Category: Politics
Sri Lanka stumbles toward its first default on foreign debt
Sri Lankan bank notes in a container at a vegetable stall in Colombo. — BUDDHIKA WEERASINGHE/BLOOMBERG SRI LANKA is sliding inexorably into default as the…
North Korean leader Kim orders military to stabilize distribution of coronavirus drugs
KCNA VIA REUTERS SEOUL — Leader Kim Jong Un has ordered North Korea’s military to stabilize distribution of COVID-19 medicines in the capital, Pyongyang, in…
New Zealand targets EVs, industry with new $2.8B climate response fund
Image via Anup Shah/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0 WELLINGTON — The New Zealand government said on Monday it would set up a NZ$4.5 billion ($2.83 billion) climate response…
Poor workers bear the brunt of India’s heatwave
Ville Miettinen/CC BY 2.0/Wikimedia Commons NOIDA, India — For construction worker Yogendra Tundre, life at a building site on the outskirts of the Indian capital…
In Indonesia, climate change takes a bite out of apple crops
PIXABAY PASURUAN, Indonesia — As dark clouds gather in the morning sky, Indonesian apple farmer Ali Akhbar hurries to finish spraying pesticides onto his trees…
Economists sound the alarm over UK’s post-Brexit finance plans
REUTERS LONDON — More than 50 economists warned on Monday that Britain’s post-Brexit plans to boost the competitiveness of its huge finance industry risked creating…
First electric scooter series on mission to push safer micromobility
via eSkootr Championship LONDON — Organizers of the world’s first electric scooter series say they are on a mission to promote and develop micromobility as…
Locked-down Shanghai to start gradually reopening malls, other businesses
SHANGHAI — The Chinese financial and manufacturing hub of Shanghai will gradually begin reopening businesses such as shopping malls and hair salons from Monday after…
N.Korea taking ‘swift measures’ against COVID outbreak
SEOUL — North Korea said on Sunday a total of 42 people had died as the country began its fourth day under a nationwide lockdown…
Gunman kills 10 in live-streamed racial attack on New York state supermarket
BUFFALO, N.Y. — An 18-year-old white gunman shot 10 people to death and wounded three on Saturday at a grocery store in a Black neighborhood…
Envoy says Russian diplomats in US are threatened, enticed by FBI
RUSSIAN diplomats in Washington are being threatened with violence and US intelligence services try to make contact with them, Tass news agency cited the ambassador…
Kids later than sooner: South Korean women freeze eggs as child-rearing costs surge
UNSPLASH SEOUL — In South Korea, fewer women are having children and those who do are in no rush. The sky-high costs of housing and…
With China in focus, Biden makes $150 million commitment to ASEAN leaders
REUTERS WASHINGTON — US President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., opened a gathering of Southeast Asian leaders with a promise to spend $150 million on their…
What are stablecoins, the asset rocking the cryptocurrency market?
PIXABAY.COM LONDON — Most cryptocurrencies have a major problem with price volatility, but one sub-category of coins is designed to maintain a constant value: stablecoins….
Jetmakers’ inflation shield no match for soaring costs
EMBRAER DUBLIN — Inflation clauses that determine how much airlines pay for new jets have jumped into a “hyper-escalation” band, pushing up aircraft prices but…
North Korea reports first COVID-19 outbreak
Military personnel take part in a parade to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army in Pyongyang, North Korea,…
EU seeks bigger role in Asia’s ‘theater of tensions’
THE MAIN entrance of the European Union Commission headquarters is seen in Brussels July 1, 2013. — REUTERS TOKYO — European Union (EU) leaders said…
Biden seeks to keep China in focus by welcoming ASEAN leaders
WASHINGTON — President Joseph R. Biden will host Southeast Asian leaders in Washington this week, seeking to show his administration remains focused on the Indo-Pacific…
Biden eyes new ways to bar China from scooping up US data
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has drafted an executive order that would give the Department of Justice vast powers to stop foreign adversaries like China…
Vietnam leader interested in Biden economic framework, but needs to study details
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam (right) meets with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III in Hanoi, Vietnam, July 29, 2021. Image…