Dilemma X

China to start direct trade between yuan and British pound AFP China will start direct trade between its yuan currency and Britain’s pound on Thursday, the country’s foreign exchange trade platform said, in another step in its push to internationalise the unit. Sterling and the Chinese renminbi, the yuan’s other name, will be directly swapped […]

Tanzania, China to enhance ties BY Rose Athumani Tanzania Daily News DAR ES SALAAM- Tanzania will next week receive yet again a high level visit from China to foster ties between the two countries and also to commemorate 50 years of excellent cooperation and relationship. Addressing a press conference, the Tanzanian Ambassador to China, Lt. […]

Brazil: 2014 FIFA World Cup In  2010 Brazil’s census showed African-Brazilians (people with African native blood) in the majority for the first time officially. The were 97 million Brazilians, or 50.7% of the county’s population, now defining themselves as black, compared with 91 million or 47.7% who label themselves white. Brazil has the largest population […]

Less than 100 days to Scottish referendum for independence from the UK Scottish referendum rivals in bullish mood with 100 days to go Yes campaign believes tide is turning in favour of independence but Alistair Darling says it is running out of ideas The Guardian Almost 790,000 voters in Scotland have signed a declaration backing […]

Israel to build 1,500 more homes in settlements AFP Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel has invited bids for 1,500 new homes in Jewish settlements in retaliation for a new Palestinian government backed by Hamas, reports said on Thursday. Of the new homes, 400 will be in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem with the rest elsewhere in the […]

Scotland: Edinburgh’s public light rail (tram) system opens The cost of the project was originally earmarked at £375m ($628.65 million) but has since reached £770m ($1.29 billion). However, interest costs that still have to be paid on loans raised to complete the project could take its final cost to more than £1bn ($1.67 billion). ____________ […]

Mozambique-IMF “Africa Rising” conference in Maputo Xinhua MAPUTO- The “Africa Rising” conference, co- hosted by the Mozambican government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), opened on Thursday in the country’s capital city Maputo to discuss the challenges facing the sub-Saharan Africa as it builds upon the strong economic gains made since the 2008 global economic […]

South Africa: Jacob Zuma begins second term as president Xinhua PRETORIA – Thousands of people from all walks of life converged at South Africa’s Union Building to witness President Jacob Zuma’s inauguration on Saturday. The cheering crowd started arriving as early as 4 am local time. The swearing in of Zuma for his second and […]

India: Narendra Modi is the first prime minister to be born in independent India Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister-Elect TNN The Times of India NEW DELHI: In the course of a two-hour conversation four-and-a-half months ago, Narendra Modi told an editor of Times of India (TOI), when asked how many seats he thought Bharatiya Janata […]

Scotland’s population projected to increase by 9% BBC News The population of Scotland is predicted to increase by 9% over 25 years, according to official figures. The National Records of Scotland projections suggested a rise from 5.31m in 2012 to 5.78m by 2037, followed by continued growth after that date. However, the pattern of growth […]