TESTOUR, Tunisia: Elias Chebbi inspected a beehive in a field in Tunisia minutes after a buzz on his phone warned him of a potential problem.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand on Thursday unveiled a big-spending budget including cash handouts to combat the rising cost of living.

JAKARTA: Indonesia will lift its ban on palm oil exports next week, President Joko Widodo said Thursday, relieving pressure on the global vegetable oil market after prices spiked because of the suspension and the war in Ukraine.

KONIGSWINTER, Germany: G7 partners met in Germany on Thursday hoping to find a solution for Kyiv’s budget troubles as the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to roil the global economy.

TOKYO: Japan’s economy shrank slightly in the first quarter of 2022, official data showed Wednesday, hit by COVID-19 restrictions and higher prices.

ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund began talks with Pakistani officials on Wednesday over the release of crucial funds, a process slowed by concerns about the pace of economic reforms in the South Asian country.

MARRAKESH: Moroccan snake-charmer Youssef watched as long-absent tourists again thronged Marrakesh’s famous Jamaa El-Fna square, ending a long pause forced by the COVID pandemic.

KUWAIT: The Union of Arab Banks has named Adel Al-Majed, Vice-Chairman & Group Chief Executive Officer of Boubyan Bank Group, “Arab Banker of the Year 2021”, making him the first Kuwaiti banker ever to receive the highest recognition given by the Union for excellent achievers in the Arab financial and banking business.

LONDON: Britain’s unemployment rate has fallen further to a near five-decade low, official data showed Tuesday, but the value of wages continues to erode as inflation soars.