December, 2022

• 23 December

  India likely to spend less on subsidising fertilisers

  

    Bloomberg India is likely to spend less on subsidising fertilisers as global prices fall and the government looks to narrow its budget deficit, according to people familiar with the matter. Officials are considering slashing the fertiliser subsidy bill to 1 trillion to 1.5 trillion rupees ($18 billion) for the 2023-24 fiscal year starting April, according to the people, who ...

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• 23 December

  Malaysia’s urbanisation rate tripled in past five decades

    Bloomberg Malaysia’s urbanisation rate has nearly tripled since 1970, with three-quarters of the nation’s residents now living in cities. The nation’s urban population expanded to 24.4 million in 2020 from 3 million in 1970, according to a report by the Department of Statistics. The rural population saw rose slightly to 8.1 million from 7.5 million in the period. The ...

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• 23 December

  Thai tourism tally beats target by 15% on year-end travel rush

  

  Bloomberg Thailand will exceed its most-recent target for foreign tourist arrivals by about 15%, buoyed by a year-end rush of visitors from Europe and the United States, according to the government’s tourism agency. At least 11.5 million international travellers will come this year, compared to a target of 10 million, according to Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of ...

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• 23 December

  Shanghai strives to keep trade moving

    Bloomberg Shanghai, the world’s biggest container port, is isolating the shipment of international goods to prevent disruptions to global exports as a Covid wave sweeps across China. The port is keeping overseas vessels in a closed-loop zone to avoid massive delays, according to an oil-shipping broker. In addition, most infected staff have mild symptoms, and there are backup teams ...

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• 23 December

  China’s soaring Covid cases push economic activity off a cliff

  

    Bloomberg China’s soaring Covid infections are keeping people home and causing a slump in travel and economic activity, according to the latest high-frequency data. Following the recent abrupt end to Covid Zero controls, more cities have been hit by an exit wave of infections in the past week, leading to crowded hospitals and queues at funeral parlours. That’s keeping ...

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• 23 December

  N Korea fires ballistic missiles ahead of year-end meeting

  

  Bloomberg North Korea fired two suspected short-range ballistic missiles ahead of a major political meeting to set policy for the new year, after ratcheting up tensions with a record number of launches in 2022. The suspected ballistic missiles were fired at around 4:32 pm from an area near Pyongyang’s main international airport towards waters off North Korea’s east coast, South ...

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• 23 December

  Pakistan capital hit by first suicide bombing in 8 years

  

    Bloomberg A suicide bomber and his accomplice detonated explosives in Pakistan’s capital when police tried to check their vehicle, killing themselves, one policeman and injuring five people. The incident, the first such attack in Islamabad in more than eight years, took place in a neighbourhood close to the garrison town of Rawalpindi, local police said on Twitter. An attack ...

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• 23 December

  Two dead, many injured in Paris shooting attack

    Bloomberg A shooting in Paris has left two people dead and four injured, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. The shooting took place around noon on Friday in the 10th arrondissement. A 69-year-old man old was arrested, the prosecutor’s office said. Authorities are still determining the man’s identity. The shooting occurred on rue d’Enghien, near a Kurdish cultural center, Agence ...

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• 23 December

  China’s Xi tells Lee Hong Kong on ‘right track’

  

    Bloomberg Chinese President Xi Jinping has praised Hong Kong’s leader John Lee for reviving the local economy and safeguarding national security, while Premier Li Keqiang called for better coordination over the reopening of the city’s border with the mainland. Xi told Lee the city is on the “right track” as the two met in Beijing, according to the South ...

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• 23 December

  Nurses to strike again in Britain next month

  

  Bloomberg Nurses will strike again in England next month as unions and the government refuse to back down in a row over pay. The move threatens a chaotic start to the year for Britain’s National Health Service after ambulance workers called off a strike planned for next week but announced further walkouts for early next year. The Royal College of ...

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