North Korea has been sending equipment to Syria that could be used to make chemical weapons, a UN report says. Some 40 previously unreported shipments were made between 2012 and 2017, the report found. Materials included acid-resistant tiles, valves and pipes. The report – yet to be released – said N Korean missile specialists had … Read more
Commercial airlines operating around the world have made an estimated net profit of $34.5 billion as global passenger traffic results show demand for air travel has risen. In 2016 the industry made net profit of $35.3 billion and $38.4 billion is forecast for 2018. While African airlines made net profit of $8.2 billion in 2016, … Read more
LIXIL Group Corporation, a global leader in the housing and building industry, has endorsed a joint declaration with the World Toilet Organization, Saraya Co., Ltd., and the ANA BLUE WING Program on sanitation and hygiene. The declaration outlines their joint commitment to support the realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6): … Read more
The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has left Accra for Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to attend the 2017 edition of the Africa Global Business Forum. Bawumia has recently been on a series of business tours on behalf of Ghana. His trip to the UAEcomes on the heels of his return from Vienna, … Read more
The ultra-violent Latino street gang MS-13, which President Trump vowed to wipe out in a speech in suburban New York on Friday, is estimated to have some 10,000 members in the United States. And it boasts a very unusual criminal philosophy. Here are a few key points on MS-13: Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, works as … Read more
American Airlines reported a dip in second-quarter profits on higher costs but offered a positive outlook, saying efforts to boost profits through its “basic economy” option were on track. Net income declined 15.5 percent to $803 million from the year-ago period. Revenues rose 7.2 percent to $11.1 billion as the airline cited strong customer demand, … Read more
Nicaraguan singer Hernaldo Zuniga brought his entire family to trek through the lush forests and mist-shrouded volcanoes of northwestern Rwanda in search of mountain gorillas. He described their encounter with the critically endangered primates as “an almost spiritual” experience, and said it was the only reason they made Rwanda a stop on a trip taking … Read more
Thai police on Tuesday announced the seizure of drugs worth $30 million, including seven million methamphetamine tablets, “ice” and liquid ketamine, from houses around Bangkok linked to an alleged Laotian drug lord. Seven Thais were arrested in the major two-day operation, which turned up 60 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine — known as “ice” — and … Read more
Facing a crisis in Venezuela, US President Donald Trump has threatened to inflict “swift and strong” economic sanctions unless President Nicolas Maduro backs away from a plan to rewrite that nation’s constitution. But the American president seems sure to face a backlash from Caracas, where charges of US “imperialism” have been the socialist government’s favorite … Read more
HBO’s website was no match for the White Walkers on Sunday night. The cable network’s main website, HBO.com, was down during the seventh-season premiere of Game of Thrones. People who attempted to go to the website were met with an error message saying there was a problem loading the page. But the website returned to working … Read more
In Miami, Madrid and across Latin America Venezuelans living abroad enthusiastically cast ballots in a vote organized Sunday by the opposition that sought to undermine unpopular President Nicolas Maduro. “I feel like a liberator!” exclaimed Monica Rodriguez in Miami, the city with the biggest expatriate Venezuelan population and one of 500 worldwide to host a … Read more
At least 200 environmental campaigners and protectors — 40 percent from indigenous tribes — were murdered around the world in 2016, the deadliest year on record, the watchdog organisation Global Witness said Thursday. The grim tally, double the number slain two years earlier, is the largest since the NGO began tracking such violence in 2002, … Read more
The Brazilian Senate has approved a controversial labour reform bill – the first major overhaul in 70 years. The law aims to reduce costs for businesses and allow firms to negotiate contracts freely with employees. It was deeply unpopular with unions, who say it will reduce job security and called two general strikes in protest. … Read more
Pope Francis on Wednesday created five new cardinals in a Vatican ceremony that, while deeply traditional in form, also reflected his vision of a reshaped Church for the 21st century. Four of the five new cardinals come from countries that have never had a cardinal before: El Salvador, Laos, Mali and Sweden. The fifth is … Read more
US President Donald Trump and his policies are broadly unpopular around the world – with the notable exceptions of Russia and Israel, according to a poll released Monday. The Pew Research Center survey, which surveyed people in 37 nations, showed a sharp decline in the average trust for America’s leader to do the right thing … Read more
US President Donald Trump and his policies are broadly unpopular around the world — with the notable exceptions of Russia and Israel, according to a poll released Monday. The Pew Research Center survey, which surveyed people in 37 nations, showed a sharp decline in the average trust for America’s leader to do the right thing … Read more
WhatsApp is becoming one of the prevailing ways people discover and discuss news, according to a study. But use of the messaging app appears to vary widely between countries. In Malaysia, more than 50% of those surveyed said they used WhatsApp for news at least once a week. But in the US, the figure was … Read more
Ghana has been selected as the first African country to participate in the Mexico Business Summit scheduled for San Luis Potosi from . Maria de los Angeles Arriola Aguirre, the Ambassador of Mexico to Ghana, who announced this at a meeting with Ghanaian businesses, said Mexico expected Ghana to be a strategic gateway for Mexican … Read more
The International Monetary Fund has predicted that the African continent is expected to become the world second-fastest growing economy by 2020. With vast natural resources and short shipping lanes to the Americas, Europe and Asia, Africa has the clear potential to become an industrial powerhouse. This growth, however, is contingent upon substantial infrastructure investments. This … Read more
Panama walking out on its relationship with Taiwan to establish ties with rival China is the latest in a spate of diplomatic dumping that is leaving Taipei increasingly isolated. Beijing still sees self-ruling Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, while the democratic island views itself as a sovereign country, although it has … Read more