Asian markets dropped Friday after a pessimistic lead by Wall Street, with investors from the globe show worries about surging inflation. Central banks in some major economies counting United States, Canada and Britain have already started increasing interest rates to manage prices, but the European Central Bank on Thursday with no moves , plans and … Read more
Stock markets mostly rose and oil prices climbed Wednesday as ias financial backers pored over information showing further spikes to expansion. A day after information showed US yearly customer expansion hit a 40-year high in March, data showed discount cost expansion hit a record yearly pace of 11.2 percent over a similar period. In the … Read more
Through the gallery window, just off the swanky Rue Faubourg Saint-Honore in Paris, a tree is growing out of the ceiling. On closer inspection, it turns out the branches, leaves and flowers are made from bronze and rock-crystal, and it is one of dozens of beautiful and bizarre chandeliers in the Regis Mathieu Gallery. Few … Read more
Hanna Araya, an Eritrean asylum seeker, sells freshly baked bread at a London market during the noon rush as she waits to see if she can stay in the UK. For the past six months, the 19-year-old has volunteered for Breadwinners, a nonprofit that provides work experience and paid employment to asylum seekers and … Read more
The EU on Tuesday accepted rules allowing medicines made in Britain to go to Northern Ireland, making an exception to a post-Brexit treaty that requires goods sent to the UK province to be EU-compliant. The move is an effort to dampen Brussels-London tensions over Northern Ireland, which will under the EU customs system under the … Read more
Britain’s health ministry announced Tuesday that it will expand access to Pfizer’s PFE.N oral antiviral COVID-19 therapy to thousands more individuals by enrolling them in a trial evaluating the drug’s optimal usage in its highly vaccinated population. People with weakened immune systems in the United Kingdom can now use Paxlovid, which combines Pfizer’s new tablet … Read more
After more than a month in Ukraine, Russian soldiers have encountered fierce opposition. Many people predicted that the war would be ended in a matter of days due to the numerical superiority of the Russian forces and the sophistication of their weaponry. It turned out that this was not the case at all. It was … Read more
Britain’s economic growth slowed in February due to losses in the manufacturing of automobiles, computers, and chemicals. The Office for National Statistics said Monday that gross domestic product climbed by only 0.1 percent from the previous month, well below the 0.8 percent rise reported in January. Last month, the output of productive industries, which includes … Read more
Official data released on Thursday indicated that Britain’s economy rebounded somewhat less than expected last year, pointing to a considerably tougher 2022 due to the consequences of the Ukraine crisis and increasing prices. The Office for National Statistics announced in a statement that GDP increased 7.4% in 2021, down from an early estimate of 7.5 … Read more
The ‘1915 Canakkale Bridge’ in Turkey has now become the world’s longest suspension bridge, spanning two kilometers. It runs from Gelibolu on the European side of Turkey’s northwestern province of Canakkale to Lapseki on the Asian side of the Dardanelles Strait. The bridge allows passengers to cross the Dardanelles, which connects the Aegean Sea and … Read more
LONDON: Britain on Thursday slapped sanctions on 59 more Russians and entities and six Belarus entities in retaliation to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Targets of the latest asset freeze include Russian diamond giant Alrosa and shadowy mercenary group Wagner, as well as Polina Kovaleva — the stepdaughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov — and … Read more
HONG KONG: Hong Kong is set to resume international flights from the United States, Britain and seven other countries, the government said Monday as it announced a loosening of some of the world’s toughest Covid-19 restrictions. The finance hub has struggled to maintain China’s zero-Covid policy during an Omicron-fuelled outbreak. After the highly transmissible variant fuelled … Read more
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will pay small sums to the families of people who were killed or went missing in the carnage of the island nation’s decade-long civil war, authorities announced Tuesday. Successive Sri Lankan governments have faced international censure over the conflict, which ended in 2009 after the collapse of the minority Tamil separatist movement’s armed wing. … Read more
FRANKFURT: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and spiralling energy prices have upended the economic outlook and left European Central Bank policymakers with the task of navigating the eurozone through a fresh crisis at their meeting on Thursday. The bank had been poised to take another step towards the ‘normalisation’ of its monetary policy, by ending its … Read more
KYIV- Russia planned to open humanitarian corridors in Ukraine Tuesday for civilians to flee besieged cities, but Kyiv insisted the move was a publicity stunt and people would not be able to escape. Moscow’s offer to evacuate residents was condemned because most of the routes led into Russia or its ally Belarus, and as the invading forces maintained … Read more
LONDON: Britain’s NatWest bank has said that it surged back into annual profit last year as the economy recovered from Covid, and forecast it stands to gain from rising interest rates. The lender, which is majority-owned by the government, said in a statement that net profit hit £2.95 billion ($4 billion, 3.5 billion euros) in … Read more
Track cycling great Jason Kenny has announced his retirement, with Britain’s most successful Olympic competitor moving into coaching. The 33-year-old revealed that he has started work as British Cycling’s men’s podium sprint coach and is in charge of several riders who were his teammates until recently. Kenny’s seventh Olympic Gold medal came in the keirin … Read more
BRIDPORT, United Kingdom: From facial scrubs using coffee grounds to clothes made from plastic bottles and furniture decorated with agave fibres, efforts to up-cycle or repurpose waste products are gaining traction in Britain. Every day a bike courier for the skincare brand Up-circle visits 25 cafes in London and collects some 100 kg (220 pounds) … Read more
Germany’s Alexander Zverev has been expelled from the Mexican Open in Acapulco after smashing his racket on the umpire’s chair several times and directing a foul-mouthed rant at the official, the ATP announced Wednesday. “Due to unsportsmanlike conduct at the conclusion of his doubles match, Alexander Zverev has been withdrawn from the tournament in Acapulco,” … Read more
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka shipped out to Britain on Monday the last of several hundred containers filled with thousands of tonnes of illegally imported waste, officials said. Several Asian countries have in recent years been pushing back against an onslaught of refuse from wealthier nations and have started turning back unwanted shipments. The waste from … Read more
TEHRAN – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said Thursday that the Islamic republic is looking for “peaceful” use of nuclear energy, and “not for nuclear weapons.” Although the Iranians’ “enemy” knows that Iran’s nuclear program is “peaceful,” it does not want the Iranian nation to achieve this great progress, Khamenei made the remarks … Read more
TEHRAN – Iran urged the US Congress on Wednesday to issue a “political statement” that Washington will stay committed to a possible agreement in Vienna talks to restore the 2015 nuclear deal. The accord offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, but then US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from … Read more
LONDON: UK annual inflation has hit the highest level since 1992, data showed Wednesday, adding pressure to the cost of living and on the Bank of England to keep raising rates. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) edged up to 5.5 per cent in January from 5.4 per cent in December, also a level not seen in … Read more
NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga – Australian defence chiefs on Wednesday said a warship delivering aid to Tonga was not the source of an outbreak that has plunged the previously coronavirus-free Pacific kingdom into lockdown. Residents of the remote island nation, struggling to recover from a deadly volcanic eruption that triggered huge tsunamis, were ordered to stay at … Read more
TOKYO – A mass COVID-19 vaccination center in Tokyo was reopened by the Japanese government on Monday to offer COVID-19 booster shots amid criticism that the government has been slow to roll out the third jabs as the Omicron variant of the virus wreaks havoc in the capital and elsewhere. The mass vaccination center in … Read more
COLCHESTER, United Kingdom – Nestled amid superstores at a retail park, the Colchester Foodbank in eastern England last year gave out a total of 165 tonnes of food, enough to feed 17,000 people. But that could be surpassed this year, as British annual inflation hits a 30-year high of 5.4 percent in December, as real … Read more
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s merchandise exports were recorded at $12.48 billion in 2021, surpassing the country’s export revenue target of $12.14 billion, local media citing provisional data from the Export Development Board (EDB) reported on Saturday. Minister of Trade Bandula Gunawardena was quoted by the Daily FT as saying that Sri Lanka’s merchandise export revenue grew … Read more
PARIS: Brexit has hurt two-way trade between the European Union and Britain, with the auto, textile and aviation sectors the worst hit, the French economy ministry said on Thursday. The ministry released data on the sidelines of an EU ministerial meeting in Paris dedicated to reviewing the fallout from Britain’s departure from the bloc a year … Read more
