KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan agreed on Sunday to release 400 “hard-core” Taliban prisoners, paving the way for peace talks aimed at ending almost two decades of war. Under election-year pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump for a deal allowing him to bring home American troops, the war-torn country’s grand assembly, or Loya Jirga, on Sunday […]
By Swati Pandey SYDNEY (Reuters) – A viral epidemic emanating from China could shave 0.2 percentage points off Australia’s economic growth in the current quarter with its spillover effects seen larger than the 2003 SARS outbreak, the country’s top central banker said on Friday. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has also ramped up focus […]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly dropped in December as low mortgage rates were offset by a shortage of properties for sale. The National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday its pending home sales index declined 4.9% to a reading of 103.2. November’s index was unrevised. Compared to one year […]
