Author: khaleejpress.com

LVLIANG: Four workers were killed after a roof collapse late Wednesday at the Guanjiaya coal mine in Xingxian county in northern China’s Shanxi province, with local authorities confirming the deaths early Thursday after an overnight rescue operation. The accident happened at about 9:15 p.m. on April 1 and trapped four people underground. Emergency crews were sent to the site immediately, and the workers were brought to the surface at 2:46 a.m. on April 2, but showed no signs of life. Authorities said the collapse occurred at a mine in Xingxian, which is administered by Lvliang city, in Shanxi. Public reports identified the site…

TOKYO: Japan’s industrial output fell 2.1% in February from the previous month, official preliminary data showed on Tuesday, as weaker production in autos, fabricated metals and electronic parts reversed some of January’s strength. The decline matched economists’ median forecast and marked the first monthly drop in three months. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the index of industrial production stood at 102.3, while output was up 0.3% from a year earlier. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said shipments fell 1.6% in February from January, while inventories rose 0.3% and the inventory ratio increased 2.3%. The ministry kept its overall assessment unchanged,…

TOKYO: A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck southern Ibaraki Prefecture in eastern Japan at 10:06 a.m. on Wednesday morning, shaking the Kanto region and causing buildings in Tokyo to sway, while authorities said there was no tsunami warning. The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake was centered at a depth of 48 kilometers and listed the magnitude as a preliminary reading. The epicenter north of the capital meant the tremor was felt across a wide section of eastern Japan. The strongest shaking was recorded in Moka in neighboring Tochigi Prefecture, where the quake registered lower-5 on Japan’s seven-point seismic intensity scale. JMA said intensities from 4…

YAOUNDE: The World Trade Organization’s 14th ministerial conference ended early Monday without agreement on extending the long-running moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions, a lapse that sharpened questions about the body’s ability to update trade rules and advance wider institutional reform. WTO officials said the moratorium had expired after ministers ran out of time in Yaounde, Cameroon, and conference chair Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana said negotiations would continue in Geneva. WTO officials said the next round of talks is expected in May. The moratorium bars customs duties on cross-border electronic transmissions such as software downloads, e-books, music and movie streaming, and video…

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…

DUBAI, March 28, 2026: American colt Magnitude won the 30th Dubai World Cup on Saturday night at Meydan Racecourse, delivering a commanding performance in the emirate’s flagship horse racing event and handing the United States its ninth victory in the history of the race. Owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC, the four-year-old prevailed in the Group 1 contest over 2,000 metres on dirt, defeating a field of nine high-caliber international runners in one of the most prestigious events on the global racing calendar. Trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Jose Ortiz, Magnitude produced a composed and decisive run to capture the title and…

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…