BERLIN: An apprenticeship at a steelmaker brought Steven Maillot from the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean to Eisenhuettenstadt in Germany, a stone’s throw from the Polish border.

BEIRUT: Inflation in Lebanon hit an annual rate of about 190 per cent in February as the International Monetary Fund called on the country’s government, parliament and central bank to close ranks and take decisive actions to stabilize the economy.

KUWAIT: Kuwait Investment Authority, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, has sold shares worth about €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) in Mercedes-Benz Group AG — roughly a quarter of its stake — after the carmaker’s stock almost quadrupled over the last three years.

KUWAIT: On March 21, 2023, the National Investments Company held its Analysts Conference for the fiscal year ending on 31 December 2022.

BEIJING: China has handed out $240 billion worth of bailout loans to 22 developing countries at risk of default over the past two decades, with the trend accelerating in recent years, a report said Tuesday.

PARIS: Fresh strikes and protests roiled France on Tuesday with a record number of police deployed, as President Emmanuel Macron remained defiant over a pensions reform that is sparking turmoil in the country.

WASHINGTON: The United States will likely enter a recession this year and face high inflation well into 2024, a majority of economists predicted in their response to a semiannual survey.

GENEVA: The General Secretariat of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) participated in the activities of the tenth session of the United Nations Gas Experts Group, which was held at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva from March 23-24.

BERLIN: A major strike brought much of Germany’s air traffic, rail service and commuter lines to a halt on Monday as workers demand wage hikes in the face of brisk inflation.