Topics Archive

12000 Chinese blood plasma contaminated

National Health Commission in China has warned hospitals to suspend use of 12,299 50ml bottles of plasma after it was found to be contaminated with HIV. The samples were taken from China’s second-…

New UN report on Khashoggi murder

The U.N. human rights expert leading an independent inquiry into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi said Thursday that Saudi Arabia had “seriously curtailed and undermined” Turkey’s attempts to…

May’s new tour of Brussels

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May will travel to Brussels to meet European Union leaders on Thursday, February 7th, as she seeks a way to avoid a no-deal Brexit in 50 days' time. On June 23rd,…

Australia to meet Paris climate targets

Australia is on track to meet its carbon emissions target under the Paris Climate accord five years earlier than expected. The country is installing renewable energy & closing down ageing coal…

RBI cuts interest rate

The Reserve Bank of India cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, a move likely to please Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he makes a final push for faster economic growth ahead of…

Trump’s finance and foreign relations to be investigated

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) announced on Wednesday that a committee would investigate "beyond Russia" whether personal interest was at the core of Presidents Donald…

New oil fields in South Africa discovered

French oil and gas major Total said it had made a significant gas condensate discovery after drilling its Brulpadda prospects on Block 11B/12B in the Outeniqua Basin, offshore South Africa. South…

Merkel successor wants EU Army

German centre-right leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has called for the creation of a European army in a speech in Brussels that sets out the campaign themes for her CDU party in this year’s…

The World vs Maduro

Along with the US, Canada and a group of Latin American countries, many European nations have recognised Juan Guaidó as the interim president of Venezuela. These include-France, Spain, Germany,…

EU prepares for no-deal Brexit

Brussels seems to appear more accommodative of the UK while stepping up preparations for an exit. On June 23rd, 2016, Britain narrowly voted to leave the European Union, stunning Europe and the…

Chinese loan delayed to Sri Lanka

A $300 million loan offered by Bank of China to Sri Lanka is facing delays, government officials familiar with the negotiation. The China–Sri Lanka relations refers to bilateral relations between the…

Russian economy outgrows projections

Russia’s economy expanded 2.3 per cent last year, growing more quickly than the government and the IMF had predicted, according to state statistics. It has outpaced the growth rates of the EU, the US…

UK to fight Eurotunnel case

The government plans to pay a law firm £800,000 ($ 1,040,000) for advice in case Eurotunnel decides to sue over the effects of Brexit on its business. The Channel Tunnel is a 50.45-kilometre (31.35…

China writes off Cameroon debt

China has written off $78 million from Cameroon’s debt after it failed to repay part of the debt in 2018. The relief comes as a measure to ease economic hardship in central African nation. From 2000…

Global warming to hit Norway?

Icy Arctic islands north of Norway are warming faster than almost anywhere on Earth and more avalanches, rain and mud may cause "devastating" changes by 2100, a Norwegian report said. Norway is a…

China’s AI use spooks expert

Yoshua Bengio, a Canadian computer scientist who helped pioneer the techniques underpinning much of the current excitement around artificial intelligence, is worried about China’s use of AI for…

Central African Republic agrees to a peace deal

A peace deal between the government of the Central African Republic (CAR) and 14 rebel groups has been struck after talks in Sudan, officials say. The Central African Republic, which got independence…

Not withdrawing US troops from South Korea: Trump

US President Donald Trump has no plans to pull out US troops from South Korea, amid speculation that he could offer a drawdown to North Korea in exchange for the progress on denuclearisation. The…

Budget sops before Elections

The Narendra Modi-led government unveiled a budget tailored for an election year with tax breaks, relief for small business and unorganised sectors and a promise to build the infrastructure for a $10…

Pope Francis visits UAE

His Holiness Pope Francis, the head of Catholic Church visited United Arab Emirates on his 27th Apostolic Journey. He is the first pontiff to visit the Arabian Peninsula – the birth place of Islam.…