New Delhi, April 21 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) proposal to the Union government to place the linking of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) of BRICS countries on the agenda for the 2026 BRICS summit, to be chaired by India, could play a key role in facilitating international payments, according to an article.BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) has, with the recent addition of Iran, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, and Indonesia to the bloc, emerg…
Latest China News & Updates
Islamabad, April 21 (IANS) Global rights watchdog Amnesty International in its annual report has highlighted a pattern of restrictions on civil liberties in Pakistan, including curbs on freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and political participation, local media reported on Tuesday. Amnesty has stated that changes to online speech and anti-terrorism laws in Pakistan have significantly affected freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, resulting in the arrest of journalists, activists and…
New Delhi, April 21 (IANS) Pakistan has entered more than 20 programmes with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over 65 years since 1958, and yet continues to remain trapped in a recurring cycle of economic crises, bailouts and temporary stabilisation without achieving durable structural reform, a report has lamented.According to a report in The News International, latest concerns were reflected in the IMF’s End-of-Mission Statement of March 2026, which once again highlighted familiar prior…
New Delhi, April 21 (IANS) Even after escalation in West Asia conflict and rise in Brent crude oil prices due to the closure of Strait of Hormuz, the fuel prices remain unchanged in India, while many countries have witnessed a jump of up to 85 per cent.Data by Kotak highlighted a sharp divergence between India and both advanced and emerging countries, where consumers have faced increases in fuel prices so far this year, reports NDTV Profit.On the diesel front, prices have witnessed a sharp rise …
Seoul, April 21 (IANS) South Korea expressed deep regret on Tuesday after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sent a ritual offering to a war shrine seen as symbolising, if not whitewashing, Japan’s militaristic past. Takaichi sent the offering to the Yasukuni Shrine honouring Japanese war dead, including 14 Class A criminals convicted by the Allies in international tribunals for their roles in World War II, on the occasion of the annual spring festival.Her key Cabinet members and other lawma…
New Delhi, April 21 (IANS) Apple CEO Tim Cook, who is set to step down in September, leaves behind not just a $4 trillion company, but a fundamentally repositioned India story that his successor, John Ternus, will be expected to take forward. The company’s strategic push in India is likely to gather further momentum under Ternus, with experts underscoring the country’s growing importance as both a manufacturing hub and a key consumer market.According to experts, under Cook’s leadership, In…
Tokyo, April 21 (IANS) Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday sent a ritual offering to the Yasukuni Shrine on the occasion of its spring festival. Takaichi sent a ritual “masakaki” tree offering to the war-linked shrine on the first day of its three-day ceremony.Yasukuni Shrine, located in central Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward, has long been a source of diplomatic friction between Japan and its neighbours, reports Xinhua news agency.For a long time, visits and ritual offerings made by Japanes…
Seoul, April 21 (IANS) South Korea’s exports surged 49.4 per cent from a year earlier in the first 20 days of this month, driven by strong demand for semiconductors, data showed on Tuesday.Outbound shipments reached $50.4 billion in the April 1-20 period, compared with $33.7 billion tallied over the same period last year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The tally marked the highest figure for the first 20 days of April, reports Yonhap news agency.Imports increased 17.7 perc…
United Nations, April 21 (IANS) Weathering the fallout of the Iran war-induced energy crisis, India will remain the fastest-growing large economy in the Asia Pacific region at 6.4 per cent during the current fiscal year, according to ESCAP, the UN agency for the region’s economy.The report released here on Monday by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, better known by the acronym ESCAP, said India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth moderated from 7.4 per cent …
Washington, April 21 (IANS) The United States is confronting a “more dangerous era” marked by simultaneous nuclear competition with China and Russia, lawmakers and defence officials warned at a Senate hearing, as the administration pushed for accelerated modernisation of its nuclear arsenal.At a Congressional hearing, Senator Deb Fischer said the US now faces “the challenge of simultaneously deterring two nuclear adversaries,” noting that both countries are expanding and modernising thei…