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.
3,945 total articles
Iran’s governance rests on a hybrid system in which a supreme clerical authority sits above elected institutions, supported by a powerful Revolutionary Guards Corps that operates parallel to the regular military. The country’s political framework features interlocking bodies - the Supreme Leader, clerical councils, the IRGC and elected officials - …
Student organizers and immigrant rights groups have organized nationwide walkouts and demonstrations for Friday, demanding the withdrawal of federal immigration agents from Minnesota after two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens inflamed public anger. The actions follow large marches in Minneapolis last week and come amid shifts in ICE operational gui…
Senior U.S. military and civilian leaders who have been heading Washington's Civil-Military Command Center (CMCC) for Gaza are stepping down from their roles. Successors have not been publicly named, as diplomats and Western partners reassess their engagement with the centre while the U.S. advances the next phase of a plan intended to shape Gaza's …
The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked by U.S. President Donald Trump to suspend strikes on Kyiv until February 1 to foster a favourable environment for negotiations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to elaborate. Ukraine has signalled it would reciprocate if Russia refrains from targeting the country's energy infrastru…
Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reached a ceasefire and integration agreement that sets out a phased incorporation of Kurdish units into state structures. The deal follows recent government advances in northern and eastern Syria and calls for redeployment of Interior Ministry forces in key cities, the cre…
More than two dozen witnesses who fled to North Darfur and eastern Chad say paramilitary fighters, associated with the Rapid Support Forces, abducted at least 56 children across multiple incidents during Sudan's ongoing civil war. Witnesses described parents being killed before children were seized, fighters referring to children as household slave…
A preliminary internal review by U.S. Customs and Border Protection into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis does not state that Pretti brandished a firearm. The account, compiled from body-worn camera footage and CBP records, describes an attempt by an officer to move Pretti and a woman from the street, the use of pepper spray, a stru…
A U.S. Navy destroyer has docked at Israel's southern port of Eilat, a local news outlet reported, citing the Israeli military. The arrival was described as planned and part of ongoing U.S.-Israeli cooperation. The move comes as Washington signals readiness for both diplomacy and stronger measures in response to Tehran, while additional U.S. assets…
The New START arms control treaty between the United States and Russia will expire on February 5 unless the two capitals reach a deal in the final days. If it lapses, constraints on deployed long-range nuclear weapons would vanish for the first time since the Cold War era, leaving both countries to operate without the verification, transparency and…
New START, the last remaining bilateral U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty, limits deployed strategic warheads and delivery systems but is due to expire on February 5. Verification measures have been suspended and Moscow has halted participation. With the treaty’s single allowable extension already used, leaders have debated whether to agree i…
With domestic unrest in Minneapolis and the prospect of U.S. military action against Iran looming, senior members of the Trump administration attended a gala premiere for a big-budget documentary about first lady Melania Trump. Amazon MGM Studios financed the project to the tune of $75 million, licensing it to Amazon Prime Video and mounting an unu…
Face-to-face trade discussions between the United States and South Korea concluded their first day without a resolution, Yonhap reported. The diplomatic engagement followed public comments from the U.S. president threatening higher tariffs on South Korean goods, prompting Seoul to send senior officials to Washington for continued talks and assuranc…
A State Department cable has instructed U.S. diplomatic missions worldwide to review all foreign assistance programs to ensure compliance with an expanded version of the Mexico City Policy that bars funding for organizations involved in abortion-related activities, diversity, equity and inclusion, and gender identity advocacy. The rules, which incr…
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has called a snap election for February 8 aiming to translate robust personal approval into a firmer parliamentary majority. Officials and analysts say a clear victory could compel China to reassess its recent campaign of diplomatic and economic pressure launched after Takaichi publicly outlined possible respon…
Officials and company representatives remain at an impasse after weeks of talks over whether safeguards on commercial AI should be removed to permit U.S. military and intelligence use. The disagreement centers on provisions that critics say could allow the technology to be used for autonomous weapons targeting and domestic surveillance, and reflect…
A man from Mankato, Minnesota, was taken into custody after allegedly impersonating an FBI agent at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn while attempting to secure the release of detainee Luigi Mangione. Federal court filings state the suspect arrived carrying a pizza cutter and asserting he had a court order; he faces charges of impersona…
New Zealand has declined U.S. President Donald Trump’s invitation to join the newly created Board of Peace, with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon saying Wellington will not accept the invitation in its current form. Foreign Minister Winston Peters emphasized that regional states are already contributing to Gaza-related efforts and that the board’s …
The International Olympic Committee and related international federations have voiced concern for Iranian athletes amid widespread unrest in Iran. Authorities have responded to protests that began in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar with mass arrests, internet restrictions and force that rights groups say has killed thousands. International sport bodies say t…
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told officials that the U.S. military is prepared to carry out any direction President Donald Trump gives regarding Iran to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear capabilities. With a substantial U.S. force already in the region, Hegseth said the Defense Department - referenced using the administration's informal …
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…
