Author: Pedro Holt

China’s third-quarter economic growth came in stronger than expected, boosting hopes that the world’s second-largest economy will meet or even exceed Beijing’s target for about 5% this year. Economic activity has shown signs of stabilization in recent data. On Wednesday, September data for retail sales and industrial production also bested median forecasts, with the cumulative fixed asset investment print for the first nine months this year slightly below expectations. China posted 4.9% growth in the July to September quarter from a year earlier, according to a release from China’s National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. That’s stronger than economists expectations…

Numerous accounts of Russia’s position and influence in Central Asia have commented on Moscow’s declining standing there. Those results are visible in the clear unhappiness of Central Asian governments with the war in Ukraine, what they perceive as Russia’s failure to take their interests seriously. Moreover, Russia’s faltering economy substantially reduces its ability to provide the economic investments these countries need. China’s corresponding ascension, particularly regarding economic investment and trade in Central Asia, reflects this decline (Rbc.ru, May 21). Regional commentary supports this conclusion of the decline of Russian influence in Central Asia. For example, one Uzbekistan outlet explicitly stated…

Asian stocks made some cautious gains on Tuesday, with investors choosing to focus on corporate earnings prospects and the resilience of the U.S. economy ahead of tensions in the Middle East. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS advanced 0.58%. Tokyo’s Nikkei .N225 rose 0.89%. Overnight the S&P 500 .SPX had climbed 1%, while oil prices and the U.S. dollar had fallen. A host of “favorable” signs from the strength of the U.S. consumer, economic growth, and interest rates supporting bank profits, gave reasons for hope, said Kerry Craig, aglobal marketstrategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Quarterly results from Goldman Sachs GS.N and Bank of America BAC.N are…

The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday it deployed a Su-30 fighter jet after it detected a MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from the US approaching the above the Black Sea. To identify the target and prevent any violations of state borders, the Russian Aerospace Forces launched the Su-30 fighter aircraft for air defense duties. “The crew of the Russian fighter aircraft identified the airborne target as an MQ-9A Reaper reconnaissance UAV belonging to the United States Air Force,” it said. After the approach of the Russian aircraft, the UAV reportedly retreated from the border. “The Russian fighter aircraft safely…

Iraq on Sunday called on the United States and Britain to extradite former officials accused of facilitating the theft of $2.5 billion in public funds in one of the country’s biggest-ever corruption cases. Iraq’s judiciary issued arrest warrants at the beginning of March for four men, including a former finance minister and staff members of former Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi, who Baghdad says all live outside the country. Haider Hanoun, the head of the Iraqi Commission for Integrity, called Sunday on “competent authorities in the United States and the United Kingdom to cooperate in executing the arrest warrants issued against…

The United States and Iran reached a tentative agreement this week that will eventually see five detained Americans in Iran and an unknown number of Iranians imprisoned in the U.S. released from custody after billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets are transferred from banks in South Korea to Qatar. The complex deal — which came together after months of indirect negotiations between U.S. and Iranian officials — was announced on Thursday when Iran moved four of the five Americans from prison to house arrest. The fifth American had already been under house arrest. Details of the money transfer, the timing of…

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said zuranolone, sold under the brand name Zurzuvae, has been approved as a once-daily pill taken for two weeks. Until now, treatment for postpartum depression (PPD) was available only as an intravenous injection, the FDA said. Drug manufacturers Sage Therapeutics and Biogen said the pill is expected to be available later this year. No price has yet been announced. Similar to other forms of depression, symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD) can include sadness, loss of energy, suicidal thoughts, decreased ability to feel pleasure, or cognitive impairment, according to the FDA. It is estimated that…

The U.S. on Friday imposed new sanctions on four Russians linked to financial and investment conglomerate Alfa Group and a Russian business association, the latest measures targeting Moscow’s financial elite over the war in Ukraine. The Treasury Department said it was targeting four men who have served on Alfa’s supervisory board – Petr Olegivich Aven, Mikhail Maratovich Fridman, German Borisovich Khan and Alexey Viktorovich Kuzmichev – under sanctions against the country’s financial services sector. It also imposed sanctions on the Russian Association of Employers the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, it said. “Wealthy Russian elites should disabuse themselves of…

On the 18th July 2023, the national security authorities of the United States (U.S.) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) met to actualise the decision taken in April this year when South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and US President Biden met and released the Washington Declaration, which included the formation of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG).   At that time, President Yoon hailed the new platform as “more effective” than NATO’s Nuclear Planning Group (NPG) and asserted that it had “upgraded” the alliance to “a new paradigm based on nuclear weapons.” Some experts expressed the view that these two have different purposes,…

Geneva, London (29/7 – 50) Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, condemned the arrest and imprisonment of journalists, bloggers and civil society activists in Tajikistan, and questioned the credibility of the evidence presented in court against them. Lawlor was on a two-week official visit to Tajikistan last December. The report prepared by her and members of the delegation on the results of this visit was published in May of this year, but only now became available to the public. The authorities of Tajikistan will have to prepare an official response to the document, which…