WASHINGTON -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday projected that growth in Asia and the Pacific will slow to 3.9 percent this year amid escalating trade tensions, marking a 0.5 percentage point decline from its previous projection.
"A leader in global trade, Asia accounted for nearly 60 percent of global growth in 2024. However, the region's successful growth model, based on trade liberalization and integration into value chains, faces mounting challenges," IMF officials said in a blog published on Thursday. (IMF-Asia-Growth)
- - - -
MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff discussed the possibility of direct Russia-Ukraine talks during their meeting in Moscow, local media reported Friday citing Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov.
Ushakov said the talks focused on the possibility of restarting direct negotiations between representatives from Russia and Ukraine, and said the meeting helped to further align the positions of Russia and the United States, both on Ukraine and on other international issues. (Russia-U.S.-Envoy)
- - - -
GAZA -- At least 21 Palestinians were killed on Friday in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, according to Gaza's civil defense authorities.
Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the civil defense, reported that nine people were killed and several others injured when Israeli aircraft struck a house east of al-Fakhari town, southeast of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. (Gaza Strip-Israeli Attacks-Casualty)
- - - -
SACRAMENTO, United States -- California's economy has overtaken Japan to become the world's fourth-largest economy, behind only the United States, China and Germany in global economic rankings.
Gavin Newsom, California's governor, made the announcement on Wednesday, citing the latest data from the International Monetary Fund and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. (US-California-GDP) ■
