Bethlehem, Palestinian Territories | AFP | Pilgrims on Saturday thronged Bethlehem for Christmas Eve as Europeans worked up some holiday spirit despite tight security in the shadow of the Berlin market attack. Crowds of Palestinians and tourists flocked to Bethlehem’s Manger Square near the Church of the Nativity, ahead of …
Read More »World’s aviation industry soaring to record profits
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The aviation industry is set to post record net earnings this year and is expected to remain profitable in 2017, despite rising oil prices and global political turbulence, its trade association said Thursday. “Airlines continue to deliver strong results. This year we expect a …
Read More »Oil resumes price rise after OPEC cut
Singapore, Singapore | AFP | Oil prices resumed their rise Thursday and held above the $50 barrier following OPEC’s decision to carry out its first output cut in eight years. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries at a meeting in Vienna on Wednesday agreed on specific targets to enact …
Read More »Shock and awe at Trump’s rise to power
Paris, France | AFP | Donald Trump’s extraordinary US election victory sent shockwaves across the world on Wednesday, as opponents braced for a “dangerous” leader in the White House while fellow populists hailed a ballot-box revolution by ordinary people. America’s allies put a diplomatically brave face on the outcome of …
Read More »IMF: ‘Brain drain’ hits sub-Saharan Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Skilled workers are leaving sub-Saharan Africa in rapidly increasingly numbers, producing a “brain drain” that causes long-term social damage, the International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday. The IMF said that the number of sub-Saharan migrants living in developed countries could increase from about seven million …
Read More »Uganda one of 10 countries hosting half world’s refugees
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Ten countries accounting for 2.5 percent of world GDP are hosting more than half the world’s refugees, Amnesty International said Tuesday as it slammed what it called the selfishness of wealthy nations. In a report on the plight faced by the world’s 21 million …
Read More »OPEC production deal sends world stocks higher
New York, United States | AFP | US and European markets moved higher on Wednesday as oil producing countries reached a surprise deal to cut oil production, causing crude prices to jump more than five percent. Following the agreement reached in Algiers by members of the Organization of the Petroleum …
Read More »IMF warns central banks could lose deflation fight
Washington, United States | AFP | The International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday that central banks are struggling to beat back deflationary forces and that governments need to spend to help them succeed. In a new assessment of global economic conditions, the IMF said many countries worldwide are battling disinflation …
Read More »Oil prices climb on big fall in US stockpiles
New York, United States | AFP | A big drop in US crude stockpiles sent oil prices sharply higher Wednesday. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in November jumped $1.29 to $45.34 a barrel in New York trade. In London, Brent North Sea oil for November delivery advanced …
Read More »Triathlon: The Brownlees…the antithesis of Cain and Abel
London, United Kingdom | AFP | In one selfless act Olympic triathlon champion Alastair Brownlee erased the fratricidal image of Cain killing Abel as he helped his stricken brother Jonny over the line in the World Series event in Mexico. However, with praise raining down on him Alastair’s blunt no …
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