Property giant Evergrande has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US as the real estate crisis in China deepens. It will allow the heavily-indebted company to protect its assets in the US as it works on a multi-billion dollar deal with creditors. Evergrande defaulted on its huge debts in 2021, which sent shock-waves through global […]

China has removed Qin Gang as foreign minister less than seven months after he was appointed to the post. Qin Gang  had been seen as a close associate of President Xi Jinping. He is replaced by veteran Communist Party foreign affairs chief Wang Yi. Qin’s prolonged disappearance from public view – and official silence over […]

Udeni Kaluthantri, a 54-year-old port worker, became an overnight sensation last year for reasons that had nothing to do with his job. Days after protesters stormed the presidential palace in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, a video surfaced of Mr Kaluthantri lounging on a bed draped with the presidential flag. Pictures of young men jumping […]

Crisis-hit Pakistan has reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over $3bn (£2.4bn) of funding. The deal, which still needs to be approved by the global lender’s board, comes after an eight-month delay. The South Asian nation is facing its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1947. To help secure […]

The muted, panicked voice came through the phone of a friend who croaked she was very confidentially warning Cassandra and advising her. Yours truly was immediately panic infected. With deep emphasis and concern the friend took her time to advise that Cass withdraws all money from banks. Cass was for once glad she was poor […]

JP Morgan has agreed to pay roughly $290m (£232m) to settle a lawsuit brought on behalf of alleged victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Attorneys for the bank said it was “in the best interests of all parties, especially the survivors who were the victims of Epstein’s terrible abuse”. The lawsuit had alleged the […]

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky appears to have confirmed that his country’s long-awaited counter-offensive against Russia has started. “Counter-offensive and defensive actions are taking place,” he said. But he added that he would not talk in detail about which stage or state the counter-offensive was in. The comments come after an escalation of fighting in the [...

BBC reported that, JP Morgan Chase is set to take over the troubled US bank First Republic in a deal brokered by regulators. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) confirmed in a statement that First Republic Bank had collapsed on Monday. Investment banking giant JP Morgan will take on all of the deposits and the […]

British organisations that are working in other nations must follow the laws of those countries, the UK’s top diplomat in India told NDTV today, days after Indian authorities investigated the BBC and Oxfam India for alleged violation of foreign funding rules. The Enforcement Directorate has filed a case against BBC India under the Foreign Exchange […]

A 78-year-old woman with two past bank robbery convictions was arrested again for a third heist in Missouri, police said. Bonnie Gooch walked into Goppert Financial Bank and allegedly handed a note to the teller demanding thousands in cash. She also left a note saying “Thank you sorry I didn’t mean to scare you” before […]

BBC reported that US regulators have shut down Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and taken control of its customer deposits in the largest failure of a US bank since 2008. The moves came as the firm, a key tech lender, was scrambling to raise money to plug a loss from the sale of assets affected by […]

BBC reported that the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority have announced a joint commitment to take immediate steps to end a surge in violence. The move has emerged from rare talks in Jordan, also attended by US and Egyptian officials. The meeting agreed to support confidence-building steps and “to work towards a just and […]

BBC reported that a Nigerian politician has been arrested for alleged money laundering after being caught with $498,100 (£414,000) in cash a day before general elections. The piles of US dollars were found by police inside Chinyere Igwe’s car. Igwe, an opposition PDP member of the House of Representatives, was also caught with a list […]

BBC reported that United States President Joe Biden has named Indian-American businessman Ajay Banga as the US pick to lead the World Bank. The move comes as the US increases pressure on the bank to put more emphasis on tackling climate change. Ajay Banga led credit card giant Mastercard for more than a decade and […]