Category: World

Nepal has put the reconstruction requirement from the devastating August 26 floods at about $4.78 billion, sharply exceeding the government's initial estimate of direct physical damage and economic losses. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the figure came from a Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment prepared after floods tore through northern river valleys, destroying homes, transport links, hydropower facilities and other critical infrastructure. The assessment estimated direct damage at about $1.8 billion and associated losses at roughly $883 million. Of the reconstruction

BRICS leaders have adopted a joint declaration expressing deep concern over escalating tensions in the Middle East and urging maximum restraint, securing consensus among members including Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The New Delhi Declaration, approved on Saturday at the 18th BRICS Summit, called on all sides to avoid actions that could further aggravate the situation and reaffirmed support for resolving international disputes through dialogue, consultation and diplomacy. The wording reflected differing national positions while establishing a common

The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System is shifting from network-building to large-scale adoption, targeting faster transaction growth as its reach extends across more than 30 African countries. PAPSS chief executive Mike Ogbalu III said the system’s next strategic phase, beginning in 2027, will focus on activating its expanding network, widening use among banks, fintechs and businesses, and developing high-volume payment corridors. The platform now connects 24 national and regional central banks, more than 200 commercial banks and payment service providers, and

Vice-President JD Vance has emerged from the Republican midterm convention in Dallas with his standing as a potential 2028 presidential contender enhanced, after a keynote speech drew chants from delegates and fresh praise from President Donald Trump. Vance used Thursday night’s address to present himself as a defender of Trump’s political movement while urging Republicans to stay united ahead of the November midterm elections. Delegates repeatedly chanted his name and, at one point, “48”, a reference to the next presidential number

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hosting the BRICS summit in New Delhi with Russia and China displaying a closer strategic alignment, adding pressure to India’s effort to preserve strong ties with Moscow while managing a cautious thaw with Beijing and maintaining partnerships with the West. Russian President Vladimir Putin met Modi on Friday, a day before the leaders’ summit, and the two reviewed cooperation spanning trade, defence, energy, space, mobility and multilateral coordination. They also discussed the Programme for Economic Cooperation

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles towards the East Sea on Saturday, a day after South Korea, the United States and Japan completed a five-day trilateral military exercise. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were detected at about 5.20am from the Wonsan area on North Korea's east coast. They flew roughly 250 kilometres before falling into the sea, while South Korean and US authorities continued analysing their precise specifications. The military said intelligence authorities in Seoul and Washington

FirstRand’s full-year earnings fell as provisions tied to its UK motor finance business offset strong growth across its core operations in South Africa and the rest of Africa. The financial services group said earnings on its previously reported basis declined 5% to R39.7 billion for the year ended June 30, 2026, after it booked an additional provision linked to potential customer redress in Britain. Return on equity on that basis was 18.3%, within the group’s stated target range. FirstRand recognised an additional

Cocoa futures strengthened after Ghana’s cocoa regulator proposed a roughly 6 per cent increase in the price paid to farmers for the 2026/27 season, prompting short covering as traders assessed the implications for supplies and cross-border bean flows. The proposed farmgate price would rise to 2,737 cedis for a 64-kilogram bag from the current 2,587 cedis, according to people familiar with the plan. The change remains subject to approval by Ghana’s finance minister and has not yet been formally announced by

Artificial intelligence has sharply eroded Kenya’s once-thriving academic ghostwriting trade, cutting demand, rates and livelihoods for thousands of educated freelancers who built careers completing assignments for university students overseas. The disruption has become stark four years after ChatGPT’s launch. Writers who once handled a steady flow of essays, dissertations and coursework for clients in the United States and Britain say orders have dwindled as students increasingly use generative AI to produce assignments themselves. Researchers had estimated that at least 40,000 people

Grindstone Ventures has launched a R500 million venture capital fund aimed at technology-enabled African businesses from seed to Series A, seeking to bridge the financing gap between early commercial traction and the larger institutional rounds needed for expansion. The fund, led by Grindstone Ventures chief executive Thandiwe Maqetuka and established with Knife Capital and Thinkroom, is targeting an initial close of R150 million. It plans to invest in 15 to 20 companies, mainly in South Africa, while making selective investments elsewhere

Washington and Tehran are hardening their positions for a prolonged confrontation, with no clear path to a ceasefire and Middle East energy flows still severely disrupted. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he expected the war to end only after the November 3 US midterm elections, while acknowledging that Washington was not actively seeking negotiations. His remarks came as the conflict entered its seventh month and fighting around the Strait of Hormuz intensified sharply. Trump said Iran could no longer sustain

JetBlue Airways has lowered its third-quarter capacity growth forecast after severe weather and air traffic control disruptions hit operations across the northeastern United States, adding cost pressure as the carrier pursues its profitability turnaround. The New York-based airline now expects available seat miles, a standard measure of capacity, to rise 1.5% to 3.5% from a year earlier in the quarter ending September 30. Its previous forecast, issued in late July, called for growth of 3% to 6%. JetBlue also raised its estimate

US producer prices rose 5.4 per cent in the 12 months through August, accelerating from July and coming in slightly above market expectations, as higher energy costs pushed wholesale inflation to its strongest annual pace in months. The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.4 per cent from July on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Thursday. The monthly rise matched economists’ expectations, while the annual increase exceeded the roughly 5.3 per cent rate anticipated

Algeria has ended diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates after saying all efforts to preserve bilateral ties had been exhausted, marking a sharp escalation in a dispute that had already damaged political and transport links between the two Arab states. The decision was announced on Thursday by Algerian state television, which cited the authorities as saying Algeria had exhausted every avenue available to maintain relations with Abu Dhabi. No detailed explanation for the final rupture was given immediately, and the

At least five people were killed and 86 remained unaccounted for on Thursday after a passenger-and-cargo ferry caught fire off Palawan in the western Philippines, triggering a large search operation involving coast guard, military and civilian vessels. The Philippine Coast Guard said 43 people had been rescued from the MV June Aster, which was carrying 117 passengers and 17 crew members on a voyage from Manila to Coron. The vessel remained afloat but was listing and smouldering after the overnight blaze

Hong Kong-based New Sparkle Roll International Group is considering selling its holding in Bang & Olufsen, potentially reshaping the ownership of the Danish luxury audio maker, people familiar with the matter said. The deliberations concern a stake of more than 10 per cent in the Copenhagen-listed company, making New Sparkle Roll one of Bang & Olufsen’s two largest disclosed shareholders. The process remains under consideration and no final decision has been made, according to people with knowledge of the discussions. Bang &

Canada has used its lead-nation role at Poland’s MSPO arms fair to push its defence industry more forcefully into European markets, pairing a large trade mission with a renewed defence agreement with Warsaw. Defence Minister David McGuinty and International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu led Ottawa’s presence at the International Defence Industry Exhibition in Kielce, where Canada was designated the 2026 lead nation. The government said its mission involved more than 200 organisations and nearly 500 delegates; its post-visit tally listed 158

A pilot aboard an Amazon Prime Air cargo jet repeatedly warned that the aircraft was approaching Miami International Airport too fast before it overran a runway and crashed, killing five people on the ground, US investigators have disclosed. The National Transportation Safety Board said on Wednesday that the warning began one minute and 42 seconds before the cockpit voice recorder stopped. After one pilot called for the Boeing 767’s flaps to be set to 20 degrees, the other cautioned that they

Paris Saint-Germain began their Champions League title defence with a 6-1 victory over Slovan Bratislava at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday, powered by a Ferran Torres hat-trick and two goals from Ousmane Dembélé. The French side, seeking a third successive European crown, took control before the interval and never allowed the Slovak champions to settle. Dembélé struck twice inside six first-half minutes before Torres scored his first of the night, giving PSG a 3-0 lead by half-time. Torres added two more

Iraq plans to lift pipeline oil exports through Syria and Türkiye’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan to more than one million barrels a day, as Baghdad accelerates efforts to diversify crude shipments away from vulnerable Gulf routes. Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair said Iraq was exporting about three million barrels per day in September and remained within its OPEC production ceiling, with current production capacity not exceeding 4.2 million barrels per day. He said the government’s future plan was to raise pipeline

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s board has reported Iran to the UN Security Council over nuclear safeguards failures, marking the first such referral in two decades and widening the diplomatic confrontation between Tehran and Western governments. The 35-member Board of Governors adopted the resolution on Wednesday by 23 votes to three, with eight abstentions. China, Russia and Niger voted against the measure, while one member did not vote because it was in arrears. The United States, Britain, France and Germany put