Former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou blamed tax havens on Thursday for “robbing” his nation of vital funds to invest in areas like welfare and education, reported The Telegraph; and claimed that his country would not have needed a bailout if tax evaders and avoiders had not funnelled money overseas.
The Gaza Strip, bordering Egypt and Israel, may be practically ‘unliveable’ by 2020, said a report by the United Nations this week, with nearly 2.1 million expected to be displaced due to lack of improvement in water, power, health, education and sanitation facilities.
The report, entitled “Gaza in 2020: A liveable place?” claimed that the region’s basic infrastructure was “struggling to keep pace with a growing population,” after an Israeli blockade had left the area “essentially isolated since 2005.”
Prosecutors in the United States say they have uncovered new evidence indicating that Chinese banks may have assisted Iran in monetary transactions – a direct violation of financial sanctions imposed by the United States.
As part of its global investigations, US prosecutors have in recent weeks identified and taken action against several Wall Street banks for funnelling billions of dollars through their American branches to Iran and other sanctioned nations.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits China for the second time this year, a reflection of China’s growing clout as Europe’s leaders grapple with the impact of the eurozone debt crisis. German officials say energy and climate issues, trade ties and the euro will top the agenda.
French businesses that hire a person aged between 16 and 25 for at least a year may only have to pay as little as 25 percent of the individual’s salary starting from 2013, reported Reuters on Wednesday, after the government, under socialist president Francois Hollande, announced a new jobs plan that hopes to create up to 150,000 jobs for youths throughout the country.
After decades of cross-border animosity, India’s Finance Ministry finally announced on Thursday that it would soon allow its companies and entrepreneurs to invest in neighbouring Pakistan, reported the Times of India, with the commerce secretaries of both nations also set for talks to improve trade by September.
Japanese and North Korean officials meet for the first time in four years today, a latest sign of a thaw in the traditionally frosty relations between the two countries.
The talks are being held in Beijing, North Korea’s closest ally and biggest aid donor.
Related News: China Sees “Great Potential” in Economic Cooperation with North Korea
Rising pork prices, coupled with a declining domestic supply, could trigger high inflationary rates across China over the next year, claimed a report by Reuters on Tuesday, with the nation’s top economic planning agency now ordering producers to stockpile its frozen pork supply ahead of a possible supply squeeze.
Experts claim that social media has become the main media source for hundreds of millions of people all over the world. From Facebook to Twitter, SOPA to ACTA, millions of engaged online citizens have had their voices aired on the Internet that if the Internet were a nation, it would exceed the Americas, Europe and the Middle East in combined population.
Finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) nations have warned oil-producing countries that their group was prepared to release their emergency oil reserves into the market, unless the oil producers ensured that the market was well supplied.
“The current rise in oil prices reflects geopolitical concerns and certain supply disruptions,” said the G7 in a joint statement, cited by Reuters.
