Global events and international developments affecting markets.
Reporting on international affairs, geopolitical developments, and global economic trends. This category connects world events to their potential impact on financial markets, trade flows, and investor risk perception.
1,726 total articles
The Senate Agriculture Committee approved legislation to create a federal framework for cryptocurrencies on a party-line vote, granting the Commodity Futures Trading Commission oversight of spot crypto markets and rulemaking authority for digital commodity exchanges, brokers and dealers. The bill faces an uncertain path in the full Senate, where it…
President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the National Security Agency, U.S. Army Lieutenant General Joshua Rudd, testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is indispensable to the agency’s mission. During the Jan. 29 confirmation hearing he endorsed the broad foreign surveillance…
The U.S. life expectancy rose to 79.0 years in 2024, marking an increase of more than six months from 2023 and setting a new high, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. The gain reflects notable decreases in deaths from COVID-19 and certain unintentional injuries, a…
Plainclothes security personnel in Iran have conducted large-scale arrests across the country and intensified checkpoints and street deployments in an effort to prevent a revival of protests that surged after demonstrations began in Tehran's Grand Bazaar. Rights groups and activists say security forces used overwhelming force during the unrest, cut…
The United Nations and the Asian Development Bank are backing a $100 million, two-year food security initiative for Afghanistan designed to provide immediate relief to over 151,000 families, including recent returnees and communities hit by natural disasters. The move comes amid soaring acute food insecurity projections and a surge in returnees tha…
The South African Reserve Bank left its policy rate unchanged at 6.75%, with a 4-2 Monetary Policy Committee vote to hold rather than cut. The bank says inflation likely peaked at 3.6% in December and is expected to converge toward the 3% target, while the economy has recorded four consecutive quarters of growth. Forecasts point to modest GDP growt…
A Kremlin foreign policy aide said territorial questions are not the only unresolved matters standing in the way of a peace agreement in Ukraine, while U.S.-mediated talks continue to try to bridge a deeply contested demand over parts of Donetsk region. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the territorial disagreement as a major and hard-t…
Twenty candidates are competing in Costa Rica’s presidential election, but polling shows one right-wing populist candidate commanding a substantial lead. Laura Fernandez of the Sovereign People’s Party seeks at least 40% of the vote to avoid an April runoff. Several opposition contenders, representing established and emerging parties, remain separa…
Costa Ricans head to the polls with Laura Fernandez, a 39-year-old political scientist and former presidential chief of staff, holding a strong lead as concerns about drug trafficking and violent crime upend the country's peaceful reputation. Fernandez campaigns to continue the tough security policies of President Rodrigo Chaves and seeks a legisla…
At least two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip as Hamas and Israel prepared to move into the second phase of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. The incident, reported in eastern Khan Younis, comes amid disputed reports of casualties on both sides and ahead of negotiations over the contentious issue of Hamas disarmament and the poss…
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed skepticism about security guarantees reportedly agreed between the United States and Ukraine, saying he was unaware of their details and questioning whether such measures could deliver lasting peace. Kyiv has sought security guarantees as part of any prospective peace accord to end the ongoing war. L…
The Grammy Awards will be held Sunday in Los Angeles, broadcast live on CBS and streamed on Paramount+ at 5 p.m. local time (0100 GMT Monday). Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar and Lady Gaga are the leading contenders for Album of the Year in what observers call a tight three-way race. The ceremony - hosted by Trevor Noah in what he says will be his final …
Russia urged restraint on Thursday and said diplomatic channels between Tehran and Washington remain open, warning that any use of force against Iran would have grave consequences and could trigger widespread instability across the Middle East. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the comments a day after U.S. President Donald Trump called on Iran …
The Kremlin says it is still awaiting a response from Washington to President Vladimir Putin's proposal to informally extend for one year the operative provisions of the New START treaty. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that the pact's scheduled expiration on February 5 could produce a serious gap in the legal architecture that regulates nuc…
In a small Greenlandic settlement, residents and local leaders emphasize a longstanding Indigenous conception of land as shared and stewarded rather than owned outright. The community described daily life, the strain on services and population decline, and reiterated that under Greenlandic law people hold rights to use land where homes sit but do n…
A Russian drone strike in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region killed three people and injured three more overnight, regional authorities said. Officials reported widespread attacks across the region and a separate strike on the port city of Odesa that sparked a large industrial fire. Ukrainian air defences intercepted the majority of drones launched, whi…
Italy has set out an extensive security framework for the Winter Olympics, emphasizing that Italian authorities will retain full command of operations while allowing U.S. Homeland Security Investigations staff to provide intelligence support to the U.S. delegation. The plan combines large-scale law enforcement deployments, new cybersecurity monitor…
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the EU will impose fresh sanctions on Iran and is expected to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. The announcement was made on Friday ahead of a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers. No specifics on timing or the precise nature of the measures were pr…
Swiss watch exports rose 3.3% year-on-year in December to CHF2.103 billion, with wristwatches accounting for CHF2.021 billion. The United States and France registered notable increases, while several Asian markets and the UAE recorded declines, according to data published by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.
Taiwan staged a near-shore exercise on Jan. 29 at a beach within the Zuoying naval base in Kaohsiung to simulate repelling a Chinese sea-borne assault. The drill combined shore-launched Hsiung Feng anti-ship missiles, attack drones, missile-armed fast patrol boats and sniper teams to form layered defences and a coordinated kill chain. Earlier in th…
China’s state-owned major space contractor has announced plans to begin suborbital space tourism operations within five years and to progressively develop orbital tourism, while also pursuing vast satellite constellations and deep space capabilities. The pledge accompanies the inauguration of a School of Interstellar Navigation and follows filings …
A vehicle struck a side entrance of the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn on Wednesday. Police arrested the driver and said the incident is being investigated as a hate crime. Officials reported no injuries and a bomb squad found no explosives in the vehicle. Local leaders called for vigilance and condemned antisemitism.
U.S. President Donald Trump and several prominent athletes reacted with disbelief after reports that Bill Belichick did not secure the 40-of-50 votes required for first-ballot induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The reported outcome has reignited debate over the Hall’s voting procedures, while the Hall of Fame said members who violate sel…
A federal judge in Minneapolis has issued a temporary restraining order preventing federal agents from arresting approximately 5,600 lawful refugees in Minnesota who are awaiting green cards, finding those arrests likely ran afoul of federal statutes. The order will remain in place while additional legal arguments are heard in litigation brought by…
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will hold a 40-minute meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People, followed by lunch, as part of a four-day visit focused on revitalising economic links. Starmer will also meet Premier Li Qiang and top legislator Zhao Leji, and is accompanied by a delegation of more than 50 business …
