Financial results were published in ADB’s Annual Report 2022.

Australia launched its biggest defense overhaul in decades, vowing to turn a military that is "no longer fit for purpose" into a fighting force that could deter China or any would-be foe. Defense Minister Richard Marles unveiled a strategic review that called for using missiles, submarines and cyber tools to...

China insisted it respects the sovereignty of all ex-Soviet countries, after comments by its ambassador to France drew ire in Europe. Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, the European Union's three Baltic countries, summoned China's envoys to account for Ambassador Lu Shaye questioning the sovereignty of former Soviet states.

"German business's worries are abating, but the economy is still lacking dynamism," said Ifo president Clemens Fuest.

Brussels, Belgium - Comments made by the Chinese ambassador to France questioning the sovereignty of post-Soviet countries were "unacceptable," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Sunday.Borrell added that he hoped the comments did not reflect Beijing's official stance."Unacceptable remarks of the Chinese ambassador to France," Borrell tweeted."The EU can only...

Geneva, Switzerland -- Researchers from around the world have embarked on an effort to try to build a system allowing humanity to anticipate violent conflicts before they erupt -- and thus potentially prevent them.They will examine dramatic advances in artificial intelligence and how the decisions taken by the world's leaders...

According to a ranking by the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute (SWFI), the Norwegian fund is the biggest in the world, just ahead of the China Investment Corporation and followed by those in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Singapore.

After two days of talks in the bucolic Japanese mountain resort town Karuizawa, the top diplomats from leading economies unveiled no new sanctions on Moscow over its invasion but pledged to crack down on those helping Russia evade the measures and acquire weapons.

Iran's judiciary had said in November 2021 that a trial had opened in Tehran for 10 military members in connection with the jet's downing.

In February this year, the Iraqi foreign minister reiterated Baghdad's support for a ceasefire and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, during a visit to Baghdad by his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

They also announced a series of deals, including one for the UAE-controlled Mataripe refinery in northeastern Brazil to invest up to $2.5 billion in a biodiesel project in the region, and another on cooperating against climate change. The UAE is due to host the COP28 UN climate talks later this...

ABU DHABI, UAE - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrived here Saturday, following a two-day visit to China to strengthen economic and diplomatic ties.The UAE's energy and infrastructure minister, Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazrouei, welcomed the Brazilian leader at Abu Dhabi airport, local media reported.Lula, who in January returned to...

BERLIN, GERMANY - Germany will switch off its last three nuclear reactors on Saturday, exiting atomic power even as it seeks to wean itself off fossil fuels and manage an energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.While many Western countries are upping their investments in atomic energy to reduce their...

Russia delivered a new warning to the West over a grain deal with Ukraine, saying a number of conditions must be met for Moscow to extend it beyond May 18. Negotiated in July by Turkey and the United Nations, the agreement has given Ukrainian grain shipments a safe corridor in...

Evan Gershkovich was formally charged with espionage by Russia, according to Russian news agencies, accusation rejected both by the reporter and his employer, the Wall Street Journal. The charges are the first of their kind in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union, sparking off an outcry from media...

World food prices are still high but have fallen by a fifth compared to a year ago when prices soared to a monthly record high after Russia invaded agricultural powerhouse Ukraine, UN data showed. Prices have fallen 20.5 percent since March 2022 after a 12th straight monthly drop, the Food...

Beijing, China--French and EU leaders will on Thursday seek to make Europe's case for bringing an end to the conflict in Ukraine in a Beijing meeting with Xi Jinping, a close ally of Vladimir Putin.French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen will be greeted late afternoon...

The French leader's aims include preserving and rebalancing China's trade ties with Europe as well as safeguarding French interests in the Asia-Pacific region, where Paris sees itself as a player due to its overseas territories and military deployments. On the eve of his visit, Macron discussed his trip to China...

Sunday's move "caught the markets off guard" and reversed recent oil-price gains, noted ActivTrades analyst Ricardo Evangelista. "With the fizzling out of the banking crisis and the return of optimism to the markets, the price of the barrel was already showing signs of recovering," he noted.

Kyiv, Ukraine--Ukraine on Saturday branded Russia's presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of April "a slap in the face", joining a chorus of outrage from Western countries.Moscow assumes the presidency as part of its monthly rotation between the Security Council's 15 member states, with ties with the West...

Two weeks after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly backed its bid, Turkish lawmakers unanimously supported Finland's membership of the US-led defense alliance after the Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Turkey was the final NATO nation to ratify the Nordic country's accession, which NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said will make the "NATO...

Warsaw, Poland - Poland's prime minister on Wednesday appealed to Brussels to limit the amount of Ukrainian grain entering the European Union, saying it was destabilizing local markets.Ukraine, one of the world's largest grain exporters, saw its traditional Black Sea export routes blocked or limited by Russia's invasion.The EU has since...

Moscow, Russia--Russian oil sales to India surged more than twentyfold last year as European buyers turned to other markets following the conflict in Ukraine, Russia's deputy prime minister said Tuesday.Russia shifted its oil exports to India and China last year as European Union nations sought to end their reliance on Russian...

Ankara,Turkey - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed during a phone call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres the deal to ship grain across the Black Sea..Last week Turkey announced the extension of the deal that has allowed exports of Ukrainian grain to resume following Russia's invasion, but it was unclear...

Even with a better outlook for 2024, global growth will remain well below its historic average of 3.8 percent, she said at the China Development Forum. Uncertainties are exceptionally high, including because of risks of geo-economic fragmentation which could mean a world split into rival economic blocs.

Moscow, Russia--Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday he would deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighbour and ally Belarus, bringing the arms to a country at the gates of the European Union.Putin has previously issued thinly veiled warnings that he could use nuclear weapons in Ukraine if Russia were threatened, reviving Cold...

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK - Denmark has invited the Russian-controlled operator of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to help recover a mystery object that was spotted near the pipeline, six months after sections were sabotaged.Russian President Vladimir Putin, who revealed the discovery of the object earlier this month, said experts believe that it...

Mohammed bin Salman has also worked to mend rifts with regional rivals like Qatar and Turkey, and even offered up the Gulf kingdom as a possible mediator for the war in Ukraine.

The ECB president insisted, however, that if the most recent forecasts were confirmed, "we will still have ground to cover to make sure that inflation pressures are stamped out".

But US officials and experts say that China's diplomacy is not so much about ending the war as an attempt to change the narrative. Xi "would like to be seen and be taken seriously as a peacemaker," said Robert Daly, director of the Wilson Center's Kissinger Institute on China.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had warned Monday that if crisis-torn Tunisia "collapses economically or socially then we will be in a situation where new flows of migrants will come to Europe". An EU delegation arrived in Tunisia on Tuesday to examine "the political and socio-economic situation" and...

The head of the Western military alliance said he welcomed any proposals that could lead to a "just and sustainable peace". He said China's paper included some positive elements, including emphasising nuclear safety, protecting civilians and territorial integrity.

LONDON, UK- Europe's natural gas price slid Monday below US$43 for the first time in more than a year and a half, dampened by mild weather and high storage levels.In morning London deals, the price of benchmark Dutch TTF gas hit $42.5 per megawatt hour - last seen in July 2021.Monday's...

Just hours after Putin visited Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of the peninsula's annexation, video distributed by the Kremlin showed him landing by helicopter in Mariupol, the port city that Moscow captured after a long siege last spring. The Russian leader took a tour of the city and was...

Turkey announced the extension of a deal that has allowed exports of Ukrainian grain to resume following Russia's invasion, but it was unclear if it had been prolonged for 60 or 120 days. Russia said it had agreed to a 60-day extension, while Ukraine's infrastructure minister said the deal had...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM- The European Commission proposed the Net-Zero Industry Act to scale up manufacturing of clean technologies in the EU and make sure the Union is well-equipped for the clean-energy transition, local media reports said.This initiative was announced by President Ursula von der Leyen as a part of the Green...

The degree of anger and sympathy for the protesters, particularly among the American and European public, makes it near impossible to reach a nuclear deal, believes Vali Reza Nasr.

Zara owner is the world's biggest fashion retailer.

Consultations to prolong Ukrainian grain exports deal are continuing, the UN said, after a Russian proposal for just a 60-day extension cast doubt over its fate. "The United Nations will do everything possible to preserve the integrity of the agreement and ensure its continuity," Jens Laerke, spokesman for the United...

New York, United States - Oil prices fell over 2 percent in volatile trading on Monday as the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank roiled equities markets and raised fears of a fresh financial crisis, but a recovery in Chinese demand provided support, Reuters reported.Brent crude futures settled down $2.01, or...

The world is facing a new environment where powerful global leaders and corporate leaders are creating uncertainty and risk, Eurasia Group chief Ian Bremmer tells TRENDS.

Russia has agreed to extend the Ukraine grain export deal following talks with the United Nations - but only for a further 60 days. Moscow said it wanted to see "tangible progress" on a parallel agreement on Russian exports before the deal comes up for renewal again.

Shares in ADNOC Gas were heavily oversubscribed even after the offering was expanded from 4.0 to 5.0 percent of issued share capital in response to strong interest.

MANAMA, BAHRAIN -  Speaker of  the UAE Federal National Council Saqr Ghobash discussed ways to enhance cooperation with First Deputy Chairman of Ukraine Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) Oleksandr Kornienko on the sidelines of the 146th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union held here.During the meeting, they discussed parliamentary cooperation between the two...

Austin's talks with his hosts were centred on the changing geopolitics of the region, which is currently roiled by rising threat from Iran and the ongoing war in Ukraine.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that extending a deal that allowed grain exports from Ukraine to resume was becoming "complicated" as he claimed it was not being properly implemented.Russia's military intervention last February saw Ukraine's Black Sea ports blocked by warships until a deal last summer...

Analysts view the opposition's failure to put aside their differences just two months before the vote as one of the main factors working in Erdogan's favour. Erdogan's public approval plunged after he unleashed an unusual economic experiment in late 2021 that tried to fight inflation by drastically cutting interest rates.

Norway earned 1.5 trillion kroner ($140 billion) in revenues from oil and gas, according to estimates by Statistics Norway (SSB). It was "by far the highest ever recorded in the statistics" and almost three times the 498 billion kroner earned in 2021, according to SSB.

FRANKFURT, GERMANY - More interest rate increases may be needed beyond the one coming later this month, European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde said Thursday, as inflation in the eurozone remains stubbornly high."At this point in time, it's possible that we continue on that path," Lagarde told Spain's Antena 3 television...

The Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) was twice postponed because of coronavirus. A plan of action was agreed at the UN general assembly last year, and no major cash pledges are expected at the Qatar meeting. The presidents will be there - with thousands of...