BEIJING (REUTERS) – China’s Agriculture Ministry said on Friday (Nov 23) that it had confirmed an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N6 avian flu in Yangzhou city in eastern Jiangsu province. The case occurred on a farm with 11,810 birds. It was not specified if they were chickens or other types of poultry. The authorities culled more […]
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The euro and sterling steadied versus the dollar on Friday after Britain and the European Union agreed in principle to a text setting out their future relationship before a summit on Sunday. Traders initially cheered the draft declaration agreed by the United Kingdom and the European Commission overnight which said that the […]
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Friday, weighed down by concerns that producers are churning out more oil than the world needs amid a bleak economic outlook. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1, were at $53.83 per barrel at 0029 GMT, 80 cents, or 1.5 percent below their last settlement. Front-month Brent […]
SHANGHAI (REUTERS) – The population of China’s capital, Beijing, fell for the first time in two decades in 2017, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing official data. The number of permanent residents reached 21.707 million last year, 22,000 fewer than the previous year, Xinhua said late on Thursday (Nov 22. The number of people […]
WELLINGTON (REUTERS) – Low-lying Vanuatu is considering suing fossil fuel companies and industrialised countries that use them for their role in creating catastrophic climate change, the foreign minister of the Pacific island nation said on Thursday (Nov 22). Vanuatu, with an estimated population of 280,000 people spread across roughly 80 islands, is among more than […]
More than 7,000 islands make up the Philippines, but the bulk of its fast-growing population lives on just 11 of them. Much of the country is mountainous and prone to earthquakes and eruptions from around 20 active volcanoes. It is often buffeted by typhoons and other storms. The Philippines – a Spanish colony for more […]
TURAIF, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) – Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Thursday that he sees weak oil demand in January and said the kingdom would respond accordingly to cool the global market’s anxiety. The world’s top oil exporter’s crude output in November is above October levels, he said, adding that it was in […]
SINGAPORE – Workers in manufacturing and trade may face more uncertain job prospects given slower economic growth forecast for next year but opportunities are likely to remain good in sectors such as fintech and healthcare, say experts. Economic expansion is expected to slow to between 1.5 and 3.5 per cent in 2019, partly due to […]
NEW DELHI (AFP) – An Indian baby who was dropped onto railway tracks moments before a train passed through the station has escaped unscathed. The dramatic incident, captured on cell phone footage on Thursday (Nov 22), showed a train rolling over the infant in Uttar Pradesh state as screaming onlookers stand by hopelessly. The one-year-old […]
MILAN (Reuters) – European shares resumed their downward trend on Thursday, hit by disappointing earning updates from UK utility Centrica among others and a fall in Italian banks on continued uncertainty about the country’s finances. At 0954 GMT, the STOXX 600 was down 0.9 percent, with most sectors trading in the red following broad-based gains […]