ROME: Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s biggest bank, said Friday it would pay its shareholders 22 billion euros ($25.2 billion) between now and 2025 as part of its new strategic plan. The bank announced a 27.7 percent increase in net profit to 4.18 billion euros in 2021, slightly above expectations although less than predicted several years ago due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

LONDON: Northern Ireland’s High Court on Friday issued an interim order suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to stop post-Brexit checks on agri-food moving to and from mainland Britain. The ruling, made by judge Adrian Colton, will stand until a judicial review against the unionist minister’s decision can be heard in full.

ALAJUELA, Costa Rica: Costa Rica, which elects a new president today, is a small country thriving on ecotourism. Its neutrality, strong democracy and political stability have earned it the nickname of Central America’s Switzerland. Here are four facts about the country of more than five million people:

WASHINGTON: The US economy brushed off a spike in COVID-19 infections to add 467,000 jobs in January, far better than expected and a potential sign that the pandemic’s days of disrupting businesses are numbered. 

MENLO PARK: Facebook parent Meta began rolling out Friday a minimum distance between users’ avatars in its virtual reality Horizon network after reports of harassment, one of the thorny issues for its metaverse vision. 

NEW YORK: Amazon reported its profit doubled to $14 billion in the crucial holiday quarter, giving a boost to jittery markets that expected less due to higher labor, sourcing and delivery costs. 

DUBAI: More than seven million foreign tourists visited Dubai last year, marking a “remarkable turnaround”, the government of the Gulf city state hosting the Expo world fair announced. 

BERLIN: German rail operator Deutsche Bahn will put a record sum into renovating and expanding its network in 2022, the company said yesterday, as Europe’s largest economy seeks to decarbonize transport. 

LONDON: The Bank of England yesterday lifted its main interest rate for the second time in a row in a bid to tackle decades-high inflation. The BoE also said Britain’s annual inflation rate would peak at 7.25 percent in April, compared with 5.4 percent last December which was already near a 30-year high.