NEW YORK: Stock markets tumbled, the pound crashed against the dollar and oil prices slumped Friday on growing recession fears after central banks this week ramped up interest rates to fight decades-high inflation.

NEW YORK: Japan announced that it will lift tough COVID restrictions on foreign tourists, reopening the borders after two and a half years.

DOHA: France’s TotalEnergies on Saturday signed a further $1.5 billion investment in Qatar’s natural gas production expansion, which comes as Europe scrambles to find new energy sources to replace Russian supplies.

Istanbul: Turkey’s central bank on Thursday cut its policy rate for the second straight month despite an annual inflation rate that has reached 80 percent and is still moving higher.

LONDON: The Bank of England hiked its interest rate again on Thursday to combat soaring inflation as it warned that the UK’s economy had already slipped into recession.

BRUSSELS: Almost every week now, European governments are announcing emergency measures to protect households and businesses from the energy crisis stemming from Russia’s war in Ukraine.

By Majd Othman

KUWAIT: Chinese car brands in Kuwait have overtaken German and Korean brands to become one of the major brands being sold in the country, said Zhang Jianwei, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Kuwait.

London: The British pound tumbled two percent against the dollar Friday, as recession fears intensified following poor data despite UK government efforts to drive growth.

Vienna: The price of OPEC basket of crudes went down 80 cents to USD 95.51 per barrel (pb) on Thursday, from USD 96.31 pb Wednesday, the OPEC Secretariat said on Friday.