Karlov was killed after being shot multiple times in the back [Xinhua]
Russian President Vladimir Putin has reacted strongly to the murder of Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov at a photo gallery in Ankara, and vowed to step up the fight against Islamist extremist terror.
Putin’s Russia has been signing trade deals with powerful economies to overcome the effects of sanctions [Xinhua]
Russia’s Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina has predicted a slight GDP growth in current Q4.
Analysts point to the surge in global oil prices as a positive trend to help Russia lessen the impact of EU and US sanctions but caution that the recovery from recession won’t happen immediately.
The Central Bank’s assessment of the health of the Russian economy is based on the math that oil prices are at $40 a barrell.
The Dianchi Lake and nearby buildings in Kunming, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. The water quality in the Dianchi Lake has been improved as a series of pollution control works, including construction of sewage treatment facilities and wetlands along the lake, were carried out. This year, a total of 88 water environment treatment projects for Dianchi Lake will be started [Xinhua]
The authorities in the Chinese capital Beijing, which is currently under a red alert smog warning, are now turning to ways of tackling water pollution.
The HSBC survey examined RMB use in 1,600 corporations spanning the Middle East and North Africa, Europe and North America, with the bulk in the Asia-Pacific region [Xinhua]
The Chinese currency renminbi (RMB, also known as the yuan) “has ascended to the world’s fifth most widely used payment currency”, an HSBC survey has shown.
The survey, Renminbi Internationalisation Study 2016, found that corporations are more than ever introducing the RMB into their treasury and “integrating it across various business applications each year”.
Obama and Xi, sometimes sparring partners, agreed to work together to end cyber crimes and espionage during a press conference at the White House last year [Xinhua]
US President Barack Obama has weighed in on the current rise in tension between President-elect Donald Trump and the Chinese over Taiwan and the South China Sea territorial dispute.
During a White House press conference, Obama warned Trump not to easily fall into a schism of worsening relations between America and China.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang addresses the Central Economic Work Conference in Beijing, capital of China. The conference was held in Beijing from December 14 to 16 [Xinhua]
Chinese leaders and senior economic experts concluded the Central Economic Work Conference – a key two-day strategy meeting- by pledging to keep fiscal policy “prudent and neutral” in the coming year.
Beijing claims 90 per cent of the South China Sea, a maritime region believed to hold a wealth of untapped oil and gas reserves [Xinhua]
China’s foreign ministry has called on the US to live up to its promises not to take sides in the South China Sea gerritorial disputes.
Spokesperson Geng Shuang’s said that the US should respect the efforts of those party to the disputes to resolve the issues on their own.
Russia’s economy is expected to bounce back in 2017 and the latest Bank of America Merrill Lynch report is sure to give President Vladimir Putin a boost [PPIO]
The Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s latest ranking of developing nation economies has put Russia ahead of China in terms of financial stability.
The report released earlier in the week predicted a recovery in emerging markets – Russia, being a case in point – amid modest global economic growth.
Schools have been ordered to suspend classes as the red alert extends over a period of five days [Xinhua]
The Chinese capital Beijing issued a red alert heavy smog warning for Friday which will last for five days, authorities said.
China’s color code alerts include red – as the most dangerous and lethal, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
The red code is triggered when the city anticipates four consecutive days of heavy air pollution, including two days of severe air pollution.
China says that South Korean and Japanese unilateral sanctions against Pyongyang and its leader Kim Jong-un will be counterproductive [Xinhua]
China says that any action or sanctions against North Korea should come within the framework of the United Nations and not extend beyond it.
