Continental Financial News

Ali Bongo's third-term victory in a disputed election. The military intervention, marking the eighth such instance in West and Central Africa since 2020, has raised concerns about the erosion of democratic progress in the region. With echoes of recent military takeovers in nearby countries like Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso, the situation highlights the fragility of political stability and the complex challenges facing the African continent.

The much-anticipated Asia Cup 2023 starts today, setting the stage for cricketing giants India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to engage in a thrilling face-off as a precursor to the forthcoming 50-over World Cup in October. The rivalry between India and Pakistan, one of cricket's fiercest, could witness up to three enthralling encounters if they advance to the final stages of the six-nation continental championship. The final showdown is scheduled for September 17 in Colombo.

James Blunt is all set to captivate European audiences with his upcoming tour, aptly named the «Who We Used To Be» tour, scheduled to sweep across the continent from February 20 to April 14, 2024. This anticipated musical journey comes in tandem with the impending release of Blunt's eagerly awaited seventh studio album, «Who We Used To Be.»

₹400 crore, or less than $45 million. The primary objectives of the Aditya-L1 mission would be to study the upper atmospheric conditions of the sun, including observing heating in the sun’s corona—the outermost layer of the solar atmosphere. Studies will also seek to observe solar flares, as well as get a deeper understanding of the physics behind partially ionized plasma—also known as the fourth state of matter.

U20 World Championships gold. Check. Asian Championships gold. Check. Commonwealth Games gold. Check. Asian Games gold. Check. Olympic gold. Check. Diamond League trophy. Check. World Championships gold. Check. This is not a wish list of a teenager made right after watching a motivational movie. Or a shopping list of a soon-to-be bride. This is what Neeraj Chopra’s trophy cabinet looks like after his Sunday night triumph in the World Athletics Championships finals in Budapest, Hungary. Throw in a couple of silver medals he won at last year’s World Championships and Asian Junior Championships in 2016, too, and you have a treasure box that’s never been seen in India. Chopra threw his javelin 88.17m in his second out of six attempts. No one from the 12 strong finals line-up could breach the mark as Chopra became the first Indian ever to win a gold at the World Athletics Championships. The closest was Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem (87.82). When he won silver at the World Championships in Eugene, US, last year, he had said, “Yeah, but it’s not gold.” Well, it is now. The hallmark of Chopra’s ‘golden’ career has been his ability to gauge the conditions better than his competitors. In every competition there have been players with better personal and season best throws but Chopra has always managed to win on the big day. He had arrived in Budapest having played in just three competitions this year. He had hurt his groin in one of those competitions. According to Sportstar, Chopra barely threw a javelin in practice to avoid any possibility of hurting that muscle again. “I was thinking a bit about my groin injury. I was being careful, and my speed was not 100%,” he said. He still won.

The longest nationwide power outage in Kenyans’ memory remains a mystery as the government-owned power company blames a failure at Africa’s largest wind farm, which laid the responsibility on the power grid instead

Babar Azam said he was hopeful of his team producing 'good' cricket in the upcoming Asia Cup after he led his team to an ODI series sweep over Afghanistan on Saturday. Pakistan registered a comprehensive 59-run victory over Afghanistan at the R Premadasa Stadium in Sri Lanka on Saturday, completing a whitewash of the three-match series. While interacting with the media after leading his team to the top of the ODI rankings, the Pakistan captain talked about the momentum and positivity in the dressing room after the series victory against their western neighbours, which enabled them to get into the groove ahead of the continental showpiece Asia Cup, where they will be up against their arch-rival India. «We are excited going into the Asia Cup. The manner of our series victory over Afghanistan will serve us well in the tournament.

Africa as the last continent of hope, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder & Chairman, Bharti Enterprises and Chair, B20 India Action Council on African Economic Integration said that adopting Africa as a place to do agriculture can be the way forward amid the crisis that the world is going through in food production. “60% of the world's arable and yet uncultivated land is in Africa. Today we all see the crisis that the world is going through and especially with Ukraine getting out of the equation of supplying wheat to African nations and many other poorer countries, prices have sold out.

Open Society Foundations plan to significantly curtail their work in Europe and lay off much of their staff there

Peru is believed to be over 4,000 years old and could have been part of a ceremonial temple, according to archaeologists, offering new insights into the region's historic cultures. The wall was first stumbled upon by farmers in 2020 during harvesting work, prompting an extended dig and work to determine its origins, said archaeologist Feren Castillo, head of a research project in the coastal region of La Libertad. «Three years later we started a new procedure whose results showed us its age… Today we are sure it's a building built during the Pre-ceramic Period (the initial period of the Andean civilizations) between 4,000 and 4,500 years ago», the expert said this week", the expert said this week. The remains of the ancient building were revealed in the Viru Valley, some 480 km (298 miles) north of Lima. The wall is estimated to be about three meters (9.84 feet) high and presents triangular geometric lines with occasional shades of red and yellow, Castillo added.

sportspersons were on Friday cleared by the Sports Ministry to compete at the Hangzhou Asian Games, surpassing the 572 athletes in the last edition of continental showpiece in Jakarta in 2018. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had recommended 850 athletes for event to be held in Hangzhou from September 23.Track and field events have got the pride of place as 65 athletes — 34 men and 31 women — are part of the huge contingent. Sportspersons in 38 disciplines have been cleared, with a total of 44 footballers — 22 players in men's and women's sections respectively — figuring in the list.Hockey constitutes the third-highest number of athletes at 36, with the ministry clearing 18 players each in the men's and women's sections. The list also includes the men's and women's cricket teams, comprising 15 members each respectively. Shooting sport, in which India has performed consistently in the continental showpiece, will see a big 30-member contingent competing in Hangzhou, while a 33-member sailing contingent has also been cleared. The ministry has not cleared any male athlete in weightlifting, gymnastics, handball and rugby.

Antarctica's iconic symbol, the emperor Penguins is at the risk of 'quasi extinction' due to the abrupt reduction in sea ice. According to a study published Thursday by researchers from the British Antarctic Survey, colonies of emperor penguins failed to breed at a level never seen before in Antarctica. The study predicted that 90% of the emperor penguins “will be quasi-extinct" by the end of the century under the current global warming trajectory.

leadership, a key recommendation was to develop a common regulatory framework for generative artificial intelligence (AI), said N Chandrasekaran, chairman, Tata Sons and chairperson of B20 India. Speaking at a press conference ahead of the three-day B20 India Summit, Chandrasekaran said, “Digital transformation by adopting AI at a scale is one of key objectives of this summit.

leadership, a key recommendation was to develop a common regulatory framework for generative artificial intelligence (AI)—a nascent field of technology finding adoption across various industries and governance—said N. Chandrasekaran, chairman, Tata Sons and chairperson of B20 India. Speaking at a press conference ahead of the three-day B20 India Summit, Chandrasekaran said, “Digital transformation by adopting AI at a scale is one of key objectives of this summit.

By Mark Trevelyan

Narendra Modi on Tuesday address the BRICS Business Forum in Johannesburg emphasised that India will become the growth engine for the world in the coming years and called for mutual trust and transparency in global supply chains. Key takeaway from the Summit could be a possible meeting between Modi and the Chinese President ahead of the G20 Summit here. Xi landed in Johannesburg a day before Modi amid speculation of their first meeting since 2019 in the backdrop of intense talks since last week to address differences along the Line of Actual Control and dialogue between the NSA Ajit K Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. A possible meeting between Modi and Xi could set the tone for the Chinese President’s visit here for the G20 summit on September 9-10. Modi has mentioned he will meet some leaders and BRICS invitees on the sidelines of the Summit including the leader of Iran. At his address at the BRICS Business Forum Leaders' Dialogue in Johannesburg on Day 1 of the Summit Modi emphasised that India will soon become a five trillion USD economy and the growth engine for the world in the coming years. “Today, India is the fastest-growing major economy in the world.

ICC event on the horizon and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has once again fallen out of favour with the Indian team selectors. Chahal was a big name missing from the Asia Cup squad announced on Monday but India skipper Rohit Sharma has left the door slightly ajar for the 33-year-old for the subsequent ODI World Cup at home in October-November. The wily operator, who was once India's go to bowler in the middle overs, finds himself in familiar territory as another World Cup beckons. Chahal was controversially excluded from the 2021 T20 World Cup before returning for the 2022 edition in Australia, where he did not get a game as finger spinners were preferred in the playing eleven. Kuldeep Yadav, one half of the celebrated 'Kul-Cha' duo has left the other half behind in the pecking order.

Xi Jinping has arrived in South Africa, Chinese state media reported Tuesday, where he will attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg. The state visit will be Xi's second of 2023, after making an official trip to Russia in March. «Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Johannesburg on Monday to attend the 15th BRICS Summit to be held here, and pay a state visit to South Africa,» Xinhua news agency said, adding he had been «warmly welcomed» by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. «Xi said that he is very glad to visit South Africa again and looks forward to having in-depth exchanges of views with Ramaphosa on deepening China-South Africa relations and issues of common interest,» Xinhua said. The heads of Brazil, China, India and South Africa plus Russia's top diplomat will gather from Tuesday to Thursday this week under the theme «BRICS and Africa», South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said this month. Russian President Vladimir Putin — who is sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his role in the Ukraine war — will not attend this year's BRICS conference in South Africa, which is a signatory of the ICC. The Chinese leader previously visited South Africa in 2018 as he sought to enhance his country's diplomatic and economic ties with the continent. On the agenda at this year's summit will be the possible future expansion of BRICS membership, which the bloc has previously indicated it is open to. Several African countries have previously expressed a desire to join the bloc, including Algeria, Egypt and Ethiopia. A total of 69 countries have been invited to the summit, including all African states. BRICS, a loosely-defined group that sees itself as a counterweight to Western economic domination,

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for South Africa on Tuesday to participate in the 15th BRICS summit. It is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The BRICS summit will be held from August 22-24.

Brics bloc of emerging economies to counterbalance Western influence, while others in the group are reluctant to admit new entrants, such as Iran and Cuba, for fear of alienating Washington. The debate among the Brics nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—about whether and how to expand will likely feature prominently during the group’s first in-person leaders’ summit since the pandemic. The presidents of Brazil, China and South Africa, as well as the Indian prime minister, are set to attend the gathering here starting Tuesday.

BRICS and use of national currency are among key agendas of the discussion in the 15th BRICS Summit beginning here from Tuesday, India's BRICS Sherpa Dammu Ravi told in an interview. The 1989-batch Indian Foreign Service, who is currently serving as Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said, «There are many issues that will be discussed in the Summit, including next expansion of Brics on the agenda and use of national currency for trading and economic activity amongst the BRICS member countries.» «As far as the agenda is concerned, there are many issues that are being discussed and also reported mostly the next expansion item on the agenda.