Taiwan’s economy expanded at its fastest pace in nearly 39 years thanks to robust demand for artificial intelligence technology, data showed Thursday, despite concerns over the Middle East crisis. The island is a global powerhouse in the...
Press freedom has fallen to its lowest level in a quarter of a century, Reporters Without Borders warned on Thursday. The media rights watchdog cited as examples US President Donald Trump’s “systematic” attacks on journalists and...
Japan’s finance minister hinted strongly today that Tokyo was close to intervening in the market to support the yen, after the currency slipped to its lowest level against the US dollar since mid-2024. The yen, trading around ¥160 to the dollar, is...
Organisers of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla on Thursday said Israel’s army had “kidnapped” 211 activists including a Paris city councillor in a raid in international waters off Greece. Helene Coron, a spokesperson for the Global Sumud...
The United States is pushing for a new international coalition to restart commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz as talks with Tehran stall, AFP reports, citing US news outlets. The State Department sent an internal cable to US embassies...
A small bottle of Japanese sake, made from mash fermented in space, sold for almost $700,000 (around P43 million), its brewer said as the company explores ways to make the drink on the Moon. Sake brewer Dassai teamed up with aerospace and...
North Korea faces an “unusual” and “severe” drought this year and is working to protect crops, state media said Thursday. Natural disasters tend to have an outsized impact on the diplomatically isolated country due to its...
Israel’s army arrested around 175 activists from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in international waters off Greece, the Israeli foreign ministry and the flotilla’s organizers said Thursday. “Approximately 175 activists from more than 20...
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called for King Charles to “return” the prized Koh-i-Noor diamond, which the British Empire took from the Indian subcontinent in the 1800s, on the third day of the monarch’s state visit on Wednesday. Before...
Oil prices soared more than seven percent to a four-year high above $126 Thursday after Donald Trump warned the US blockade of Iranian ports could last months and a report said he would be briefed on potential fresh military strikes. While Tehran...
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with US counterpart Donald Trump, Putin’s diplomatic advisor Yuri Ushakov told reporters Wednesday, adding that the two leaders focused primarily on the Middle East war. “The presidents...
Brent oil prices surged Wednesday to more than $119 a barrel, its highest level since early 2022, raising the economic toll from the war in the Middle East. Near 1715 GMT, Brent oil futures were up 7.6 percent at $119.69, its highest level since the...
Israel’s military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir vowed to strike Hezbollah targets north of Lebanon’s Litani River and beyond the so-called “Yellow Line” during a visit to south Lebanon on Wednesday. “Any threat...
The war against Iran has cost the US military $25 billion since it was launched in late February, a senior Pentagon official said Wednesday. “We’re spending about $25 billion on Operation Epic Fury. Most of that is in munitions,”...
Uber on Wednesday unveiled a new feature allowing users to book a hotel room directly from its app, the latest step in its push to become a one-stop shop for everyday needs. The company had already broadened its ambitions in 2014 with the launch of...
