(MENAFN - AFP) Brazil said on Saturday it plans to cancel $900 million (700 million euro) worth of debt in 12 African countries, as part of a broader strategy to boost ties with the continent.

"The idea of having Africa as a special relationship for Brazil is strategic for Brazil's foreign policy," presidential spokesman Thomas Traumann told reporters on the sidelines ...

(MENAFN - AFP) China's Premier Li Keqiang has slammed the European Union for plans to probe the country's telecom products and impose taxes on its solar panels, Chinese state media reported on Saturday.

Cited by the Xinhua news agency, Li said the planned measures would "not only cause serious damage to related industries, enterprises and employment in China, but will ...

(MENAFN - AFP) The European Commission is set to rap Belgium this week for failing to do enough to trim its budget deficit but is unlikely to go as far as imposing a fine, according to a press report on Saturday.

"Belgium can breath easy," said business daily L'Echo ahead of the release Wednesday of the European Commission's recommendations to EU countries on how to remain ...

(MENAFN - AFP) Japan's premier on Saturday pledged "all possible assistance" to kick-start Myanmar's ailing economy, hailing a major industrial zone near Yangon as a symbol of development for the impoverished nation.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is touting the potential of Japanese businesses to boost the once junta-ruled nation's economy, visited the Thilawa project ...

(MENAFN - AFP) Having taken five Volkswagen Beetles and compressed them into spheres, artist Ichwan Noor was always going to grab attention at the inaugural Hong Kong Art Basel.

Noor is known in his native Indonesia but is hoping the glittering, champagne-soaked art fair will give him further recognition beyond his home borders.

Such are the opportunities that await ...

(MENAFN - AFP) Spain's bailed-out lender Bankia on Friday announced it would sell City National Bank of Florida to Chile's BCI for around 683 million euros ($883 million).

The bank said in a statement it had "made provisions in late 2010 to cover losses" of City National, meaning it "hopes for a net capital gain of around 180 million euros" from the sale to Banco de Credito ...

(MENAFN - AFP) Canadian pharmaceutical company Valeant is close to a deal to acquire US eye health company Bausch & Lomb for about $9 billion, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.

A deal could come as soon as next week, the person said.

Unless the deal falls apart, the transaction will replace a plan launched in March for Bausch & Lomb to undertake ...

(MENAFN - AFP) Chile's environmental authorities slapped a $16.4 million fine Friday on Canadian mining company Barrick Gold for "serious" violations at its unfinished gold mine near the border with Argentina.

Officials here said the fine was levied after a four-month investigation into practices by Nevada Mining Company SpA, a subsidiary of Barrick Gold, which is developing ...

(MENAFN - AFP) Behind the well-kept lawns and flowerbeds of Husby, the immigrant-heavy Stockholm suburb where riots have raged for five straight nights, unemployment is fuelling despair among the young residents.

Nearly a week of unrest across the Swedish capital has raised questions about the assimilation of immigrants, who dominate low-income neighbourhoods in the main ...

(MENAFN - AFP) US stocks closed flat Friday, reeling in early losses but showing caution following Japan's Thursday plunge and ahead of the three-day US Memorial Day holiday weekend.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 9.06 points (0.06 percent) at 15,303.56.

The broad-based S&P 500 was down 0.88 (0.05 percent) at 1,649.63, while the tech-rich ...