- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
China offers bonds, tax breaks as new medicine for ailing economy
Tax breaks and a bond drive for Chinese aviation and railway firms are among a blizzard of fresh measures agreed by China's economic planners to gee up an economy stunted by a coronavirus surge.
China is the last major economy bolted to a zero-Covid strategy of mass testing and tough lockdowns to stamp out infections.
Movement curbs have hit dozens of cities in recent months -- from the manufacturing hubs of Shenzhen and Shanghai to the breadbasket of Jilin -- seizing up supply chains and crushing retail sales and industrial output to their lowest levels in around two years.
The State Council on Monday announced measures to "stabilise the country's economy and bring it back onto a normal track", according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Beijing will expand the quota of value-added tax refunds by 140 billion yuan ($21 billion), the agency said.
This takes the overall target of tax refunds, cuts and fee reductions to 2.64 trillion yuan this year, according to a readout of the State Council meeting on Xinhua.
Authorities will also double the lending quota for banks to help smaller enterprises, while allowing some borrowers to postpone their repayments, the report added.
The government will also issue 200 billion yuan in bonds to support the aviation industry, cut the purchase tax on some cars, and support the issuance of 300 billion yuan in railway construction bonds, Xinhua said.
"We believe these measures will provide some help and alleviate the severity of the growth slowdown... (but) remain cautious about growth prospects for this year," Nomura analysts said in a note on Tuesday.
The moves come as Chinese cities roll out more regular Covid testing, crowding out other fiscal spending, Nomura said.
Meanwhile, the zero-Covid strategy is likely to bog down private demand, analysts added.
Markets remained gloomy despite the pledges, with the Shanghai Composite Index down 1.2 percent on Tuesday, while the Shenzhen Composite Index slid two percent in afternoon trade.
S.Pimentel--PC