Seoul, Aug 6 (IANS) Major global investment banks (IBs) have raised their outlook for South Korea’s 2025 economic growth, citing its recent tariff deal with the United States, a report showed on Wednesday.As of end-July, eight major global IBs, including Barclays, BoA-Merrill Lynch and Citi, projected that Asia’s fourth-largest economy would expand 1 percent this year, up 0.1 percentage point from their median forecast a month earlier, according to the report by the Korea Center for Internationa…

New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (RBI-MPC) on Wednesday decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 5.50 per cent after its bi-monthly meeting. Keeping the repo rate steady means the Equated Monthly Instalment (EMI) and interest burden on the home loan will not change.In its last meeting, the MPC had lowered the repo rate by 50 basis points, bringing it down to 5.50 per cent from 6 per cent.The RBI has cut the repo rate by 100 BPS between February and …

Mumbai, Aug 6 (IANS) Luxury housing sales in Delhi-NCR have risen by 9 per cent in the first half of 2025 (H1 2025) compared to the same period previous year (H1 2024), a new report said on Wednesday.According to data compiled by global professional services firm JLL, 5,168 luxury homes priced at Rs 5 crore and above were sold between January and June this year, up from 4,763 units in the first half of 2024.Delhi-NCR now accounts for 65 per cent of all luxury housing sales across India’s top s…

Mumbai, Aug 6 (IANS) Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Wednesday that the US tariff hike will not have any major impact on the Indian economy unless there is a retaliatory tariff. Speaking at a press conference after the monetary policy announcement, the RBI Governor said, “There might not be a major impact of the ongoing uncertainty over the US tariffs on India’s economy. This is subject to retaliatory tariffs coming into the picture, which we do not foresee.””We are hopefu…

Seoul, Aug 6 (IANS) Former first lady of South Korea Kim Keon Hee apologised Wednesday for causing concern to the people as she appeared for questioning by a special counsel over her alleged involvement in stock manipulation schemes, election meddling and other allegations. The wife of jailed former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived at special counsel Min Joong-ki’s office 10 minutes later than scheduled, becoming the first spouse of a former or sitting president to publicly appear as…

Sydney, Aug 6 (IANS) Australia’s Great Barrier Reef’s hard coral cover has sharply declined, returning to near long-term average levels after recent record highs, a report revealed Wednesday. The findings underscore a new volatility in coral health, according to the Australian Institute of Marine Science’s (AIMS) annual survey report of the world’s largest coral reef system off the coast of Australia’s Queensland.The Great Barrier Reef has experienced the largest annual decline in coral cover in…

Seoul, Aug 6 (IANS) The South Korean military has completed removing loudspeakers for propaganda broadcasts against North Korea along the heavily fortified border, military officials said Wednesday. About 20 fixed speakers installed in the front-line areas had all been dismantled as of Tuesday afternoon, nearly a day after the military began removing them on Monday in an effort to ease inter-Korean tensions, according to officials.The removed speakers are to be stored in military units, Yonhap n…

Vladivostok, Aug 6 (Xinhua) A dam has been destroyed near the Klyuchevskoy Volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East, raising concerns over potential mudflows and transportation disruptions in the region, local authorities said on Wednesday. Fieldwork conducted from July 30 to August 2, 2025, near the Studenaya River revealed that the dam — constructed in 2023 to separate the river’s right and left channels — has collapsed, allowing water to flow freely through both channels, the…

United Nations, Aug 6 (IANS) UN humanitarians pushed for a pause in hostilities in Sudan to reach trapped families facing starvation, particularly in the besieged city of El Fasher. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday that it seeks a standdown in order to rush in aid on a large scale and to restore a full UN presence.”OCHA once again urges all parties to allow humanitarian access across the country and calls on donors to scale up flexible funding to …

Phnom Penh, Aug 6 (IANS) Thailand’s legal action against Cambodia for using military forces and weapons to violate its sovereignty is baseless and politically motivated and lacks an incredible basis, a Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday. Cambodian Foreign Ministry’s Secretary of State and Spokesperson Chum Sounry said this legal measure is entirely baseless and represents a deliberate attempt to divert both domestic and international public attention from Thailand’s hostil…