TUNIS: The head of Tunisia’s powerful UGTT trade union on Thursday rejected International Monetary Fund conditions for a new loan to bail out the country’s struggling economy and questioned the government’s authority to negotiate.

LONDON: The euro and pound retreated against the dollar Thursday as economic data pointed to increased prospects of recession in Europe.

FRANKFURT, Germany: Germany moved closer to rationing natural gas on Thursday as it raised the alert level under an emergency plan after Russia slashed supplies to the country.

Kuwait: The price of Kuwaiti oil went down by 15 cents to USD 110.81 per barrel on Thursday, compared with USD 110.96 pb a day earlier, said the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) on Friday.

London: British annual inflation has hit a fresh 40-year high, official data showed Wednesday, further eroding workers’ wages and pressuring the Bank of England to keep on raising interest rates.

LONDON: Equities and oil prices tumbled Wednesday after a brief respite from last week’s painful rout across world markets, with recession fears building as central banks hike interest rates to combat decades-high inflation.

MES AYNAK: An ancient Buddhist city carved out of immense peaks near Kabul is in danger of disappearing forever, swallowed up by a Chinese consortium exploiting one of the world’s largest copper deposits.

TEHRAN: Tucked away in Tehran’s famed Grand Bazaar, Iran’s oldest pistachio wholesaler quietly prepares a small revolution-he will hand his business to his youngest daughter, in a trade dominated by men. Abbas Emami, 88, began working for his own father at the age of 15.

PARIS: Europe’s low-cost airlines are facing more strikes this summer as staff in Spain and France announced new walkouts on Tuesday.