Russia defaults on overseas debt for 1st time in over a century
RUSSIA HAS DEFAULTED ON ITS OVERSEAS DEBT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MORE THAN A CENTURY AFTER MISSING A SUNDAY DEADLINE,
RUSSIA HAS THE MONEY TO MAKE A $100M (£81.4M) PAYMENT AND IS WILLING TO PAY, BUT SANCTIONS MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO GET THE SUM TO INTERNATIONAL CREDITORS.
THE KREMLIN HAD BEEN DETERMINED TO AVOID THE DEFAULT, WHICH IS A MAJOR BLOW TO THE NATION’S PRESTIGE.
THE RUSSIAN FINANCE MINISTER BRANDED THE SITUATION “A FARCE”.
THE $100M INTEREST PAYMENT WAS DUE ON 27 MAY. RUSSIA SAYS THE MONEY WAS SENT TO EUROCLEAR, A BANK WHICH WOULD THEN DISTRIBUTE THE PAYMENT TO INVESTORS.
BUT THAT PAYMENT HAS BEEN STUCK THERE, AND CREDITORS HAVE NOT RECEIVED IT.
Chinese premier calls for more coal production
CHINA’S PREMIER, LI KEQIANG, HAS CALLED FOR INCREASED PRODUCTION OF COAL TO STAVE OFF MASS BLACKOUTS, AS EARLY SUMMER HEATWAVES HAVE PROMPTED RECORD ELECTRICITY USAGE.
REPORTS SAY AUTHORITIES HAVE AGAIN ISSUED HIGH TEMPERATURE WARNINGS FOR ABOUT A DOZEN PROVINCES ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN PROVINCES.
ALSO, STATE MEDIA REPORTS THAT ELECTRICITY DEMAND HAS GONE UP 8.8% IN NORTH-WEST CHINA COMPARED WITH LAST YEAR, AND 3.2% IN NORTHERN CHINA.
THE PREMIER, LI KEQIANG, HAS URGED TAPPING INTO ADVANCED COAL CAPACITY, SECURING POWER SUPPLY, AND RESOLUTELY PREVENTING POWER OUTAGES AMID THE PEAK SUMMER SEASON.
LI HAS ALSO CALLED FOR GREATER “EFFORTS TO RAMP UP EFFICIENT AND CLEAN COAL POWER PRODUCTION”.
AFGHANISTAN QUAKE: MANY CHILDREN KILLED IN DISASTER, DOCTORS SAY
DOCTORS IN AFGHANISTAN HAVE SAID MANY CHILDREN MAY HAVE BEEN KILLED IN WEDNESDAY’S EARTHQUAKE.
MORE THAN 1,000 PEOPLE DIED IN THE DISASTER AND HEAVY RAIN, THREADBARE RESOURCES AND RUGGED TERRAIN ARE HAMPERING RESCUE WORKERS.
UNKNOWN NUMBERS WERE BURIED IN THE RUBBLE OF RUINED, OFTEN MUD-BUILT HOMES BY THE MAGNITUDE 6.1 EARTHQUAKE.
THE TALIBAN AUTHORITIES HAVE CALLED FOR MORE INTERNATIONAL AID. COMMUNICATION NETWORKS ARE ALSO BADLY HIT.
A TALIBAN,” SPOKESMAN THEY CAN’T REACH THE AREA AS NETWORKS ARE TOO WEAK.
THE UNITED NATIONS IS AMONG THOSE SCRAMBLING TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY SHELTER AND FOOD AID TO REMOTE AREAS IN THE WORST-HIT PAKTIKA PROVINCE.
AFGHANISTAN’S HEALTH SYSTEM WAS FACING NEAR COLLAPSE EVEN BEFORE THE DISASTER.
SURVIVORS AND RESCUERS HAVE TOLD NEWSMEN VILLAGES WERE COMPLETELY DESTROYED NEAR THE EPICENTRE OF THE QUAKE, ROADS WERE RUINED INCLUDING MOBILE PHONE TOWERS THEY ALSO EXPRESS THEIR FEARS THAT THE DEATH TOLL WILL RISE FURTHER AMIDST SOME 1,500 PEOPLE WERE ALSO INJURED.
MOST OF THE CASUALTIES SO FAR HAVE BEEN IN THE GAYAN AND BARMAL DISTRICTS OF PAKTIKA. LOCALS REPORT DOZENS OF VILLAGES HAVE COLLAPSED.
Ukraine set to be approved as EU candidate at Brussels summit
UKRAINE IS SET TO BE APPROVED AS AN EU CANDIDATE AT A BRUSSELS SUMMIT ON THURSDAY, AFTER THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION GAVE THE GREEN LIGHT.
UKRAINE APPLIED DAYS AFTER THE RUSSIAN INVASION IN FEBRUARY, AND THE PROCESS HAS SINCE MOVED AT A RECORD SPEED.
VSEVOLOD CHENTSOV , UKRANIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE EU TOLD NEWSMEN THAT IT WOULD BE A PSYCHOLOGICAL BOOST FOR UKRAINIANS, BUT
ADMITTED THAT “REAL INTEGRATION,” WILL ONLY START WHEN THE WAR WAS OVER.
1000 people killed and 1500 wounded in Afghanistan earthquake
A Powerful Earthquake Has Killed At Least 920 People And Injured Hundreds More In Afghanistan
Taliban Leader Hibatullah Akhun-Dzada Confirmed This Saying Hundreds Of Houses Have Been Destroyed And The Death Toll Is Likely To Rise.
His Deputy Minister For Disaster Management Sharafuddin Muslim Also Said That At Least 600 Person Have Been Injured.
Pakistan’s Meteorological Department Says The Epicenter Of The Earthquake Is In Afghanistan’s Paktika Province, Just Near The Border And Some 50 Kilometers (31 Miles) Southwest Of The City Of Khost.
Hundreds of thousands evacuated as floods ravage southern China
Hundreds of thousands evacuated as floods ravage southern China
Macron to meet rival parties after losing majority
French President Emmanuel Macron Will Meet Political Opponents On Tuesday After His Coalition Failed To Win A Majority In Parliamentary Elections.
Macron Is Now Under Pressure To Secure Support From Rivals To Fulfil His Government’s Reform Agenda.
But Neither Marine Le Pen’s Far-Right, Nor Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s Left-Green Alliance Are Keen To Work With Him.
Minority Governments Are A Rarity In France, And Macron’s Ensemble Alliance Is 44 Seats Shy Of A Majority.
This Means He Will Need To Find Support From Mainstream Mps From Both The Left And Right Side Of Politics To Help Build A Working Majority.
Party Representatives Will Visit The Élysée Palace Separately For The High-Level Talks On Tuesday And Wednesday.
Assam: India floods destroy millions of homes and dreams
UNPRECEDENTED RAINFALL AND FLOODING HAS LEFT BEHIND A TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION IN ASSAM, A REMOTE VILLAGE IN NORTH-EASTERN INDIA, SUBMERGING VILLAGES, DESTROYING CROPS, AND WRECKING HOMES. AUTHORITIES SAY THAT 32 OF ITS 35 DISTRICTS HAVE BEEN AFFECTED, KILLING AT LEAST 45 PEOPLE AND DISPLACING MORE THAN 4.7 MILLION OVER THE LAST WEEK.
HEAVY RAINS HAVE ALSO LASHED NEIGHBOURING MEGHA-LAYA STATE, WHERE 18 PEOPLE HAVE DIED OVER THE LAST WEEK. IN ASSAM, THE GOVERNMENT HAS OPENED 1,425 RELIEF CAMPS FOR THE DISPLACED, BUT AUTHORITIES SAY THEIR JOB HAS BEEN COMPLICATED BY THE SHEER INTENSITY OF THE DISASTER. EVEN THE RESCUE CAMPS ARE IN A DISMAL STATE.
Ukraine war: Russia becomes China’s biggest oil supplier
RUSSIA HAS BECOME CHINA’S BIGGEST SUPPLIER OF OIL AS THE COUNTRY SOLD DISCOUNTED CRUDE TO BEIJING AMID SANCTIONS OVER THE UKRAINE WAR.
IMPORTS OF RUSSIAN OIL ROSE BY 55% FROM A YEAR EARLIER TO A RECORD LEVEL IN MAY, DISPLACING SAUDI ARABIA AS CHINA’S BIGGEST PROVIDER.
CHINA HAS RAMPED UP PURCHASES OF RUSSIAN OIL DESPITE DEMAND DAMPENED BY COVID CURBS AND A SLOWING ECONOMY.
IN FEBRUARY, CHINA AND RUSSIA DECLARED THEIR FRIENDSHIP HAD “NO LIMITS”.
AND CHINESE COMPANIES, INCLUDING STATE REFINING GIANT SINOPEC AND STATE-RUN ZHENHUA OIL, HAVE INCREASED THEIR PURCHASES OF RUSSIAN CRUDE IN RECENT MONTHS AFTER BEING OFFERED HEAVY DISCOUNTS AS BUYERS IN EUROPE AND THE US SHUNNED RUSSIAN ENERGY IN LINE WITH SANCTIONS OVER ITS WAR ON UKRAINE.
Macron loses majority as French vote fragments
French President, Emmanuel Macron has lost control of the French National Assembly following a strong performance by a left alliance and the far right.
this is less than two months after he was re-elected president,
Reports say He had called on voters to deliver a solid majority. But his centrist coalition lost dozens of seats in an election that has left French politics fragmented.
The prime minister he had only recently appointed, Elisabeth Borne, said the situation was unprecedented.