Ex-bureaucrat, former diplomat, BCG India chairman on RBI board Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: General Studies II: Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies. What’s the ongoing story: The government has appointed former senior finance ministry official Annie George Mathew, economist and management consultant Janmejaya Kumar Sinha and…
The China and Australia flags. Photo: 123rf Australia could be hit with a new 12.5 percent US tariff after the Trump administration accused dozens of countries of failing to crack down on goods made with forced labour. The proposed tariff was announced by the US Trade Representative (USTR) on Wednesday, as part of an investigation…
Analysis by David Goldman, CNN Commuters drive past a large billboard depicting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on a street in Tehran on April 20, 2026. Photo: ATTA KENARE / AFP The longer the Iran war lasts and the more damaging its economic fallout, the better off the global economy may be in the…
Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon around the Manawatu coastline and RNZAF Base Ohakea. Photo: Corporal Naomi James A global security expert said China’s complaint, over what it calls the New Zealand Airforce’s repeated “harassment” near its airspace, could be sign of Beijing’s other concerns with New Zealand foreign policy settings – including its…
By Will Jackson and Hellena Souisa, ABC A picture taken on April 6, 2026, shows a torpedo-like 3.7-metre-long and 65-centimetre-wide object, discovered by a fisherman near the Lombok Strait after being towed ashore onto a beach on Gili Trawangan, West Nusa Tenggara. Photo: AFP A large torpedo-shaped device discovered near an island in a strategically…
By Claire Campbell and Girish Sawlani, ABC Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said he held numerous phone calls with his counterpart in Iran and across the Middle East. Photo: AFP An “11th-hour” call from Iran’s biggest trading partner, China, is believed to have led to successful ceasefire negotiations between Iran, the United States and Israel….
By David Brunnstrom and John Irish, Reuters Photo: Draft resolution seeks authorisation to protect Hormuz shipping China says authorising force would bring further escalation Resolution authorises “all defensive means necessary” Trump says US can reopen Strait with a little more time security The UN Security Council is now expected to vote next week on a…
By Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN US President Donald Trump. Photo: AFP / Getty Images North America / Kevin Dietsch President Donald Trump has said countries that do business with Iran will face a new 25 percent tariff. The announcement appears to mean goods from China, a major trading partner of both Iran and the United States,…
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon greets Zhao Leji, chairman of China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee, in Auckland on Thursday. Photo: RNZ / Yiting Lin China’s top legislator met Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Auckland on Thursday at the beginning of a three-day visit to New Zealand. Zhao Leji, chairman of China’s National People’s Congress Standing…
Zhao Leji sits only below president Xi Jinping and premier Li Qiang in order of importance. Photo: RNZ / Giles Dexter A small crowd has gathered on Parliament’s lawn, hours ahead of the visit of the third highest ranking member of the Chinese government. Zhao Leji, the chairman of the National People’s Congress, is visiting…