Live Streaming
Program Highlight
Company Profile
International News (6893)
July
Congo and Rwanda to begin talks amid tensions over insurgency
Written by Nur Yasmin
Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame are due to begin talks in the Angolan capital Luanda on Wednesday amid tensions over a surge of rebel attacks in eastern Congo.
The two neighbours have been locking horns since the M23 rebel group began a major offensive in Congo's eastern borderlands at the end of March.
Congo accuses Rwanda of backing the group. Kigali denies this, and in turn accuses Kinshasa of fighting alongside another armed group intent on seizing power in Kigali.
Tshisekedi arrived in Luanda on Tuesday for a "mini tripartite summit" on peace in the Congo on Wednesday, the presidency said in a statement, describing the meeting as a moment "of truth".
Rwanda's ambassador in Congo Vincent Karega told Reuters Kagame had also arrived.
The M23 have seized an important border post in their most sustained offensive since capturing swathes of territory in 2012-2013.
Congo's army is battling to push them out of newly gained positions close to eastern Congo's main city of Goma.
The fighting has forced tens of thousands to flee their homes in an area that has had little respite from conflict since Rwanda and neighbouring Uganda invaded in 1996, citing threats from local militia groups.
Despite billions of dollars spent on one of the United Nations' largest peacekeeping forces, more than 120 rebel groups continue to operate across east Congo almost two decades after the official end of the central African country's civil wars.
Angolan President Joao Lourenco has been appointed by the African Union to mediate the talks and restore dialogue between the two parties. (Reuters)
July
Taiwan says 'not pessimistic' about economy as stocks swoon
Written by Nur YasminTaiwan's Economy Ministry said on Tuesday it was cautious but "not pessimistic" about the island's economic prospects in the second half of the year, pointing to strong exports, despite a swoon in share prices on its stock market.
After a strong performance through 2020 and 2021, Taiwan assets are being dumped as investors start to worry that rising interest rates around the world are going to hurt economic growth for the export-dependent island, a major producer of semiconductors.
The benchmark index (.TWII) has dropped 21% this year, completely unwinding 2021 gains. The currency has lost 7% on the dollar.
The ministry said in a statement that the global economic situation in the second half of the year does have "various variables" that need watching, but Taiwan industry's fundamentals are good, as are exports.
"The Ministry of Economic Affairs maintains a cautious but not pessimistic view of Taiwan's economic development in the second half of the year, which is not affected by short-term fluctuations in the stock market," it added.
The ministry said both exports and export orders in May were positive and Taiwan's chip industry is a world leader, which will help support growth.
Recent fluctuations in Taiwan's stock market "are mainly affected by uncertainty in the international environment", it added.
Taiwan releases preliminary second quarter economic growth data at the end of the month. (Reuteers)
July
New Zealand business confidence down due to high costs, interest rates
Written by Nur Yasmin
New Zealand's business confidence continued to worsen in the second quarter of this year as companies grappled with increased costs and higher interest rates, a private think tank said on Tuesday.
A net 65% of firms surveyed expected general business conditions to deteriorate compared with 40% pessimism in the previous quarter, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research's (NZIER) quarterly survey of business opinion (QSBO) showed.
It added that business confidence is now at its lowest level since the first quarter of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic was declared.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, 62% expected business conditions to worsen, versus 34% pessimism recorded in the previous period. The survey's measure of capacity utilisation fell to 93.4%, from the previous quarter's 97.1%.
The services and building sectors were the most downbeat in the June quarter. The building sector faces acute capacity constraints, and the services sector expects weaker demand as interest rates move higher, NZIER said in its report.
A net 78% reported increased costs in the June quarter, it said. Despite the shakier outlook for the New Zealand economy, inflation pressures have continued to intensify, the report said. (Reuters)
July
Suspected North Korea dam water release prompts S.Koreans to evacuate
Written by Nur Yasmin
North Korea appears to have released water from a dam near its border with South Korea, prompting vacationers in the neighbouring country to evacuate over rising water levels on the Imjin River, officials said on Tuesday.
The water level at a bridge at the river in the South's border county of Yeoncheon surpassed 1 metre on Monday afternoon, requiring visitors on the riverbank to evacuate, government data showed.
"North Korea appears to have released water from its Hwanggang dam," an official at South Korea's unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs told Reuters.
The Yeoncheon county said it sent alarm messages to nearby residents and issued warnings to move to a safe area.
It was not immediately clear how many people had to leave after the suspected water release.
"The water level is now decreasing after hovering over 1.6 metres," a Yeoncheon county official said.
North Korea has been stepping up efforts to prevent flood damage from recent heavy rains.
South Korea has repeatedly urged the North to give notice before releasing water from the dam, as the river flows through Yeoncheon, but Pyongyang has remained unresponsive.
Release of water from the dam in 2009 resulted in flooding downstream that killed six South Koreans. (Reuters)
July
U.N.'s FAO receives $17 million for Ukraine grain storage
Written by Nur Yasmin
The United Nations' food agency said it had received $17 million from Japan to address grain storage problems in Ukraine and increase its exports as global food prices remain near record levels amid war in the country.
The funds would help Ukraine, the world's fourth largest grains exporter, store produce from the current July-August harvest in plastic sleeves and modular storage containers, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said.
Ukraine's Black Sea ports have stopped operating since the Feb. 24 Russian invasion, halting its maritime exports and leaving its silos full with grain. Food prices have soared in response, triggering a global food crisis and protests in developing countries.
"Ukraine's farmers are feeding themselves and millions more people around the world," said Rein Paulsen, Director of the FAO's emergencies and resilience office.
"Ensuring they can continue production, safely store and access alternative markets is vital to strengthen food security within Ukraine and ensure other import-dependent countries have sufficient supply of grain at a manageable cost," he added.
The FAO said Ukraine still had 18 million tonnes of last year’s grains and oilseeds harvest stuck in storage, and the country was expecting to harvest another 60 million tonnes in the current season.
Around 30% of its granaries were full with last season's harvest however, the FAO said.
Ukraine, which shipped 44.7 million tonnes of grains in 2020/21, is trying to export its crop via road, river and rail, but logistics difficulties limit volumes to a maximum of around 2 million tonnes a month.
The FAO said it would also use its new funds to help Ukraine operationalise these alternative grains export routes. (Reuters)
July
China touts Afghan trade and investment plans after quake
Written by Nur Yasmin
China's ambassador touted trade and investment plans for Afghanistan on Tuesday, a public endorsement for doing business in the Taliban-controlled country after an earthquake drew attention to the humanitarian consequences of Western sanctions.
At a rare press conference alongside the Taliban administration's acting minister for disaster management, Ambassador Wang Yu announced $8 million in aid for relief from the June 22 earthquake that killed more than 1,000 people.
"Besides emergency humanitarian aid, after the political changes last year and after the earthquake, we also have long-term economic reconstruction plans," he said. The priority would be trade, followed by investment, as well as agriculture.
No country has formally recognised the Taliban, who seized power last year after the United States and its allies abruptly withdrew troops following 20 years of war.
Western countries say the sanctions, which include freezing billions of dollars in Afghan reserves, can be lifted only if the militants meet conditions such as lifting restrictions on participation in public life for women and girls. Some aid agencies complained that sanctions curtailed their ability to assist after last month's earthquake.
China, which shares a remote border with Afghanistan and derives influence among its neighbours from its huge "Belt and Road" investment initiative, has consistently called for sanctions to be lifted.
The ambassador said negotiations were going on for two major mining projects, including Mes Aynak, a copper mine in southern Afghanistan that a Chinese state-owned company has rights to under an arrangement brokered with the previous Afghan government. Afghanistan's largely untapped mineral reserves include large deposits of iron ore and copper.
Taliban administration officials, including the group's Supreme Leader in a speech at a gathering last week, have said the country needs to become less dependent on aid and encourage business.
Speaking of Afghan reserves frozen in Western banks, Wang said: "China always thinks that money belongs to the Afghan people ... China has always called on the international community...for the release of the funds." (Reuters)
July
Russian parliament passes first vote on war economy measures
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Russian government will be able to compel businesses to supply the military with goods and make their employees work overtime under two laws to support Moscow's war in Ukraine that were approved in an initial vote in parliament on Tuesday.
The measures will effectively place Russia on a war economy footing, nearly 19 weeks into the invasion which it describes as a "special military operation".
"The load on the defence industry has increased significantly. In order to guarantee the supply of weapons and ammunition, it is necessary to optimize the work of the military-industrial complex and enterprises that are part of cooperation chains," Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 but was repelled in an initial attempt to take the capital Kyiv and has sustained heavy losses in men and equipment while making only gradual progress in the east of the country, where it completed the capture of the Luhansk region on Sunday.
The West has responded with successive waves of sanctions, stepped up weapons supplies to Ukraine and bolstered NATO forces in eastern Europe - all moves that Moscow sees as part of a "proxy war" against Russia.
"Right now, when the countries of the collective West are building up their military presence on the border with Russia, intensifying sanctions pressure, increasing arms supplies to Ukraine, the importance of passing the bills cannot be overestimated," Borisov told lawmakers.
One of the two bills, both passed unanimously in a first reading by the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, said the state could impose "special economic measures" during military operations, requiring firms to supply goods and services to the military.
The second bill would amend the labour code to grant the government the right to regulate working hours and determine off-days at given companies. Employees of businesses providing goods to the military could be compelled to work at night, on weekends and holidays, and without annual leave.
Borisov said the overtime requirement would not be used on a massive scale, and employees would receive extra pay.
Both bills still need to undergo second and third readings in the Duma, where speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said discussion would continue behind closed doors on Wednesday. They must then be reviewed by the upper house of parliament and signed by President Vladimir Putin to become law. (Reuters)
July
Norway government declines to comment on ongoing oil strike
Written by Nur Yasmin
Norway's government on Tuesday declined to comment on the ongoing strike among Norwegian offshore workers that is reducing the Nordic country's oil and gas output.
"It is the social partners' responsibility to find a solution to any conflict," Deputy Labour Minister Maria Schumacher Walberg told Reuters in an emailed statement, referring to how wage disputes are generally resolved in Norway.
"Thus, the Ministry has no comments to the ongoing conflict." (Reuters)
July
Boris Johnson to Zelenskiy: Ukraine can retake territory from Russia
Written by Nur Yasmin
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a call on Tuesday he believed Ukraine's military could retake territory recently captured by Russian forces, a spokeswoman for Johnson's office said.
Johnson also updated Zelenskiy on the latest British military equipment, including 10 self-propelled artillery systems and loitering munitions, which would be arriving in the coming days and weeks, the spokeswoman said. (Reuters)
July
Ireland should set aside part of 2022 budget surplus - deputy PM
Written by Nur Yasmin
Ireland should set aside some of the budget surplus it expects to post this year to fund future pensions or to start refilling its currently empty contingency reserve fund, Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Tuesday.
The finance ministry on Monday forecast that Ireland would run a budget surplus of up to 0.5% of gross domestic product this year rather than the small deficit previously anticipated, primarily due to a further surge in corporate tax receipts.
The government has pledged to use the better fiscal position to introduce an unspecified amount of one-off measures above and beyond its already boosted budget day package to help people cope with the highest level of inflation in almost 40 years.
"My view is we shouldn't spend all of that, we should give a lot of that back to people because people need help with the cost of living of course but we should probably set some of it aside as well," Leo Varadkar told national broadcaster RTE.
"A huge amount of that is corporation profit tax receipts, which are going to continue to improve over the next couple of years but they won't forever and it would make sense to put some of that surplus away, whether that's into the rainy day fund or into the social insurance fund for future pensions."
Ireland's fiscal watchdog, which has been warning for some time that excess corporate tax receipts should not be used to fund permanent government spending, said earlier on Tuesday that they should be put into the rainy day fund or a new pension reserve fund.
Ireland opened the rainy day fund in 2019 and had planned to boost it to 8 billion euros over time before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and it used the 1.5 billion euros in the fund to help the economy weather a series of lockdowns.
The finance ministry's chief economist warned on Monday that the reliance on just 10 multinational firms to pay over half of the soaring corporate tax receipts represented an "incredible level of vulnerability" for the economy.
Ireland's large hub of multinational firms employ around one in nine Irish workers and Varadkar said that the state's foreign investment agency would announce the best ever half year of job creation for the sector on Wednesday. (Reuters)