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China Probes Top Executive of State Energy Giant CNPC

A top executive of China National Petroleum Corp, the country's biggest energy company, has been put under investigation, authorities said as the Communist Party's anti-corruption drive targets more state firms.

CNPC general manager Liao Yongyuan is being investigated by the ruling party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) for "severe violations of discipline and law", the  watchdog said in a statement late Monday.

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Spain Pressures Greece to Keep Promises in Debt Crisis

Spain raised the pressure on Greece Monday to "honor its commitments" to its European partners to end its debt crisis and prevent its dropping out of the eurozone.

"I do not want Greece to leave the euro. I do not believe that would be good for Greece or for Europeans in general," said Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in a radio interview.

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Kuwait Plans to Introduce Corporate Tax as Oil Slumps

Kuwait has sought help from the International Monetary Fund to introduce corporate taxes in a bid to diversify revenue in the face of falling oil prices, a minister said Monday. 

"The IMF will prepare a preliminary report on how to impose taxes on companies in Kuwait," Commerce and Industry Minister Abdulmohsen al-Mudej said after a meeting with IMF representatives, the official KUNA news agency reported.

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Airbus Wins 1.5-bn-Euro S. Korea Helicopter Deal

Airbus Helicopters Monday inked a deal worth 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) to build more than 300 civil and military helicopters for South Korea in partnership with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).

The deal is part of a South Korean military project to replace its ageing fleet of McDonnell Douglas' 500MD light helicopters, which have been in service for decades, KAI officials said.

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Dubai Tops New York, London for Cars per Person

The number of vehicles in Dubai has doubled over the past eight years giving the Gulf emirate more cars per person than New York or London, official figures showed Monday. 

The bustling city state now has 1.4 million vehicles for a population of 2.4 million, equivalent to 540 for every 1,000 people, according to the Roads and Transport Authority figures.

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IMF Chief Hails India as 'Bright Spot' in Gloomy World Economy

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde hailed India as a bright spot in the otherwise gloom-ridden global economy Monday, saying the recovery from the 2008-2009 financial crisis was still fragile.

Speaking at the start of a two-day visit, Lagarde said India was bucking the trend of declining growth seen in other major economies and was on course "to become a key engine for global growth".

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Euro Slips to Fresh 12-year Low on Dollar

The euro fell to another 12-year low against the dollar Monday, hit by the European Central Bank's huge stimulus program, while investors await the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week.

In early Tokyo trading, the euro briefly dropped to $1.0451 -- its lowest since January 2003 and down from $1.0489 in New York on Friday -- before recovering to $1.0543 by the afternoon.

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Qatar $200-bln Spending Spree on Track despite Oil Price Drop

Qatar will stick to its $200-billion (190 billion-euro) infrastructure spending splurge, the energy-rich Gulf state's premier vowed on Sunday, despite the fall in global oil prices.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani told business leaders at a Doha finance conference that the kingdom would maintain its plans to spend heavily on development projects in the runup to the football World Cup in 2022.

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Siemens Signs '4 Billion Euro' Power Deal with Egypt

German conglomerate Siemens has signed a "four billion euro" power deal with Egypt, a company spokesperson said on Saturday.

Under a number of accords agreed between the parties, Siemens will build a "4.4 gigawatt combined cycle power plant and install wind power capacity of 2 gigawatt", the company added in a statement.

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Greek Finance Minister Says Some Election Vows Can be Put Off

Greece's combative finance minister has indicated that Athens' new radical left government is prepared to put some of its campaign promises on hold while it seeks to build confidence among its creditors.

"Our program is a program for four years," Yanis Varoufakis told reporters after a meeting of economic and finance leaders in northern Italy on Friday.

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