 | Will Doha go the Dubai
way in the realty sector? QATAR´S ambitious economic
policies have sustained doubledigit
growth rates while much of
the world has struggled over the
past few years. But the gas-rich
Gulf state may now be overreaching,
as a building boom threatens a
glut in its ...
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| | Qantas grounds A380 after
finding cracks in wings |  AUSTRALIA´S Qantas
Airways said on Wednesday it
was temporarily grounding
one of its A380 superjumbos
after discovering dozens of
hairline cracks in its wings
during a maintenance
inspection.
The Australian flagship carrier
said the 36 small fissures
posed no threat to safety, and
that the cracks were different
from the cracks that manufacturer
Airbus found in
metal brackets inside the
wings of two jets last month.
That discovery prompted
Europe´s air safety authority
to order the inspection of
nearly a third of the world´s
A380s.
Qantas workers found the
cracks, measuring less than
0.8 inches (2 centimeters)
long, in the ´wing rib feet´ —
the metal ... |
| | China mops up
Saudi, Russian
oil to meet
Iran shortfall |  CHINA is scouring the world
for alternative oil supplies to
replace a fall in its imports
from Iran, as it seeks to negotiate
lower prices from
Tehran, and has been drawing
heavily on Saudi Arabia.
Industry sources told
Reuters that Beijing had
bought the bulk of an increase
in crude oil supplies from top
oil exporter Saudi Arabia in
the last few months.
The world´s second-largest
oil consumer is also importing
more cargoes from West
Africa, Russia and Australia
to replace reduced supplies
from Iran.
China is the top buyer of
Iranian oil, taking around 20
percent of its total exports,
but since January it has cut
purchases by around 285,000
barrels per day (bpd), or just
over ... |
| | Canada, China sign deal
to boost bilateral trade |  CHINA and Canada on
Wednesday signed a series of
deals to boost modest levels
of bilateral trade and finished
negotiations on a foreign
investment protection pact
after 18 years of talks.
Canadian Prime Minister
Stephen Harper, keen to
boost oil exports to China and
thereby reduce reliance on
the US market, said the
investment agreement would
help increase trade.
"This is an historic step forward
... it will provide greater
predictability and protection
for Canadians seeking to do
business in China," he told a
news conference after talks
with Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao.
Both nations will need to
conduct a legal review of the
deal and then sign and ratify... | |
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