A group of African countries is set to launch a bank to fund oil and gas projects amid growing reluctance by Western institutions to further invest in fossil fuels. The long-planned “Africa Energy Bank” that is expected to take off soon was announced last June as a joint initiative by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) … Read more
Hours before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the White House, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would levy reciprocal tariffs on its trading partners. It could hardly have come at a tougher time for India, which is already pressed by a slowing economy and sluggish demand. At a joint news conference, … Read more
Islamabad, Pakistan – Almost three decades ago, on March 17, 1996, Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga deftly and calmly guided Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath’s delivery to third man as Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium erupted in applause from more than 30,000 – mostly Pakistani – fans. By successfully chasing the target of 241 runs for the … Read more
US president’s executive order provides resettlement for Afrikaners ‘who are victims of unjust racial discrimination’. United States President Donald Trump’s offer to rehouse white South Africans as refugees fleeing persecution may not spur quite the rush he anticipates, as right-wing white lobby groups want to “tackle the injustices” of Black majority rule on home soil. … Read more
‘Many arrived without even winter clothes’ “The majority of Lebanese that are living in Cyprus are settled around Larnaca, all along the gulf until Paralimni,” explains Father Akl Abou Nader, who is sitting at his desk in the rectory of Saint Joseph Church on St Lazarus Square in Larnaca, a city in the south of … Read more
Noboa has continued to weather controversy about the limits of his authority through the end of his latest campaign. Ecuador’s constitution requires that public officials take a leave of absence to run for re-election. But Noboa instead signed two executive decrees to avoid transferring power to his vice president, Veronica Abad, with whom he is … Read more
Lagos, Nigeria – Sodiq Taiwo looks out of his bedroom window in Lagos, watching the children below as they play and bicker in the back yard. One of their favourite games is “police and thief”, where heroes chase down supposed criminals, mouthing “pew pew” as if to shoot down the wrongdoers. Taiwo chuckles at the irony … Read more
Marottichal, India – Phones, wallets and half-drunk teacups clutter empty tables – except for one – at a teahouse in southern India, where a crowd has formed around a chess board and two competitors. One of them is 15-year-old Gowrishankar Jayaraj. Surrounded by spectators vying for a view of the chess board, Jayaraj is competing blindfolded. … Read more
New Orleans, Louisiana – It was 3am on New Year’s Day, and Tyler Burt, a pedicab driver working in New Orleans’s historic French Quarter, decided to take one last fare. He pedalled to Bourbon Street, a busy pedestrian thoroughfare pulsing with music and laughter. It wasn’t long before a family of four flagged him down. … Read more
The Chinese New Year or the Lunar New Year is a major celebration in many Asian countries and their diasporas around the globe. Chinese New Year, also referred to as the Spring Festival, is roughly a two-week-long celebration marking the first day of the Chinese calendar year, which lands on Wednesday this year. Each Chinese … Read more