Page 12 - Asia

Most Asian countries behind biodiversity targets for protected areas: Study

Most countries in Asia have failed to achieve a global minimum target of protecting at least 17 per cent of land by 2020, according to a study based on data from 40 countries. Under current trends, the outlook for achieving the UN Global Biodiversity Framework's 2030 target to protect at least 30 per cent of land is bleak, with Asia set to miss this by an even greater margin, the researchers said. To counter the global biodiversity crisis, at the 2010 UN Convention on Biological Diversity, almost 200 countries pledged to protect at least 17 per cent of their terrestrial environments by 2020 (known as Aichi Target). To investigate whether they achieved this, researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in the UK, with collaborators in Asia, analysed data from official reports submitted to the World Database on Protected Areas. The study, published in the journal Communications Biology, found that only 40 per cent of Asian countries achieved the target of a minimum of 17

Busy buying: FPIs bet big on India and Asia in November, shows data

The Asia pack (excluding China), as a whole, saw the biggest foreign inflows in nearly two years at $15.7 billion

Dubai-based Coral Energy turns focus to Asia, halts trade in Russian crude

he trading house emerged as one of the key suppliers of Russian crudes to Asia after some western entities shunned purchase of Russian oil

India among fastest growing economies in Asia amid global slowdown: OECD

India, with a growth rate of 6.6 per cent in this financial year, is among the fastest growing economies in Asia amid a global slowdown triggered by a massive energy shock due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the OECD said on Tuesday. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Paris-based intergovernmental body that focuses on economic policy reports in its latest Economic Outlook' that India is set to be the second-fastest growing economy in the G20 in FY 2022-23 behind Saudi Arabia, despite decelerating global demand and the tightening of monetary policy to manage inflationary pressures. The GDP growth in the country will slow to 5.7 per cent in FY 2023-24 as exports and domestic demand growth moderate, but it would mean it would still be growing more than many other G20 economies including China and Saudi Arabia. After hitting 6.6 per cent in FY 2022-23, GDP growth is expected to slow in coming quarters, to 5.7 per cent in FY 2023-24, before ...

US as a reliable economic partner is here to stay: Harris to Asian leaders

US Vice President Kamala Harris assured Asian leaders Friday that the United States is here to stay as she pitched Washington as a reliable economic partner committed to the region and its prosperity. Harris told leaders at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that the U.S. is a proud Pacific power and has a vital interest in promoting a region that is open, interconnected, prosperous, secure and resilient. The United States has an enduring economic commitment to the Indo-Pacific, one that is measured not in years, but in decades, and generations, she said. And there is no better economic partner for this region than the United States of America. Harris postponed the start of her speech after receiving news that North Korea had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that landed near Japanese waters, convening an emergency meeting of the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Canada in which she slammed the missile test as a brazen violation of multipl

19 Indian universities among top 200 in QS Asia Universities Ranking 2023

QS Asia Universities Ranking, 2023 was released on Tuesday by the International Ranking agency

COP27: All eyes on Egypt to steer climate finance towards adaptation

With the summit happening amid Ukraine war and recession fears, budget cuts for climate are apprehended as nations use money to secure energy and development aid shifts towards humanitarian projects

Asia's factory output weakens on global slowdown, China Covid-19 curbs

Asia is extremely reliant on China. Its zero-COVID policy continues to disrupt supply chains and keep Chinese travelers from returning to Asian tourist destinations. It's also hurting region's exports

Facebook announces 2022 Community Accelerator participants in India

Four-month programme provides selected community leaders of Facebook groups with training, mentorship and funding

Continental power grid spanning Japan to India inches closer to reality

Plans for a web of sub-sea cables that would create a continental power grid spanning Japan to India are rapidly becoming cheaper and more feasible

Asia's biggest buyout: Toshiba valued at $16 billion by JIP in takeover bid

A consortium led by Japan Industrial Partners Inc. is considering a takeover of Toshiba Corp. at a valuation of about 2.4 trillion yen ($16.1 billion) in what could be Asia's biggest buyout this year

Energy stockpiling in overdrive soothes worries of winter shortfall

Europe's natural gas storage sites are about 92% full, above the the five-year average of 87.6%. Germany has hit 95%, a level it aimed to reach by Nov. 1

Asia now world's largest debtor and saver; high risk of debt distress: IMF

Asia's economies will need to focus on fiscal stability in order to offset surging debt and to support monetary policy, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

Swat attack: Protesters end sit-in after talks with Pakistan authorities

Family members of a van driver, who was killed in the recent attack on a school bus in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, ended their day-long sit-in on Tuesday after talks with the government

Andersen to foray into consulting business, says CEO Mark L Vorsatz

New firm to provide services in India and other countries; area of work 'will never include auditing', says Vorsatz

Credit Suisse loses Asia deputy wealth management head as departures mount

Credit Suisse Group AG's deputy wealth management head for Asia is leaving after about two decades with the bank, joining a wave of departures from the embattled firm

Asia outnumbers all other regions with over 950 billionaires: Report

When it comes to the number of billionaires by region, Asia now has 951 outnumbering all other regions. North America has 777 billionaires and Europe, 536.

LNG markets may tighten further in 2023 as demand likely to rise: IEA Chief

LNG markets in 2023 may be tighter than this year as demand may rise in China, India and other parts of Asia, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said

World Bank downgrades growth for East Asia and Pacific to 3.2% in 2022

The World Bank has downgraded growth for developing East Asia and Pacific to 3.2 per cent in 2022

Ceremony and controversy await Kamala Harris during visit to Asia

Attending funerals on behalf of the United States is normally a straightforward assignment for a vice president, but Kamala Harris will confront controversy at nearly every turn as she visits Asia for the memorial honouring former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. American allies are seeking clarity after mixed messages over whether President Joe Biden would send troops to defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion, a potential conflict that could swiftly engulf the rest of the region. There's the potential for more provocations from North Korea, which test-fired a missile shortly before Harris' departure on Sunday from Washington. Meanwhile, South Korea and Japan are inching toward a reconciliation that would heal some of the wounds left from World War II, with the US gingerly trying to nudge along the process. And there's resentment over a new US law that makes electric vehicles built outside of North America ineligible for subsidies. Even Abe's state funeral on Tuesday itself is a