Brunei’s Sultan, Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, said on Saturday, the sultanate had started implementing the National Retirement Scheme (SPK). Bolkiah announced this in a speech during his 77th birthday celebration in Bandar Seri Begawan. The celebration is an important event on the Southeast Asian country’s annual calendar and it usually lasts a month. The SPK is […]
A Canadian firefighter has died fighting a wildfire in the western province of British Columbia, a local union said, as the country continues to grapple with record blazes. In a statement, on Friday, the BC General Employees Union (BCGEU) said the firefighter died combatting a wildfire outside of Revelstoke on Thursday. The union leadership said it […]
Britain’s state-funded healthcare service is facing its longest-ever strike as tens of thousands of doctors in England began a five-day walkout over pay on Thursday. So-called ‘junior doctors’ started strike at 7.00 a.m. Many of them are making case for a 35 per cent pay rise in picket lines outside hospitals across England. Junior doctors […]
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has approved a resolution on religious hatred and bigotry in the wake of a Quran-burning stunt in Sweden. It led to protests across the Muslim world. The motion passed, on Wednesday, was, however, opposed by the United States and the European Union. The U.S. and EU claimed the […]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a much-awaited $3bn bailout for Pakistan. This is a move to help prevent the South Asian country from defaulting on its debt repayments. In a statement on Wednesday, the IMF said its executive board gave the green light to the nine-month standby arrangement. The arrangement is “to support […]
Namibia’s Central Bank, on Wednesday, announced it is further easing home loan curbs to revitalise the country’s long-depressed housing and construction sectors. The Bank of Namibia said construction sector had experienced lengthy periods of depressed growth. Dampened credit extension to the property market compounded the depressed growth. The bank predicts GDP growth will fall to […]
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved $190 million in additional funding for ongoing Rural Connectivity Improvement Project in Bangladesh. Masahiro Nishimura, Principal Rural Development Specialist of Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture division in the South Asia department of the ADB, announced the approval in a statement Tuesday. “This is ADB’s second additional financing for […]
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has appointed a new director for Syndication, Co-financing and Client Solutions Department, effective July 1. He is Mr Max Magor Ndiaye. Ndiaye is a structured finance, risk management and capital markets professional with 20 years of international public and private sector experience. Before this appointment, he served as the Acting […]
Angolan President Joao Lourenco, on Monday, said the country should start constructing warships and invest in building shipyards. Initiating warship construction in Angola could lay the groundwork for the country’s naval industry, the president, told a ceremony marking the 47th anniversary of the Angolan Navy. Lourenco is also Angola’s commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He […]
Most NATO members stand together with Ukraine and the alliance’s upcoming Lithuania summit must confirm Kyiv is a de facto member, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says. Zelenskyy also indicated, on Monday, that further pledges of arms supplies for Ukraine will be forthcoming at the Vilnius gathering. “The majority of the alliance stands firmly with us,” Zelenskyy […]