ISTANBUL: Turkey’s official inflation rate spiralled to nearly 70 percent in April, data showed on Thursday, posing a huge challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose unconventional economic policies are often blamed for the economic turmoil.

WASHINGTON: A surge in imports of goods and services in March drove the US trade gap to the highest level ever recorded, with huge increases in purchases of autos, computers, furniture and clothing, the government reported Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: India’s central bank announced a surprise interest rate hike on Wednesday, as Asia’s third-biggest economy reels from galloping inflation in the wake of the Ukraine war.

WASHINGTON: US private businesses saw surprisingly weak hiring in April, a survey showed Wednesday, amid low unemployment that’s made their quest to find workers even more difficult.

STRASBOURG: The European Union’s executive unveiled Wednesday plans for a gradual ban on Russian oil imports as part of a raft of new sanctions to punish Moscow for invading Ukraine.

BRUSSELS: The EU accused Apple of blocking rivals from its popular “tap-as-you-go” iPhone payment system, opening a fresh battlefront between the US tech giant and Brussels.

DUBAI: Dubai’s virtual assets regulator said Tuesday that it was entering the metaverse and establishing a new headquarters on platform The Sandbox, state news agency WAM reported.

TOKYO:Three million women joined Japan’s workforce in the past decade, and it’s at least partly thanks to top executive Kathy Matsui, who coined the “womenomics” catchphrase that inspired government policy.

COLOMBO: Farmers were once big supporters of the Rajapaksas, but a bungled fertilizer ban withered their crops along with their backing for Sri Lanka’s previously powerful and popular political clan.