Author: arabcolumnist.com

CHONGQING: China’s medical equipment market expanded 60.5% between 2021 and 2025, reaching 1.44 trillion yuan ($208 billion) last year, according to data released at the 2026 China Medical Equipment Conference in Chongqing. The figures also showed medical equipment exports totaled $45.8 billion in 2025, up 62.4% from 2019. The China Association of Medical Equipment said the country remained the world’s second-largest single-country market, adding to a series of recent indicators showing continued growth across one of China’s largest healthcare manufacturing segments. The 2025 total followed a market size of 1.35 trillion yuan in 2024, according to figures released at last year’s conference…

SEOUL: The Bank of Korea said on Friday that its 2025 net income climbed to a record 15.3275 trillion won, nearly doubling from the previous year as gains on foreign-currency assets and stronger securities prices lifted results. The total marked a 96.03% increase from 2024 and surpassed the central bank’s previous high of 7.8638 trillion won set in 2021. The bank said the sharp rise reflected larger returns from foreign-currency assets as the won weakened against the dollar and market prices for securities improved through the year. Total revenue for 2025 rose to 33.5194 trillion won, up from 26.5179 trillion won a year…

CAMPO GRANDE: Senior officials and delegates meeting in Brazil this week said migratory species that cross national borders face mounting threats from habitat loss, pollution, climate pressures and poorly planned infrastructure, as the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals opened in the city of Campo Grande. The March 23 to 29 meeting is being held under the theme “Connecting nature to sustain life” and has drawn more than 2,000 participants, with Brazil presiding over the conference for the first time. The high-level segment adopted the Pantanal Declaration, which reaffirmed the convention’s role…

WASHINGTON: Newly compiled U.S. State Department data show the country issued about 250,000 fewer immigrant and nonimmigrant visas from January through August 2025 than in the same period a year earlier. That amounted to an 11% decline in permanent and temporary visas excluding tourist visas, which also fell during the period. The lower totals stretched across student, exchange, worker and family-linked categories at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide, showing a broad slowdown in legal visa issuance during the first eight months of 2025. India and China were among the hardest-hit markets, with their nationals receiving roughly 84,000 fewer visas than in the comparable 2024…

ABU DHABI: Yas Waterworld Yas Island, Abu Dhabi will open its latest expansion to visitors on April 4, adding a new phase to the waterpark as Miral expands the site on Yas Island. The company said the opening will introduce 11 new slides and attractions, including headline thrill rides and new leisure features, in the latest development at the Abu Dhabi park, which is part of the emirate’s broader entertainment district. Miral said the project forms the next stage of the park’s Lost City theming, which extends Yas Waterworld’s long-running  Legend of the Lost Pearl storyline. The expansion adds eight new slides, two…

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi held talks in Abu Dhabi  on Thursday, focusing on bilateral cooperation and regional developments, according to official statements. The meeting took place during President El-Sisi’s visit to the United Arab Emirates. Discussions addressed ways to enhance cooperation, particularly in economic and development sectors, with both sides highlighting the importance of advancing ties to serve mutual interests and benefit their populations. At the start of the meeting, the two leaders exchanged Eid Al-Fitr greetings, expressing wishes for continued prosperity and stability for their countries and for peace across the Arab and Islamic…

NEW YORK: Encyclopaedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster have sued OpenAI in Manhattan federal court, accusing the artificial intelligence company of using nearly 100,000 online encyclopedia and dictionary entries without permission to train ChatGPT. The complaint, filed on March 13 in the Southern District of New York, says OpenAI copied copyrighted reference material at scale and used it in systems that generate answers for paying and nonpaying users. The plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages, a permanent injunction and a jury trial. The lawsuit names multiple OpenAI entities, including OpenAI Inc., OpenAI LP, OpenAI LLC and OpenAI Group PBC. Britannica and Merriam-Webster allege copyright infringement and…

GABORONE: Botswana is facing renewed pressure on its diamond-driven economy after S&P Global Ratings lowered the country’s long-term sovereign rating to BBB- from BBB and its short-term rating to A-3 from A-2, while keeping a negative outlook. The cut leaves Botswana at the lowest investment-grade level and comes as weaker rough diamond sales continue to squeeze export earnings, state revenue and foreign exchange reserves in one of the world’s most diamond-dependent economies. S&P said weak global demand for natural diamonds is likely to persist longer than previously expected. Diamonds account for about 70% of Botswana’s exports, roughly one-third of government revenue and about one-quarter…

SEOUL: South Korea posted an 11.3 trillion won managed fiscal surplus in January as stronger tax collection offset higher government spending, with value-added tax and income tax leading the increase in receipts. Finance ministry data showed tax revenue reached 52.9 trillion won in the month, up 6.2 trillion won from a year earlier, while the managed fiscal balance, a key measure that excludes social security funds, remained in surplus even though the buffer narrowed by 200 billion won from January 2025. Total government revenue came to 74.7 trillion won in January, rising 8.5 trillion won from a year earlier, while total expenditure increased 7.7…

ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia has declared three days of national mourning after the death toll from heavy rain-triggered landslides in the country’s south rose to at least 80, with recovery teams still searching for people reported missing. The mourning period begins on Saturday, March 14, after lawmakers announced the measure in response to the disaster in Gamo Zone, South Ethiopia Regional State. Bodies have been recovered for days since the slides struck on March 10, as persistent rain complicated search and recovery work. The disaster hit communities in Gamo Zone after days of intense rainfall, burying residents under mud and debris and forcing…