Iraq’s social media mercenaries dying for Russia
Smiling broadly and clad in military fatigues, young Iraqi Mohammed Imad’s last TikTok post was in a field carved up with heavy vehicle tracks in what appeared to be Ukraine. Smoke was rising behind him. “Pray for me,” read the caption next to a Russian flag. That was in May. Months went by without a […]
US to cancel flights as longest govt shutdown drags on
US officials said the scheduled capacity for flights was being cut by 10 percent in 40 busy air traffic areas nationwide on Friday, as the longest government shutdown drags on. Federal agencies have been grinding to a halt since Congress failed to approve funding past September 30, with some 1.4 million federal workers, from air […]
Drugmaker AstraZeneca profit jumps as US business grows
British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca announced surging quarterly profit Thursday on strong sales of cancer drugs and as the group zones in on the United States, pressured by President Donald Trump. Net profit jumped 77 percent to $2.53 billion in the third quarter compared with the July-September period one year earlier, AstraZeneca said in a statement. […]
Merz backs EU plan to protect steel sector from Chinese imports
Germany supports proposals by the EU to increase tariffs on foreign steel as the bloc struggles with cheap imports, especially from China, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday. “These proposals are a step in the right direction,” Merz said following talks with key steel industry players in Berlin. The EU in October floated plans to double […]
Crypto giant Coinbase fined in Ireland for rule breaches
Ireland’s central bank imposed a fine of 21.5 million euros ($24.7 million) Thursday on crypto giant Coinbase over transaction monitoring failures, including some potentially linked to criminal activities. The Central Bank of Ireland said in a statement that it had fined the firm “for breaching its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing transaction monitoring obligations between […]
Trump unveils deals to lower costs of some weight-loss drugs
US President Donald Trump announced deals Thursday with pharmaceutical giants Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to lower the prices of some popular weight-loss drugs, in exchange for relief from threatened tariffs. Both companies “have agreed to offer their most popular GLP-1 weight-loss drug,” Trump said at the White House, “at drastic discounts.” “Eli Lilly and […]
Meta and TikTok to obey Australia under-16 social media ban
Tech giants Meta and TikTok said Tuesday they will obey Australia’s under-16 social media ban but warned the landmark laws could prove difficult to enforce. Australia will from December 10 force social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to remove users under the age of 16. There is keen interest in whether Australia’s […]
Asian markets swing as trades eye tech rally, US rate outlook
Asian markets fluctuated Tuesday as investors assessed the latest tech rally on Wall Street amid worries a bubble is forming in the sector, while mixed signals from Federal Reserve officials fed uncertainty over its next interest rate move. A flood of multi-billion-dollar investment into artificial intelligence has been a key driver of the surge in […]
Spain’s Telefonica shares drop on dividend cut, net loss
Shares in Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica fell sharply on Tuesday after it posted a net loss for the first nine months of the year and announced it would cut its dividend by half in 2026. The company booked a net loss of 1.08 billion euros ($1.2 billion) between January and September, compared with a profit […]
BP profit surges despite lower oil prices
British energy giant BP on Tuesday reported a sharp rise in net profit for the third quarter as higher oil output and cost-cutting helped offset a drop in crude prices. Profit after tax jumped to $1.16 billion for the July-September period, compared with $206 million in the third quarter of 2024, BP said in an […]