The Syrian military has been evacuating thousands of civilians who have been fleeing eastern Aleppo and other rebel-held towns [Xinhua]
Iran, Russia and Turkey have agreed on a plan to create safe zones in Syria with the aim of alleviating civilian hardship.
The Turkish Stream project was revived after a rapprochement between Presidents Erdogan and Putin in October 2016 [Xinhua]
Russian President Vladimir Putin will be hosting his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the resort city of Sochi on Wednesday, just a day after he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Putin and Erdogan have met a number of times since their sudden rapprochement last year, but the issue of the Syrian civil war will continue to dominate their agenda for this previously unannounced visit. Erdogan was previously in Moscow in March.
There has been rising tension over disputed islands in the South China Sea [Xinhua]
China’s foreign ministry on Tuesday said it is encouraged by recent statements made by the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) regarding ongoing disputes in the South China Sea.
Maritime disputes between China on the one hand and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan on the other have caused tensions in the region and often led to a war of words between Beijing and Washington.
With a range of 400 kilometers, S-400 Triumf is designed to shield from air strikes, strategic, cruise, tactical and operating tactical ballistic missiles and medium-range ballistic missiles [Xinhua]
Turkey has become the latest country to buy Russia’s advanced S-400 anti-missile air defense system.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Turkish media over the weekend that he had reached an agreement in principle with Moscow on delivery of the weapons system and that Ankara was currently negotiating the price tag.
The introduction of GST will unify the country into one market and enhance production, thereby making the economy more efficient in the medium to long term [Xinhua]
India is on track to become the world’s fourth largest economy in 2022, the International Monetary Fund said, with the economy overcoming any hiccups caused by last year’s demonetization campaign.
China’s economy has grown at a rate of 6.7 per cent so far this year, falling within government forecasts of GDP growth in the 6.5 to 7 per cent range. But some fear that a cooling of the economy could dent automotive sales growth in 2017 [Xinhua]
China is looking to significantly boost its auto manufacturing output by 2025, the government said Tuesday, reaching as much as 35 million vehicles annually.
Emphasis will be on new energy vehicles or NEVs, which include electric and hybrid electric cars and commercial buses and trucks.
China is moving from an export-based economy to one that is driven by domestic products and services [Xinhua]
Chinese authorities are looking for ways to fast-track economic reform, moving focus from an economy that is based on manufacturing and industry toward consumer-driven services.
On Monday, they began to examine ways to amend the Standardization Law of 1989 which governed all aspects of social and economic development in the country.
At the time, the law was a main driver for industrial, technical and construction output; it has not been amended since.
International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde (L) talks to US Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen (R) at a breakfast meeting at the IMF Headquarters in Washington, DC on 22 April, 2017 [Image: IMF]Days after US President Donald Trump signed a “Buy American, Hire American” executive order, member countries of the International Monetary Fund have pledged to “avoid inward-looking policies” to keep the growth momentum.
With economic sanctions removed and its forces increasingly playing a role in neighbouring countries, Iran is enjoying a resurgence of power and influence not seen since the 1970s [Xinhua]
In less than two weeks, the Trump administration has done an about face moving from focusing on domestic issues to aggressively posturing itself in the midst of foreign policy flare-ups.
BRICS countries represent 43 per cent of the world’s population [Xinhua]China will work with the other four BRICS countries to put in place an action plan for skills-training to increase productivity and reduce poverty, a top Chinese official said.
Hao Bin, director of the Chinese Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, was speaking at the First BRICS Employment Working Group Meeting in Beijing on Wednesday.
BRICS countries represent 43 per cent of the world’s population.
