Senior figures express concerns over medical union’s refusal of pay rise that is higher than offer to other NHS staff Trade unions have privately expressed qualms about the forthcoming doctors’ strikes, expressing frustration at the conduct of the talks and the demands of the British Medical Association. The BMA is pushing for a pay rise higher than the 3.5% offered to doctors by the government, w...
Senior figures express concerns over medical union’s refusal of pay rise that is higher than offer to other NHS staff Trade unions have privately expressed qualms about the forthcoming doctors’ strikes, expressing frustration at the conduct of the talks and the demands of the British Medical Association. The BMA is pushing for a pay rise higher than the 3.5% offered to doctors by the government, with strikes planned for next week . Continue reading...
The architect on a special moment he captured one hot afternoon in Spain José Luis Morales Martín took this photo from his living room window on a hot September afternoon. Martín, who lives in Las Rozas de Madrid, a short drive from the Spanish capital, had just finished his lunch when he heard noises from outside. In the communal courtyard below, two teenagers were playing basketball. “I was amaz...
The architect on a special moment he captured one hot afternoon in Spain José Luis Morales Martín took this photo from his living room window on a hot September afternoon. Martín, who lives in Las Rozas de Madrid, a short drive from the Spanish capital, had just finished his lunch when he heard noises from outside. In the communal courtyard below, two teenagers were playing basketball. “I was amazed by the light and immediately went to get my phone to capture the scene,” he says. “The geometry of the pavement pattern, the shadows of the building and the figures playing with a basketball … I just waited for the magic to appear – and then it did.” Continue reading...
Government accused of removing loved ones from record after report says tens of thousands lack information to be found Mothers search in the scrublands, poking the earth for signs of a corpse . Desperate pleas fill social media, crying out for clues that may bring relief. Tattered posters flutter in the wind, asking for help in the search. Often, all that is left of the missing are scattered bones...
Government accused of removing loved ones from record after report says tens of thousands lack information to be found Mothers search in the scrublands, poking the earth for signs of a corpse . Desperate pleas fill social media, crying out for clues that may bring relief. Tattered posters flutter in the wind, asking for help in the search. Often, all that is left of the missing are scattered bones bleached by the sun. It is arguably Mexico’s greatest human rights crisis. More than 130,000 people have vanished since the state went to war against drug cartels a decade ago. Now, activists and human rights experts say the authorities are trying to erase their loved ones from the record. Continue reading...
Taiwan’s main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) is showing signs of internal strain ahead of its leader’s planned visit to mainland China, with divisions over defence spending and ties with Washington and Beijing raising questions over the party’s strategic direction. KMT chairwoman Cheng Li-wun is set to go to mainland China with a delegation from April 7 to 12 on a trip that could include a meeting wi...
Taiwan’s main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) is showing signs of internal strain ahead of its leader’s planned visit to mainland China, with divisions over defence spending and ties with Washington and Beijing raising questions over the party’s strategic direction. KMT chairwoman Cheng Li-wun is set to go to mainland China with a delegation from April 7 to 12 on a trip that could include a meeting with Communist Party leader Xi Jinping. The trip comes as the party remains divided over a contentious...
While most Chinese people’s surnames are only one character long, there are also millions of people who have compound surnames which are considered rare and precious. You might have come across some Chinese celebrities with surnames more than one character, such as Taiwan-born actress and cellist Ouyang Nana, Hong Kong-American stand-up comedian and actor Jimmy O. Yang. In fact, these two celebrit...
While most Chinese people’s surnames are only one character long, there are also millions of people who have compound surnames which are considered rare and precious. You might have come across some Chinese celebrities with surnames more than one character, such as Taiwan-born actress and cellist Ouyang Nana, Hong Kong-American stand-up comedian and actor Jimmy O. Yang. In fact, these two celebrities have the same compound surname, Ouyang, which is currently China’s most used compound surname,...
Photographer Julia Gunther and writer-filmmaker Nick Schönfeld chronicle the rhythms of daily life on Tristan da Cunha, the world's most remote inhabited island. (Image credit: Nick Schönfeld for NPR)
Photographer Julia Gunther and writer-filmmaker Nick Schönfeld chronicle the rhythms of daily life on Tristan da Cunha, the world's most remote inhabited island. (Image credit: Nick Schönfeld for NPR)
Tast Nawarat/iStock via Getty Images Transcript Eric Winograd - It’s still very early days in assessing the impact of the war in Iran on the global economy and on financial markets. There’s a lot more that we don’t know than there is that we do know. But it is far enough along for us to say that there will be an impact. The transmission mechanism between that conflict and the global economy is lik...
Tast Nawarat/iStock via Getty Images Transcript Eric Winograd - It’s still very early days in assessing the impact of the war in Iran on the global economy and on financial markets. There’s a lot more that we don’t know than there is that we do know. But it is far enough along for us to say that there will be an impact. The transmission mechanism between that conflict and the global economy is likely to be through oil prices. While the move in oil prices has been large this time, it isn’t unprecedented. Certainly, we have seen bigger moves in energy prices as recently as the initial stages of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A good rule of thumb is that for every 10% increase in the price of oil in the US, that feeds through to headline inflation to the tune of about 0.2 percentage points. That’s meaningful, for sure, but it isn’t a paradigm shift. It’s important to remember in that context, though, that it isn’t only inflation that is subject to change as a result of energy prices. Rising gasoline prices are essentially a tax on households and a tax on businesses, and the net result usually is slower growth. You have businesses and households having to spend more on fuel and less on more productive goods and services, and that slows the economy. That combination of higher prices and lower growth is why we often talk about energy price shocks as being stagflationary. It’s not clear what the policy response to a stagflationary shock is supposed to be. To the extent that central banks respond to higher prices, they would respond with tighter policy. This is the history in Europe, for example, where the European Central Bank has a single mandate to fight inflation and tends to raise rates in the face of supply shocks like this one. Certainly, the markets are pricing a significant probability that the ECB does raise rates over the next few months. But the Fed has a dual mandate where they are required to focus not only on inflation but also on growth and on the labor ma...
Iran has demanded explanations from two Gulf states equipped with Chinese-made Wing Loong II drones after one was reportedly shot down in the war with the United States and Israel. Both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are known to have the reconnaissance and precision strike drones in their arsenals. The drone was shot down over the city of Shiraz on Thursday, according to Esmail Baqaei,...
Iran has demanded explanations from two Gulf states equipped with Chinese-made Wing Loong II drones after one was reportedly shot down in the war with the United States and Israel. Both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are known to have the reconnaissance and precision strike drones in their arsenals. The drone was shot down over the city of Shiraz on Thursday, according to Esmail Baqaei, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry. Baqaei posted photos of drone wreckage on social...
India is buying crude from Iran among other countries in order to navigate the current energy crisis, the country’s oil ministry said, denying payment hurdles were impeding those purchases. The statement is a rare public recognition of energy ties that India largely abandoned as a result of US sanctions, but has begun to rekindle thanks to the current conflict and a subsequent Washington waiver al...
India is buying crude from Iran among other countries in order to navigate the current energy crisis, the country’s oil ministry said, denying payment hurdles were impeding those purchases. The statement is a rare public recognition of energy ties that India largely abandoned as a result of US sanctions, but has begun to rekindle thanks to the current conflict and a subsequent Washington waiver allowing purchases of seaborne Iranian crude. The refining industry has been grappling with trading, shipping and banking arrangements, as Tehran remains under restrictive sanctions. “Amid Middle East supply disruptions, Indian refiners have secured their crude oil requirements, including from Iran,” the ministry said in a statement on X. There was “no payment hurdle for Iranian crude imports, contrary to the rumours being circulated.” The ministry also denied reports that an Iranian crude vessel was diverted from Vadinar, India, to China because of payment troubles, adding vessel destinations are often indicative. It confirmed, however, the arrival of Iranian liquefied petroleum gas, with an LPG vessel carrying around 44,000 tons currently discharging in Mangalore, according to the statement. India has been severely impacted by the month-long war in the Persian Gulf and particularly by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Until recently, the world’s third-largest oil importer relied on the Middle East for roughly half of its crude oil and the majority of its LPG, used for cooking. India became a major buyer of seaborne Russian crude after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but its refiners have typically stayed away from blacklisted oil from Venezuela or Iran, wary of getting tangled in US sanctions. Since the start of the conflict, India has negotiated with Iran to allow the safe passage of vessels previously stuck in the Persian Gulf.