Kazakhstan: Strong Quake Jolts Almaty

A strong temblor jolted Almaty on Monday, March 4. Locals rushed out of buildings as alarm sirens went off. The epicenter of the earthquake was recorded 31 kilometers (19.2 miles) south of Almaty according to authorities. Local reports said the magnitude of the quake was 6.1 while other reports said around 5.

Egypt's inflation up to 38 pct in September

STORY: Egypt's inflation up to 38 pct in September DATELINE: Oct. 11, 2023 LENGTH: 00:01:17 LOCATION: Cairo CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of markets in Egypt (file) 2. various of restaurants in Egypt (file) 3. various of markets in Egypt (file) STORYLINE: Egypt's annual urban consumer price inflation rose to 38 percent in September from 37.4 percent in August 2023, Egypt's official statistics authority said on Tuesday. Monthly prices of food and beverages climbed by 3.6 percent, vegetables by 19.2 percent, fruits by 5.4 percent, and sugar by 2.9 percent, Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said. Egypt has been struggling to curb the inflation rates that have been rising over the past few years, amid local currency depreciation and foreign currency shortage. On Monday, Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said the government will reduce the prices of seven basic food commodities by 15 percent to 25 percent, adding that "containing inflation and cont

Malaysia witnesses more domestic visitors in Q1

STORY: Malaysia witnesses more domestic visitors in Q1 DATELINE: June 28, 2023 LENGTH: 00:02:54 LOCATION: Kuala Lumpur CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of tourists at the Porta De Santiago in Malacca 2. various of tourists visiting the Stadthuys in the heart of Malacca City 3. various of the Malacca River and tourists enjoying a cruise ride in Malacca 4. various of Pulau Lang Tengah, Terengganu 5. various of Langkawi, Kedah STORYLINE: The number of Malaysia's domestic tourists rose 33.7 percent year-on-year to 48.6 million in the first quarter of 2023, official data showed Monday. The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that for quarter-on-quarter comparison, the number of domestic visitors increased by 3.9 percent as compared to the fourth quarter of 2022. Meanwhile, domestic tourism expenditure for the first quarter stood at 19.2 billion ringgit (4.1 billion U.S. dollars), jumped 47 percent year-on-year, and rose 4.6 percent quarter-on-quarter. DOSM data also showed that

Egypt's annual inflation up to 21.9 pct in Dec. 2022

STORY: Egypt's annual inflation up to 21.9 pct in Dec. 2022 DATELINE: Jan. 11, 2023 LENGTH: 00:01:39 LOCATION: Cairo CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) 2. various of the Nile River in Cairo 3. various of a supermarket 4. various of markets STORYLINE: Egypt's annual headline inflation rose to 21.9 percent in December 2022, up from 6.5 percent in December 2021, the country's official statistics agency reported on Tuesday. The Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) said in a statement that the monthly inflation rose by 2.1 percent, hitting 19.2 percent in November 2022. "The increase in prices of basic commodities was behind the rise in the monthly inflation rate," added the agency. It said the prices of food rose by 4 percent annually in the last month of 2022, with outstanding increases in sub-categories such as fruits, dairy products and grains. The Egyptian pound on Tuesday recorded 27.6 against the U.S.

Gang crimes record sharp rise in China

Gang crimes record sharp rise in China

BEIJING, China - China's Supreme People's Procuratorate head Han Zhubin addresses the National People's Congress parliamentary gathering in Beijing on March 11. Han said the number of legal charges brought by Chinese authorities against suspected criminals last year increased by 19.2%, involving 845,306 people.

Malaysia's IPI soars 13.6 pct in August

STORY: Malaysia's IPI soars 13.6 pct in August DATELINE: Oct. 13, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:24 LOCATION: Kuala Lumpur CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of general views in Malaysia 2. various of trucks on road in Kuala Lumpur 3. various of rubber glove manufacturing 4. various of green paddy field STORYLINE: Malaysia's Industrial Production Index (IPI) soared 13.6 percent in August from a year ago, official data showed Wednesday. The expansion of IPI was contributed by the manufacturing sector which jumped 15.2 percent, the electricity sector which rose 10 percent, and the mining sector which grew 8 percent, the Department of Statistics Malaysia said in a statement. The main sub-sectors contributing to the growth in the manufacturing sector in August were electrical and electronics products (19.2 percent), transport equipment and other manufactured products (53.6 percent) and non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products (13.6 percent). Meanwhile, domestic-oriented and

Egypt's total foreign debt accounts for 19.2 pct of GDP: minister

STORY: Egypt's total foreign debt accounts for 19.2 pct of GDP: minister DATELINE: Aug. 30, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:20 LOCATION: Cairo CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the headquarters of the Egyptian Ministry of Finance 2. various of the conference STORYLINE: Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maait held a press conference on Monday to introduce the economic situation in Egypt. The minister explained that the debt-to-GDP ratio decreased from 103 percent in June 2017 to 87.2 percent in June 2022. According to the minister, 77 percent of the government's debt is domestic to institutions and individuals in Egypt, and only 23 percent is external in hard currency, and the external debt of the budgetary organs accounted for 19.2 percent of the GDP in June 2022. The minister said that the size of the Egyptian economy has tripled during the past six years, at rates that exceed the government's indebtedness, in a way that reflects the government's success in directing development funds to real investments.

Gang crimes record sharp rise in China

Gang crimes record sharp rise in China

BEIJING, China - China's Supreme People's Procuratorate head Han Zhubin addresses the National People's Congress parliamentary gathering in Beijing on March 11. Han said the number of legal charges brought by Chinese authorities against suspected criminals last year increased by 19.2%, involving 845,306 people.