Business

16 Mar 2019; DW: The European Union, Canada and the United States slapped new sanctions on a number of Russian individuals and entities on Friday for their involvement in a naval standoff in the Kerch Strait in November 2018.

UNITED NATIONS, March 16 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Friday criticized remarks made by a U.S. representative against the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as "contrary to the facts and fraught with prejudice."

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) failed to agree on a regular renewal of the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), while agreeing to adopt "a technical roll-over" of the mandate on Friday, due to differences over the BRI, mention of which had been in previous Afghanistan resolutions.

New Delhi, Mar 15 (PTI) State-run telecom firm BSNL said Friday the pending February salaries of its 1.76 lakh employees have been cleared.

The company also announced the launch of various schemes to increase its market share and revenue.

14 Mar 2019; DW: Lawmakers in the House of Commons overwhelmingly backed a government motion on Thursday to ask for a three-month delay for Britain's departure from the European Union, which is currently scheduled for March 29.

The move has also paved the way for a third vote on Prime Minister Theresa May's divorce deal with the European Union, which could take place early next week.

BERLIN, March 14 (Xinhua) -- After being taken over by a Chinese state-owned company, Germany's EEW Energy From Waste is on a steady growth track, instead of holding doubts at the beginning.

With a history of over 140 years, EEW was taken over by China's state-owned Beijing Enterprises for 1.4 billion euros (1.6 billion U.S. dollars) in 2016. It was the largest Chinese acquisition of a German company at that time.

ISLAMABAD, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan launched the country's new online visa system here on Thursday to soften, simplify and quicken the visa process to facilitate visit by foreign tourists and business people.

Addressing the launching ceremony, the prime minister said new visa system is a significant change in Pakistan's policy which will speed up the visa process to open Pakistan's doors to the world, making it more accessible to tourists and investors from across the globe.

New Delhi, Mar 14 (PTI) Inflation based on wholesale prices inched up to 2.93 per cent in February over the previous month on account of firming up of prices of food items, including vegetables and cereals, according to government data released Thursday.

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation was 2.76 per cent in January this year and 2.74 per cent in February 2018.

Jammu, Mar 14 (PTI) The cross-LoC trade between Poonch-Rawalakot remained suspended for the second day on Thursday even as there was no report of ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

It was suspended after five mortar shells hit the cross-LoC facilitation centre at Chakan-da-Bagh in Poonch district on Wednesday at around 12.30 pm, when the process of scanning of trucks was almost complete.

Though there were no casualties in the shelling, several sheds including the one housing the X-Ray scanner were damaged.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday dangled the prospect of walking away from a new trade deal with China if it’s not to his liking, just as he cut short his summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un when the two sides failed to reach an agreement.

Trump spoke on the state of negotiations with China shortly before meeting with Republican senators on trade issues. He spoke optimistically of the U.S. and China being able to reach an agreement, declaring that “China has not been doing well. We’ve been doing unbelievably well.”

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Global port operator DP World says its profit rose 10 percent in 2018 despite worldwide tensions over trade amid a trade war between China and the U.S. and fears about Britain leaving the European Union.

The port operator on Thursday reported profits of around $1.29 billion, up from around $1.17 billion the year before.

Its revenue for the year was $5.6 billion, up from $4.7 billion the year prior. That’s a revenue increase of 19.8 percent for the port operator.