of District 2020 – and the first project to make use of the studio will be Expo 2020’s all-female orchestra.

BAGHDAD, Mar 1 (NNN-NINA) – The Iraqi Foreign Ministry, decided to suspend consular services for one week, over concerns of the COVID-19.

As part of the ministry’s measures against the spread of the disease, which can be transmitted as a result of human gatherings, the ministry will temporarily suspend the consular service, starting from today, Mar 1 to 7, according to a statement issued by the ministry.

KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 1 (NNN-BERNAMA) – Muhyiddin Yassin, a former deputy prime minister, took the oath of office this morning (Sunday), to become Malaysia’s new prime minister.

Muhyiddin was appointed following the abrupt resignation of 94-year-old Mahathir Mohamad, who had been in office since the general elections in 2018.

29 Feb 2020; MEMO: Pakistan on Friday reopened its border with neighboring Iran, allowing hundreds of its stranded citizens to return to the country, officials and local media reported, Anadolu Agency reports.

“We have reopened the border to allow our citizens to enter [the country] in batches,” Liaquat Shahwani, a spokesperson for the government of southwestern Balochistan province that borders Iran, told Anadolu Agency.

Chandigarh, Feb 28 (PTI) Reducing government employees' retirement age from 60 to 58, free education for all students up to Class 12 and a debt waiver for landless farmers were some of the major announcements made by Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal in the 2020-21 budget on Friday.

Badal on Friday presented a Rs 1,54,805 crore budget in the state Assembly here.

Beijing, Feb 29 (AFP/PTI) China's manufacturing activity fell to its lowest level on record in February as official data on Saturday confirmed the massive damage the deadly coronavirus epidemic has caused to the world's second-largest economy.

The announcement comes as the epidemic has rapidly spread to a growing number of countries, pushing stock markets to their lowest levels since the 2008 global financial crisis over fears that the coronavirus could wreak havoc on the world economy.

Mumbai, Feb 28 (PTI) India's foreign exchange reserves inched up by USD 29 million to a fresh lifetime high of USD 476.122 billion in the week to February 21, aided by an increase in the value of gold holdings, Reserve Bank data showed on Friday.

The forex kitty had zoomed by USD 3 billion to USD 476.092 billion in the previous reporting week.

BEIRUT, Feb 29 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanese Information Minister, Manal Abdel Samad, said that, Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, will visit Arab countries soon, to seek support for the country’s economy.

Abdel Samad’s remarks came, after a meeting of the council of ministers over what should be done to ease the financial and economic crisis in Lebanon.

The minister said, Diab is keen to cooperate with Arab countries for the sake of Lebanon.

BERLIN, Feb 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) – There are almost 60 cases of COVID-19 infection in Germany, according to Susanne Wackers, spokesperson of the federal health ministry, at a press conference.

Since Tuesday, the number of confirmed cases in Germany climbed sharply from 16 to almost 60.

The 16 cases confirmed prior to Tuesday had all been discharged from hospital after recovery.

On Friday evening, the Messe Berlin announced that the ITB Berlin travel trade show is cancelled.

NEW YORK (AP) — The coronavirus outbreak began to look more like a worldwide economic crisis Friday as anxiety about the infection emptied shops and amusement parks, canceled events, cut trade and travel and dragged already slumping financial markets even lower.

More employers told their workers to stay home, and officials locked down neighborhoods and closed schools. The wide-ranging efforts to halt the spread of the illness threatened jobs, paychecks and profits.