Hong Kong March retail sales jump 40.9% in fourth month of growth

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hong Kong’s March retail sales rose 40.9% from a year earlier, the second biggest percentage rise on record, as consumer and visitor spending continued to improve, though the low base of comparison also contributed, government data showed on Thursday. Sales increased to HK$33.6 billion ($4.28 billion) in a fourth consecutive month of…

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Russia to launch Friendship Games after 40-year gap – sports minister

(Reuters) – Russia plans to relaunch the multi-sport Friendship Games next year, 40 years after its first edition, Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin has told President Vladimir Putin. Matytsin said the event would be held after the Paris Olympics, which will run from July 26-Aug. 11 next year. “We propose to intensify the practice of holding…

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WFP suspends food aid to Ethiopia’s Tigray over reported thefts

By Dawit Endeshaw ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) -The U.N. World Food Programme has paused food distribution in Ethiopia’s war-ravaged Tigray region in response to reports that significant amounts of aid were being diverted, the agency said. The announcement follows a similar one by the U.S. Agency for International Development, which said on Wednesday it had discovered…

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