Author: News Desk

China on Monday kept its medium-term lending rate steady, as the country’s central bank seeks to stabilize the yuan which has come under pressure following Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election. The People’s Bank of China kept the medium-term lending facility rate unchanged at 2.0% on 900 billion yuan ($124.26 billion) worth of one-year loans to some financial institutions, according to the bank’s official statement. “It is a well-expected move, given that the market liquidity [has] remained ample,” said Bruce Pang, chief economist and head of Research, Greater China at JLL, citing PBOC’s move in October that…

Pipeline operator ONEOK said on Sunday it would buy the remaining shares of peer EnLink Midstream, for $4.3 billion in an all-stock deal, boosting its presence in the Permian Basin amid increased consolidation in the U.S. energy sector. In August, ONEOK acquired a 43% controlling interest in Enlink, which has a solid presence in the Permian basin, from Global Infrastructure Partners for about $3.3 billion in cash. ONEOK said it will offer 0.1412 shares of its common stock for each EnLink unit. The deal values Enlink at about $7.6 billion, while the stake purchase would be at a premium of about 5% to…

The decision caps a weekend during which the country’s two largest parties announced their candidates for an election that will decide the successor to incumbent President Andrzej Duda, whose second and final term ends in August 2025. Poland’s conservative Law and Justice party, which is trying to regain momentum after losing power last year, has chosen historian Karol Nawrocki as its candidate for next year’s presidential election. The decision caps a weekend during which the country’s two largest parties announced their candidates for an election that will decide the successor to incumbent President Andrzej Duda, whose second and final…

The round-the-clock protests in Tbilisi follow the 26 October elections that kept the governing pro-Russian Georgian Dream party in power. Opponents say the vote was rigged and suspect neighbouring Russia of election interference.

The round-the-clock protests in Tbilisi follow the 26 October elections that kept the governing pro-Russian Georgian Dream party in power. Opponents say the vote was rigged and suspect neighbouring Russia of election interference.

Baku’s COP29 legacy: a new era in climate finance or too little, too late? Several delegates stressed the significance of having reached an agreement and making progress in “difficult geopolitical times”. Like many before it, the 29th edition of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change needed extra time for an overall agreement to be reached. In the early hours of Sunday, exhausted delegates in Baku finally reached a compromise on the most crucial issue of COP29: a new climate financing framework. The UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell called it an “insurance policy for humanity”, adding that “like…

Hundreds of Lebanese people demonstrated in Paris on Sunday to demand an immediate ceasefire since clashes between Israel and Hezbollah began a year ago.

They are more than 4,000 kilometres away from Lebanon but the conflict still hits close to home.

Since clashes between Israel and Hezbollah (an Iran-aligned Shia militant and political group) began a year ago, more than 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon.

The thousands of Franco-Lebanese nationals who are watching the conflict from afar say they’re filled with anger and guilt. Hundreds of them gathered in Paris and around other cities in France on Sunday with the main demand of an immediate ceasefire.

Warning: This text contains descriptions of sexual violence. At first glance, with its medieval city walls and charming alleyways, the French town of Avignon seems like normal French municipality. But the closer one draws to the courthouse, the more the fresh graffiti and posters demand attention: “Gisele, our sun,” “Gisele, our icon,” “Symbol of dignity and courage.” Opposite the court, a banner that reads “Rape is rape” flutters in the wind. Gisele Pelicot’s decision to make the rape trial against her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot and 50 other alleged perpetrators public has rocked France, sparking protests and debate about violence against women— it…

Romania has featured less and less in EU politics in recent years. At first glance, this is surprising considering that it is the sixth-largest country in the European Union in terms of population size and of huge strategic significance given its location on the southeastern flank of both the bloc and NATO. This is particularly relevant when one considers that, of all EU member states, Romania has by far the longest shared border with Ukraine. It is also the most important base for US and NATO forces in southeastern Europe. Moreover, it faces military threats like no other country in…

Communist-ruled Vietnam last month appointed Luong Cuong, a military general and former director of the political department of the People’s Army, as its new president. Shortly after, Prabowo Subianto, a former special forces commander who was discharged from the military in 1998 over allegations of military abuses, was sworn in as president of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation. Prabowo’s government has been described as Indonesia’s “most militarized cabinet” since the fall of Suharto’s dictatorship in 1998, according to a report by New Mandala, a Southeast Asian affairs website hosted by Australian National University (ANU). Elsewhere, much of Myanmar has been…