China’s economy picks up speed in fourth quarter, ends 2020

By Gabriel Crossley, Kevin Yao BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s economy picked up speed in the fourth quarter, with growth beating expectations as it ended a rough coronavirus-striken 2020 in remarkably good shape and remained poised to expand further this year even as the global pandemic rages unabated. Gross domestic product grew 2.3% in 2020, official data […]

Britain invites G7 leaders to Cornish resort for June summit

By William James LONDON (Reuters) – Britain announced plans to hold the first in-person meeting of the G7 for nearly two years in June, inviting the leaders of major developed economies to a picturesque seaside village to discuss rebuilding from the pandemic and climate change. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he wants to use Britain’s […]

UK economy shrank by 2.6% in November

The UK economy shrank by 2.6% in November as fresh lockdown restrictions in England reduced economic activity, official figures show. The Office for National Statistics said UK gross domestic product at the end of November was 8.5% below its pre-pandemic peak. November’s decline came after sixth consecutive months of growth, with a 0.6% improvement in […]

WhatsApp users flock to rival message platforms

By Zoe Kleinman Technology reporter Message platforms Signal and Telegram have both seen a huge surge in downloads around the world following a controversial update to WhatsApp’s terms and conditions. WhatsApp has told its two billion users they must allow it to share data with its parent company Facebook if they wish to continue using […]

How Narendra Modi misread the mood of India’s angry farmers

Soutik Biswas India correspondent Indian farmers protest 2020 After more than 45 days of protests and eight rounds of talks with the government, India’s farmers have refused to budge. Nothing short of a repeal of three market-friendly farm laws – designed to loosen rules around the sale, pricing and storage of farm produce – will make the […]

India’s top court puts controversial farm laws on hold

Indian farmers protest 2020 India’s Supreme Court has put on hold three contentious farm laws that have sparked weeks of protests. Farmers have been camped at the borders of capital Delhi since 26 November to protest against laws that will further open up agriculture to the free market. At least four farmers at the protest […]

Casino mogul and political donor Sheldon Adelson dead at 87

Billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, whose gambling and hotel businesses turned him into a major political power broker in the US and Israel, has died. He was 87. The founder of the Las Vegas Sands casino company, Mr Adelson was known for his support of conservative causes and Israel. He was a significant backer of […]

A night at India’s largest farmers’ protest

A night at India’s largest farmers’ protest click on below link to see detail video A night at India’s largest farmers’ protest   India’s largest farmers’ protest is still under way – tens of thousands of farmers have been on strike since 26 November demanding the repeal of recent laws that they say will shrink […]

Pompeo: US to lift restrictions on contacts with Taiwan

The US is lifting long-standing restrictions on contacts between American and Taiwanese officials, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says. The “self-imposed restrictions” were introduced decades ago to “appease” the mainland Chinese government, which lays claim to the island, the US state department said in a statement. These rules are now “null and void”. The move […]

Philippines’ Catholics display devotion to Christ statue, pray for end

By Adrian Portugal, Eloisa Lopez MANILA (Reuters) – Thousands of Catholic devotees observed physical distancing as they queued for Saturday morning masses in the Philippine capital to celebrate a centuries-old black wooden statue of Jesus Christ believed to bring miracles to the faithful. With the coronavirus pandemic afflicting the country, authorities cancelled an annual procession of the […]