Reuters

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's surplus on trade goods rebounded in April as imports took a dive after several months of gains, though exports of iron and coal also softened, data showed on Thursday.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported the balance on goods rose to A$6.5 billion ($4.34 billion), from a downwardly revised A$4.8 billion in March and topping market forecasts of A$5.4 billion.

Exports fell 2.5% to the lowest since late... (continue reading...)

By Ashraf Hamed Atta

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt will take its biggest ever delegation to the Paris Olympics with the hope of exceeding its record medal haul from three years ago and continue to build its credentials for a possible tilt at hosting the Summer Games in 2036.

Although the final decision on whether to launch a bid to bring the Olympics to Africa for the first time will rest with the government, a senior official at the country's... (continue reading...)

By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Canberra wanted deeper ties with its Pacific neighbour Solomon Islands and a region where decisions are made "without fear", as China also sent its envoy to Honiara to meet new Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele.

Australia is the Solomon Islands biggest development partner, and had sent its second- and third-most senior government members to meet Manele since he... (continue reading...)

By Colleen Howe

BEIJING (Reuters) - Oil rose in early Asian trading on Thursday on rising expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September, and as the market rebounded from a selloff related to growing U.S. inventories and an OPEC+ plan to increase supply.

Brent crude futures rose 27 cents, or 0.34%, to $78.68 a barrel by 0103 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 36 cents, or 0.49%, to $74.43.

By Mariko Katsumura

MEIWA, Japan (Reuters) - When Costco Wholesale opened its warehouse in a rural Japanese town not far from Tokyo last year offering hundreds of jobs at eye-popping pay, a nearby noodle shop chain took a drastic step: it hiked hourly wages by a third.

It was an almost unthinkable decision for Yamada-udon, which sells 390-yen ($2.48) bowls of noodles and for which the slightest rise in cost requires acrobatic scrambling... (continue reading...)