East Asia and Pacific Growth Expected to Moderate as Global Headwinds Persist, World Bank Says29/4/2019 Growth in developing East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) is projected to soften to 6.0 percent in 2019 and 2020, down from 6.3 percent in 2018, largely reflecting global headwinds and a continued gradual policy-guided slowdown in China. Still, the region’s economies weathered the financial markets volatility of 2018 relatively well largely due to effective policy frameworks and strong fundamentals, including diversified economies, flexible exchange rates, and solid policy buffers.
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A ground-breaking fusion reactor built by Chinese scientists is underscoring Beijing’s determination to be at the core of clean energy technology, as it eyes a fully-functioning plant by 2050.
Israel is poised to unleash a new round of oppressive apartheid policies against Palestinian citizens within its own borders, according to leading experts.
The re-election of Benjamin Netanyahu, a hard-right nationalist, as prime minister sets the scene for a new phase in an historic project to end the "demographic threat" posed by Palestinian citizens of Israel to the Jewish majority, they say. Income tax and social security contributions declined slightly for the average worker across the OECD in 2018, driven by major reforms in a handful of countries, according to a new OECD report.
Taxing Wages 2019 shows that the “tax wedge” – total taxes on labour costs paid by employees and employers, minus family benefits, as a percentage of the labour cost to the employer – was 36.1% in 2018. This represents a fall of 0.16 percentage points from 2017, and is the fourth consecutive annual decrease in the tax wedge on the average OECD worker. Foreign aid from official donors in 2018 fell 2.7% from 2017, with a declining share going to the neediest countries, according to preliminary data collected by the OECD. The drop was largely due to less aid being spent on hosting refugees as arrivals slowed and rules were tightened on which refugee costs can come out of official aid budgets.
To help voters make an informed decision during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has once again underscored the significance of technology and innovation.
Coming up with a number of initiatives like cVIGIL, PwD, Suvidha apps and Voter Helpline-1950, among others, the poll panel has been continuously innovating to empower citizens in order to ensure free and fair polls in India. ndonesians will head to the polls on April 17 to vote for their president and members of Parliament. But all eyes will be on incumbent Joko Widodo as he squares off once more against former army general Prabowo Subianto in what is expected to be a tight rematch of the last presidential race in 2014.
For Mr Joko, the upcoming election will be a referendum on his presidency while Mr Prabowo is hoping that he will be third time lucky, having also contested as a vice-presidential candidate in 2009. More than 192 million people are eligible to vote, and about 70 million of them are first-time voters between the ages of 16 and 20. Malaysia will not join the International Criminal Court (ICC), Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad has announced, raising further concerns that his 10-month administration is holding back on promised reforms after coming under pressure from the opposition.
Malaysia signed the Rome Statute, the ICC's founding treaty, in March but still had to ratify it to formally become a member of the The Hague-based tribunal. Opposition parties objected to it on racial grounds that it could undermine privileges for Malays, as well as the immunity of nine Malay state rulers. The wealthy ruler of southern Johor state also recently accused the government of breaching the constitution by signing the treaty. On Friday, Mahathir said the cabinet had decided not to ratify the Rome Statute as it has been manipulated by his opponents. He rejected allegations that the treaty will undermine Malaysia's sovereignty and its royal families. Hong Kong's leaders have launched laws to change extradition rules to allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial, standing fast against growing opposition to a move that many fear could further erode the city's legal protections.
According to the laws presented to the Legislative Council on Wednesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam would have the right to order the extradition of wanted offenders to China, Macau and Taiwan as well as other countries not covered by Hong Kong's existing extradition treaties. Singapore's submission of wide-ranging fake news legislation in parliament has stoked fears from internet firms and human-rights groups that it may give the government too much power and hinder freedom of speech. The law, submitted on April 1, would require social media sites such as Facebook to carry warnings on posts the government deems false and remove comments against the "public interest".
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