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China, World

Leading Japan’s ketchup company and many others halted tomato import over China’s behaviour with Uyghur Muslim

NAGOYA, Japan - after the reports against the chinese behaviour with the Uyghur Muslims, the Leading Japanese ketchup producer Kagome and many others have stopped sourcing and importing totatos from China's Xinjiang region.  Kagome halted import of Xinjiang-grown tomato paste used in some of its sauce products last year. Tomatoes that have already been imported will be used up by the end of this year.Along with costs and quality, "human rights problems have become a factor in making decisions," said a Kagome representative.Kagome is believed to be the first major Japanese corporation to stop doing business with the region over the Uyghur issue. A host of popular Western brands, including H&M and Nike, have stopped buying materials made in the region, which in turn spurred a backlash f...
China, World

To maintain foreign exchange, Sri Lanka took loan from China.

COLOMBO: AS Sri Lanka’s local currency hit a record low, it took load from china of  US$500 million in a hope to shore up its foreign exchange.The Sri Lankan embassy in Beijing said the loan agreement with the China Development Bank will "infuse vitally required foreign exchange" into the island's pandemic-battered economy.It is the second Chinese loan made in less than three weeks.Last month, the People's Bank of China granted a US$1.5 billion currency swap to finance imports from China, a key supplier of manufactured goods to the island which is struggling to pay for imports.Sri Lanka's rupee hit a record low of 202.73 to the US dollar, as the country's foreign reserves fell to US$4.05 billion at the end of March, the lowest in 12 years.The country's economy contracted by a record 3.9 p...
US stocks end higher after Powell projects stronger economy
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US stocks end higher after Powell projects stronger economy

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq dropped on Wednesday as U.S. bond yields spiked ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy statement which could provide hints on whether the central bank would raise interest rates sooner than expected. REUTERS: Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday after the Fed predicted a fast economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and said it would maintain its interest rate at close to zero. In its statement following its two-day policy meeting, the Federal Reserve projected a rapid jump in U.S. economic growth and inflation this year as the COVID-19 crisis winds down, and repeated its pledge to keep its target interest rate near zero for years to come. Wall Street extended gains after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said during a news conference that it is too early to ...
Myanmar anti-coup protesters throw red paint in the streets as death toll mounts
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Myanmar anti-coup protesters throw red paint in the streets as death toll mounts

YANGON: Anti-coup protesters in Myanmar sloshed red paint in the streets on Wednesday (Apr 14) to symbolise the blood spilled and more than 700 lives lost in a brutal military crackdown. The country is barely functioning, and the economy has stalled since the military seized power from civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb 1. The military junta has sought to quell mass protests with lethal force, and a local monitoring group has verified at least 714 civilian deaths but warns the toll is likely to be even higher. The military junta has sought to quell mass protests with lethal force, and a local monitoring group has verified at least 714 civilian deaths. (Photo: AFP/Handout) This week is Myanmar's New Year festival of Thingyan, but normal holiday festivities such as public water ...
Godzilla vs. Kong heads for monster box office opening weekend in China
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Godzilla vs. Kong heads for monster box office opening weekend in China

A still from Warner Bros.' "Godzilla vs. Kong." Source: Warner Bros. "Godzilla vs. Kong" is headed for a monster opening weekend at the Chinese box office, which is welcome news for an industry battered by the Coronavirus pandemic. According to early estimates, the flick, which pits two of cinemas most iconic monsters against each other, has already secured around $21.5 million during its opening day in the country. The sequel is currently pacing just ahead of its predecessor "Godzilla: King of the Monsters," which earned around $18 million in 2019 during its first day in theaters in China. It ultimately garnered $66.7 million for the full weekend. The film is being released internationally this weekend, but will be available in North American theaters and on HBO Max on March 31. "Godzill...
Bangladeshi returnees from jobs overseas sink into debt amid glut of workers
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Bangladeshi returnees from jobs overseas sink into debt amid glut of workers

When Hamida Parvin returned home to Bangladesh last February for a holiday from her job as a nanny in Qatar, she was excited to see her 17-year-old son after a year apart. But as the COVID-19 crisis suddenly escalated flights were canceled, and Parvin’s joy soon became a nightmare “scramble for survival” as she scoured for ways to provide for her family. “I went mad looking for jobs … nobody was hiring,” the 35-year-old said at a small cafe in the capital, Dhaka, where she works as a chef. That job is the family’s main source of income, as her diabetic husband is often unwell. “My savings went down to zero. Despite working for so many years, I am not sure if I can even pay the 7,000 taka ($83) fee that my son needs to sit for his upcoming school exams.” In the cafe in the corner of a t...
Business as usual as Man City crush Southampton
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Business as usual as Man City crush Southampton

related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. 5 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. Leaders Manchester City showed that their weekend derby loss was a blip as Kevin de Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez both scored twice in a 5-2 win over Southampton in the Premier League on Wednesday. MANCHESTER, England: Leaders Manchester City showed that their weekend derby loss was a blip as Kevin de Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez both scored twice in a 5-2 win over Southampton in the Premier League on Wednesday. City's 21-match winning streak in all competitions was rudely interrupted by a 2-0 defeat by Manchester United but normal service was quickly resumed at the Etihad Stadium as they opened up a 14-point gap at the top. After a slow st...
Ethiopian 737 MAX crash families set to obtain key Boeing documents
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Ethiopian 737 MAX crash families set to obtain key Boeing documents

LONDON: Families of victims of the deadly 2019 Ethiopian Airlines jet crash may obtain as soon as Thursday (Mar 11) Boeing's reports to US regulators that helped keep its 737 MAX flying after a prior disaster with the same jet in Indonesia five months earlier. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), an independent US government investigative agency, told Boeing in a letter on Monday it should turn over nearly 2,000 documents to lawyers representing families who want to determine what the company knew about its flight systems after the Indonesian crash on Lion Air. The agency said international rules mandate the release of the documents after two years from the crash date, even though Ethiopia has yet to produce a final crash report which the agency cited in blocking the docu...
Pakistan among four countries added to Britain’s travel ban list
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Pakistan among four countries added to Britain’s travel ban list

As the world witnesses a sudden increase in coronavirus cases, Britain has said it would add Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, and the Philippines to its travel “red list”, banning entry of people arriving from those countries unless they are British or Irish nationals.“From 4 am on April 9, Pakistan, Kenya, the Philippines and Bangladesh will be put on the list, the government said, joining about three dozen other nations mainly in Africa, the Middle East and South America,” the UK government said in a statement on Friday.British High Commissioner Christian Turner informed that only the UK/Irish nationals and those with residency rights will be allowed to travel from to and from 04:00 (UK time) on Friday, April 9.“Anyone arriving into England after that will have to book a managed quarantine h...
Biden administration declares Chinese actions in Xinjiang as ‘genocide’
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Biden administration declares Chinese actions in Xinjiang as ‘genocide’

US President Joe Biden’s administration on Tuesday declared Chinese actions against the Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang as ‘genocide’.The US Department of State, in a 2020 report on Human rights practices, said: “Genocide and crimes against humanity occurred during the year against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang”.Chinese authorities’ genocide in Xinjiang was first officially declared by Michael Pompeo during the waning days of the Donald Trump administration. Now, Antony Blinken affirmed Pompeo’s assessment during his confirmation hearing, but the word’s inclusion into Tuesday’s report formalizes the outlook as an official U.S. government assessment.The State Department said the crime inc...