NEGOMBO, Sri Lanka: Sri Lankan criminal investigators began questioning the crew of a burning cargo ship yesterday, as the Singapore-registered carrier smoldered for a 12th straight day in one of the island’s worst-ever marine ecological disasters. 

BEIJING: Factory activity in China nudged down slightly in May on slower demand and higher raw material prices, while the services industry boomed over the Labor Day break, official data showed yesterday.

MUMBAI: India’s economy contracted 7.3 percent in 2020-21, official data showed yesterday, its worst recession since independence as coronavirus lockdowns put millions out of work. 

PARIS: The OECD raised its 2021 global GDP growth forecast yesterday, but warned that “too many headwinds persist” as not enough COVID vaccines are reaching emerging economies and markets worry about inflation. 

LONDON: Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Steel company-one of the world’s largest steel empires-faces an uncertain future after announcing plans to sell three of its UK plants. 

PARIS: The global rebound from the coronavirus pandemic is revving luxury carmakers’ sales to never-before-seen heights, as order books at the likes of Lamborghini, Ferrari and Rolls-Royce burst with demand from the world’s wealthy. 

ABIDJAN: From a “triangular trade” that sees its nuts shelled in Asia before being shipped to the US, top cashew producer Ivory Coast aims to process more of its own crop for sale in the huge American market. 

LONDON: Britain will build what it is calling a new “national flagship” vessel to host trade events and promote its post-Brexit interests around the world, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Saturday. 

CHICHESTER, United Kingdom: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, which along with the wider luxury goods sector is recovering strongly from pandemic fallout, has launched a “Boat Tail” automobile – tailor-made for just three ultra-wealthy clients.