On 19 April, India starts parliamentary elections, which will be held in seven stages over six weeks. The results of the voting will determine who will take 543 seats in the Lok Sabha (lower house). Among the favourites is the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The party’s leader is incumbent Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is seeking a third consecutive term. Opposing the BJP will be the I.N.D.I.A. alliance (The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance), which includes 28 national and regional parties.…

High-level opening up and policies to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) were hot topics during the annual sessions of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, China’s key annual political meetings commonly known as Two Sessions.  China has been one of the most popular FDI destinations over the years and has benefitted from it. However, last year, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, China’s actual use of FDI…

The travel and tourism market in India will reach a revenue of USD 23.72 billion in 2024, growing at a CAGR of 9.62 per cent from 2024 to 2028. To boost the growth of the tourism sector, India has announced 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in tourism-related businesses in 2023, allowing investments in hotels, resorts and recreational facilities. Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi emphasised that India’s efforts in tourism are aimed at preserving the country’s heritage and…

Ethiopia’s Ambassador to India Demeke Atnafu has invited investors from the South Asian country to participate in Ethiopian projects. This is reported by ENA. The diplomat was speaking at the 6th Global Business Leaders Forum in Mumbai, organised by the Asian-African Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Demeke Atnafu spoke about the vast investment opportunities in sectors of the Ethiopian economy such as agriculture, mining, information technology, tourism and others. He then urged the companies attending the event to invest in…

A demonstration zone focusing on almost zero emissions began operations on Monday in Boao, south China’s Hainan Province. A launching ceremony was held in Boao’s Dongyu Island for the “Boao Nearly Zero Carbon Demonstration Zone,” a project jointly built by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the Hainan provincial government. By incorporating emission reduction technologies and taking various innovative practices and measures, the demonstration zone is able to achieve balance between new energy power generation and consumption. The…

The Asian economy is expected to grow by around 4.5 percent in 2024, surpassing that of 2023, and continue to be the largest contributor to global economic growth, according to a report released Tuesday by the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), which convenes its 2024 conference in Boao, a resort town in southern China’s Hainan Province. According to the forum’s Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Progress flagship report, despite facing various external economic challenges, the Asian economy will still maintain…

Some 2,000 participants will attend the 2024 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference, scheduled for March 26 to 29 in Boao, a coastal town on China’s island province of Hainan, BFA secretary general Li Baodong said on Tuesday. This year’s conference will draw about 2,000 delegates from over 60 countries and regions and more than 1,100 journalists from about 40 countries and regions. Themed “Asia and the World: Common Challenges, Shared Responsibilities,” the event will center around five main…

South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, has defended Pretoria’s genocide case against Israel, saying his countrymen would “not be passive bystanders and watch” when a crime against humanity is being perpetrated elsewhere in the world.  In a show of power and assertiveness on the global stage, Ramaphosa hailed the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling against Tel Aviv as a victory for international law and justice. He added that South Africa’s stance that Israel committed genocidal acts in Gaza had been…

In a landmark ruling with far-reaching implications for international law, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to stop genocide against Palestinians, punish soldiers who commit genocidal acts, and facilitate humanitarian aid in Gaza.  The court sitting in The Hague, Netherlands, ruled in South Africa’s favour on Friday, January 26, and ordered the Zionist state to preserve evidence of genocide and submit monthly progress reports on measures taken.   However, the highest court in the United Nations (UN) system…

About 800,000 Afghan refugees have returned to their homeland Afghanistan since October, Afghan caretaker government chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. “Since October, around 800,000 refugees have returned home, with half of them from Pakistan,” the local television channel Tolonews quoted Mujahid as saying. The majority of the remaining 400,000 others have returned from Iran and thousands of others from Türkiye, Mujahid said. More than 2.5 million Afghan refugees reportedly have been living in Pakistan and the same number in Iran.…