Friday, 21 Jun 2024

Asia

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U.S. dollar slides, on pace for worst weekly stretch in a decade

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar stumbled on Friday, falling for eight straight weeks, as investors continued to shun it and looked to other currencies whose economies are currently outperforming that of the United States in terms of managing the coronavirus pandemic. The delay in the passage of additional U.S. stimulus for virus relief did […]

Landslides in mountain villages kill 16 in Nepal, sweep away homes

KATHMANDU (REUTERS) – Landslides triggered by heavy rain swept away dozens of houses and killed at least 16 people in mountainous villages of Nepal on Friday (Aug 14) and many people were missing, a home ministry official said. Nepal suffers flash floods and landslides during the June-September rainy season, resulting in loss of life and […]

Indonesia says police foil bid to smuggle dead crew off Chinese ship

JAKARTA (AFP) – Indonesian police said on Friday (Aug 14) that they had foiled a bid to smuggle the bodies of three crew members who died on a Chinese fishing vessel back to the South-east Asian nation. The discovery marked the latest in a string of recent cases where Indonesians died or suffered abuse on […]

Biden's running mate Kamala Harris: The Statesman

NEW DELHI (THE STATESMAN/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – By choosing Kamala Harris as his running mate despite the acrimony between them, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has sought to reach out to several constituencies – the African-American bloc that the Senator from California has carefully cultivated on the basis of her father’s Jamaican roots, the Indian-American […]

Travel stocks drag Europe lower after fresh UK quarantine rule

(Reuters) – European shares fell on Friday as travel stocks took a hit after Britain added more European countries to its quarantine list, while disappointing retail sales data from China raised doubts over the pace of economic recovery. The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.8% by 0713 GMT, but was on course to notch gains […]

Dollar finds support as coronavirus, China data sap confidence

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar steadied on Friday as a jump in U.S. bond yields and a drag on sentiment from lacklustre Chinese economic data put the brakes on a selldown of the world’s reserve currency. China’s retail sales unexpectedly extended their fall into a seventh month in July and industrial output missed expectations – […]

South Korean doctors strike over health plans as new coronavirus cases climb

SEOUL (REUTERS) – About a quarter of South Korea’s medical clinics closed on Friday (Aug 14) for a one-day strike in protest at government plans to train new doctors, as the country reported the highest number of domestic coronavirus cases since the end of March. The government plans to increase the number of medical students […]

Afghan authorities begin releasing final 400 Taleban prisoners

KABUL (AFP) – Afghan authorities said on Friday (Aug 14) they had started to release 400 Taleban prisoners, the final hurdle in launching long-delayed peace talks between the two warring sides. A group of 80 prisoners was released on Thursday, said National Security Council spokesman Javid Faisal, tweeting that it would “speed up efforts for […]