Month: April 2021

Chinese Premier Meets Business Leaders in Chengdu to Seek Support for EU–China Trade Deal

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has met with representatives of foreign businesses operating in China in an attempt to convince investors that the country continues to foster an environment that’s favorable for international trade. The meeting with representatives from Germany, France, the Netherlands, Hungary, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and other countries on April 20 follows last month’s refusal…


Chinese Premier Meets With Business Leaders in Chengdu Seeking Support for Imperiled EU-China Trade Deal

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has met with 14 foreign business representatives already doing business in China in an attempt to convince investors that the country continues to be a good environment to do business as China continues to open up to international trade. The meeting with representatives from Germany, France, the Netherlands, Hungary, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and other…


Australia’s Biggest Bank Hires Hundreds to Speed Up Home Loans

Australia’s biggest bank has hired hundreds of people to keep up with a deluge of home loan applications, as property industry veterans say bank pre-approval delays mean buyers are missing out. Commonwealth Bank has hired about 400 new staff and has told AAP its workers are doing thousands of hours of overtime to keep up…


Fire From Oxygen Tank Blast in Baghdad COVID-19 Hospital Kills 82

BAGHDAD—A fire caused by an oxygen tank explosion at a COVID-19 hospital in Baghdad took at least 82 lives and forced some people to leap through windows out of the burning building, witnesses and authorities said on Sunday. As rescuers combed the smoke-charred building, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi blamed negligence and suspended his Health Minister…


At Least 82 Die in Baghdad COVID-19 Hospital Fire: Interior Ministry

BAGHDAD—A fire sparked by an oxygen tank explosion killed at least 82 people and injured 110 at a hospital in Baghdad that had been equipped to house COVID-19 patients, an Interior Ministry spokesman said on Sunday. “We urgently need to review safety measures at all hospitals to prevent such a painful incident from happening in…


At Least 27 Dead in Fire at Baghdad Hospital for COVID Patients: Medical Sources

BAGHDAD, Iraq—At least 27 people were killed and 46 injured in a fire on Saturday at a hospital in southeastern Baghdad that had been equipped to house COVID-19 patients, medical sources at three nearby hospitals said. The fire at the Ibn Khatib hospital in the Diyala Bridge area of the Iraqi capital occurred after an…


EU Says Communist Party of China Endangering Peace in South China Sea

BEIJING—The European Union called out China on Saturday for endangering peace in the South China Sea and urged all parties to abide by a 2016 tribunal ruling which rejected most of China’s claim to sovereignty in the sea, but which Beijing has rejected. The EU last week released a new policy aimed at stepping up…


Are the ANZACs Still Willing to Pay the Price of Freedom?

Commentary Freedom of Speech, freedom to worship, to assemble, and to share ideas openly are the greatest prizes of Western Civilisation, envied by many other nations. These freedoms are the result of centuries of spiritual development and social struggle by people dedicated to push back the dark forces that inhabit the human soul. The spiritual…


Meet the Holocaust Survivor Who Wants to Create a New Jewish Holiday

Commentary She sits as erect as an English school head mistress. She can be just as articulate, as English is her third language and she’s conscious and careful of every word and sentence that she utters. Yet when she speaks, she sounds like that glamorous celebrity of years past, the Hungarian Jewish actress Zsa Zsa…


Trump 2.0 Should Be the Education President

Commentary Rumors are percolating—no real surprise—that Donald Trump is already considering another run for the presidency and may even have decided to go forward. He is decamping Mar-a-Lago, which closes for the Summer, in a month or so for his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. It’s unclear whether this is permanent. Some speculate that…