World & Politics
India's economy emerges from technical recession - 03/01/2021
India's GDP in the third quarter of fiscal 2020-2021 was 0.4 per cent, thereby bringing the country out of a technical recession, the ministry of statistics and programme implementation said. India's GDP declined by 7.5 per cent in the second quarter of fiscal 2020-21, marking the first time in history that the country has entered a technical recession due to consecutive declines in GDP for two...
Brand Finance: Germany becomes world's "soft power" leader - 02/25/2021
The consulting firm Brand Finance has released a new version of its soft power ranking of the world's countries. The first place was taken by Germany, which in a year marked by the pandemic has demonstrated stability and ability to control the situation. The year 2020 was a year of turmoil and unprecedented restrictive measures around the world, facing a new threat. And how governments handled...
IATA ready to launch vaccination passports for travellers "within weeks" - 02/24/2021
Digital passports with COVID-19 vaccination information for travellers, which the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is working on, could be launched "within weeks". The Telegraph and BBC report this, citing data provided by IATA. It is primarily about an app with verified and secure traveler vaccination information against COVID-19 or a recent test. "The key issue here is trust....
Japan suspends flights of some Boeing 777s - 02/23/2021
Japan temporarily banned Boeing 777s with Pratt & Whitney PW 4000 engines as the engine of such a United Airlines aircraft in the US caught fire during flight. Its trim fell on residential areas of Colorado. United Airlines recalled 24 Boeing 777s from service. Flights of this type of aircraft have been banned in Japan by the Ministry of Public Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, NHK...
US Texas suffers from frost and unprecedented power cuts - 02/18/2021
The US state of Texas, the country's biggest energy hub which is proud of its oil industry, was hit by a frost. It caused massive power outages that left millions of people without power and dealt a sensitive blow to the oil industry. Nearly 75% of the country is covered with snow. Meanwhile, thermometers in Dallas, one of the biggest cities in the southern state of Texas, have reached minus 18...
UN warns of rising prices and risk of global food shortages due to pandemic - 02/17/2021
The UN has warned of likely food shortages due to the COVID-19 crisis. It could take at least five years to deal with the economic impact of the pandemic, the organisation's special envoy said. People living in poor countries are at even greater risk of food shortages in 2021 due to the pandemic crisis, said Agnes Kalibata, the UN special envoy for the 2021 Food Systems Summit. "Food systems...
FT: Mongolia seeks better deal on one of largest copper mines from Rio Tinto - 02/09/2021
The Mongolian authorities want to get the Anglo-Australian mining corporation Rio Tinto to agree to jointly terminate the agreement to develop the Oyu Tolgoi gold-copper deposit. It was reported by the Financial Times (FT), citing sources. The Mongolian authorities want to terminate the agreement, but do not want to do it unilaterally, fearing that it could harm future foreign investment in the...
Bloomberg: Algeria ceases to be an oil power - 02/09/2021
According to Bloomberg calculations, Algeria's oil and gas exports fell by 30% in 2020. The negative trend has continued this year - in January, crude oil sales fell to 290 thousand barrels per day, down 36% from December and the lowest since 2017. The agency cites mismanagement of the country's oil and gas industry and insufficient investment in the sector as the reasons for this...
Bloomberg estimates timing of COVID-19 vaccination for 75% of population across the world - 02/05/2021
Bloomberg has forecasted the time it will take countries to vaccinate 75% of the population. The agency based its calculations on current vaccination rates in advanced countries and the volume of vaccines delivered. Three-quarters of the population is the fraction of people that scientists believe is necessary to build up collective immunity, although the estimate is rather vague, the agency...
Asian multinational businesses may exclude Hong Kong as a jurisdiction for arbitration from their contracts - 02/02/2021
According to the Financial Times (FT) sources at several major law firms, large firms are increasingly considering excluding Hong Kong from their legal contracts "out of concern that China's growing control could affect the legal rules" of that autonomy. The publication notes that senior lawyers from ten major law firms in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore are reporting increasing enquiries from...
