Business

SHANGHAI, September 20. /TASS/. The board of directors of BRICS’ New Development Bank (NDB) approved three infrastructure and sustainable development projects in India and Russia with loans aggregating $825 mln at its 16th meeting in Shanghai, NDB said in a statement.

BEIRUT, September 19. /TASS/. Agreements that the Russian and Turkish Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reached in Sochi over Idlib "allowed preserving Syria’s territorial integrity and averting the West’s aggression," Nidal Sabi, a Lebanese political analyst, told TASS on Wednesday.

Sabi, who is said to be an expert in the Syria crisis, said that "the decision approved in Sochi to set up a demilitarized zone provides a chance to disarm the Ankara-backed illegal armed groups in northwest Syria without any fighting or losses."

by Raimundo Urrechaga

HAVANA, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Cuba is working hard to boost the Caribbean island nation's tourism industry, with a focus on attracting more Chinese investment and tourists.

Cuban Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero said on Wednesday that this also comes as part of an effort to expand Cuba-China tourism cooperation.

He told Xinhua shortly after the inauguration of the 22nd edition of the Meetings and Incentives Travel Market (MITM) Americas business fair that one of the event's objectives is to get more Chinese people to learn more about Cuba.

DUBAI, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Abu Dhabi has been named the safest city in the world for the second year by Numbeo, a website for crowd-sourced global data, Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism said Wednesday.

Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), surpassed more than 300 cities across the world, including Tokyo, Japan, Basel, Munich, and Vienna, to be graded the world's most secure city, according to Numbeo.

The index ranked 338 cities globally by estimating their overall safety levels.

HALIFAX, Canada, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Environmental and energy ministers from the Group of 7 gathered here Wednesday for a three-day meeting focusing on joint efforts on climate change, ocean conservation and clean energy.

Ministers of the world's advanced economies -- Canada, France, the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan and Italy -- will also hold talks on sustainable finance, plastic pollution and energy security.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that the United States is ready to transform its relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) immediately.

In a statement regarding the outcomes of an earlier summit between leaders of South Korea and the DPRK, Pompeo said that "the United States congratulates President Moon Jae-in and Chairman Kim Jong Un on the successful outcome of their summit meeting in Pyongyang."

BEIJING, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa here Wednesday, calling on the two countries to firmly support each other on issues concerning their respective core interests.

Bajwa conveyed cordial greetings from Pakistani President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan to Xi. Xi expressed thanks and asked Bajwa to convey his sincere greetings and best wishes to them.

BILLINGS, Mont.; 19 Sep 2018; (AP) — The Trump administration on Tuesday rolled back an Obama-era rule that forced energy companies to capture methane — a key contributor to climate change that’s released in huge amounts during drilling on U.S. and tribal lands.

A replacement rule from the Interior Department rescinds mandates for companies to reduce gas pollution, which Trump administration officials say already is required by some states.

By MICHAEL BIESECKER

19 Sep 2018; AP: About 3.4 million chickens and turkeys and 5,500 hogs have been killed in flooding from Florence as rising North Carolina rivers swamped dozens of farm buildings where the animals were being raised for market, according to state officials.

The N.C. Department of Agriculture issued the livestock mortality totals Tuesday, as major flooding is continuing after the slow-moving storm’s drenching rains. Sixteen North Carolina rivers were at major flood stage Tuesday, with an additional three forecasted to peak by Thursday.

BERLIN (AP) — Germans are beginning to embrace electric cars, with experts predicting the country will have a million hybrid or battery-electric vehicles on the road by 2022.

The government originally aimed to have that many e-cars in Germany by 2020, but slow uptake in the land of the Autobahn forced it to abandon that goal.

A government advisory panel said Wednesday that recent additional financial incentives for buyers have helped provide the necessary jolt for Germany to reach the million mark two years late.