By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia’s central bank is expected to get a new specialist board to manage monetary policy that will give independent expert members more responsibility for setting interest rates, a dilution of the bank’s traditional power over policy. A 272-page review of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) released on Thursday outlined…
By Farah Master HONG KONG (Reuters) -Western media reports on China’s population being overtaken by India deliberately ignores China’s development, using the topic to “bad mouth” it and advocate decoupling, state broadcaster CCTV said on Thursday. CCTV’s sharply worded commentary said the subtext from Western media in recent years was that China’s development was in…
TOKYO (Reuters) – U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Thursday Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) trade negotiations are progressing “at a very quick pace” and she expects results from the talks as early as by the end of the year. The United States and 13 Indo-Pacific countries last year launched negotiations on IPEF, Washington’s first…
By Belén Carreño and Charlie Devereux MADRID (Reuters) – A request for seaplanes needed to fight forest fires is red-flagged because it could harm the environment. Companies seeking aid after being hammered by COVID are asked to show proof of a healthy balance sheet in recent years. They are among the discordant calls made by…
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will address Mexican lawmakers on Thursday by video, the lower house of Congress said, as he seeks support in his country’s war with Russia. The Mexican government has said it wants to remain neutral in the conflict, and some supporters of Ukraine have criticized leftist President Andres Manuel…
By Laurie Chen BEIJING (Reuters) – At least two Chinese women who joined historic “white paper” demonstrations in Beijing calling for an end to COVID-19 curbs were released on Wednesday after almost four months in detention, two of their friends told Reuters. The protests, unprecedented in President Xi Jinping’s decade in power, began in late…
By Brendan O’Brien (Reuters) -Three Alabama teenagers have been taken into custody and charged with murder in last week’s shooting at a “Sweet 16” birthday party that left four dead and 32 wounded, state police said on Wednesday. Two suspects – Ty Reik McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16 – both from Tuskegee, were arrested…
By Doug Barrett and Brendan O’Brien LIBERTY, Missouri (Reuters) – An 84-year-old white man charged in the shooting and wounding of a Black teenager who mistakenly walked up to the man’s house in Kansas City pleaded not guilty to felony charges on Wednesday during his first court appearance in the case. Andrew Lester would face…
By Farouq Suleiman and Tommy Wilkes LONDON (Reuters) – British businesses are struggling to meet their sustainability goals due to rising energy prices, costs associated with international trade barriers and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey showed on Thursday. Almost three quarters of the more than 500 business leaders questioned said their…
By Khalid Abdelaziz and Nafisa Eltahir KHARTOUM/CAIRO (Reuters) -A new attempt at a ceasefire in fierce fighting between Sudanese troops and paramilitary forces in Khartoum failed on Wednesday, leaving people fearful about dwindling food supplies and a breakdown in medical services. The 24-hour ceasefire – lobbied for by countries trying to evacuate their citizens after…
