Vietnam received its first shipment of liquefied natural gas this month, a milestone for the energy-hungry country, but various hurdles mean it could take years for imported gas to ease the country's long-running power shortages.
Curled up on a hospital bed in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, an emaciated little girl struggles to breathe, as her father softly strokes her gaunt face and her mother sits crying.
Just when you thought it was safe to hope interest rates might soon peak, along comes more bad news. It looks likely that the El Nino weather phenomenon has returned, according to both the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Its appearance usually results in, or exacerbates, floods, heatwaves, water scarcity and wildfires, especially in the southern hemisphere. The damage these inflict on crops and infrastructure is inflationary, putting pressure on central banks to tighten monetary policy. If climate change makes such events stronger and more frequent, supply shocks will become embedded.
Vietnam was added to the watch list of the FATF international financial crime watchdog, which said the nation has nonetheless committed to proving it effectively prevents the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan will stop at Central Vietnam's port city of Danang on Sunday in a rare visit for a U.S. warship to the southeast Asian nation.