STOCKHOLM -World military expenditure reached $2.72 trillion in 2024, an increase of 9.4% from 2023 and the steepest year-on-year rise since at least the end of the Cold War, according to a report released by a leading conflict think tank…

SINGAPORE -The dollar made a steady start on Monday as investors prepared for a week packed with economic data that may give a first glimpse of whether U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war is hitting home. At 143.57 yen and…

SHANGHAI -China’s gold consumption fell 5.96% year-on-year to 290.492 tons in the first quarter of 2025 as high gold prices continued to curb demand for gold jewellery, the China Gold Association said on Monday. The rise in gold prices has…

AMSTERDAM – Israel will face accusations of breaking international law by refusing to let aid into the Gaza Strip when dozens of nations present arguments at the International Court of Justice during a week of hearings starting in The Hague…

BERLIN -Germany has asked the European Commission for an exemption from European Union borrowing limits in order to increase defence spending in the coming years, according to a letter from German Finance Minister Joerg Kukies seen by Reuters on Monday….

CAIRO – Israel’s army is flattening the remaining ruins of the city of Rafah on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip, residents say, in what they fear is a part of a plan to herd the population into confinement…

VATICAN CITY – The world’s Catholic cardinals met on Monday for the first time after the funeral of Pope Francis to discuss a possible date to enter a secret conclave and elect the next leader of the global Church. Any…

MOSCOW – Russia said on Monday it was waiting for a signal from Ukraine regarding Kyiv’s willingness to hold direct negotiations to end the war, but said it did not so far see any signs of movement. The Kremlin said…

BRUSSELS – The European Commission has approved €321.2 million in restructuring aid granted by Germany for Condor under EU State aid rules, it said on a statement on Monday. The decision follows a May 2024 court ruling that annulled the…

WASHINGTON – Seven Democratic senators are asking the U.S. Justice Department for information about changes to its civil rights division made by President Donald Trump’s administration including reassigning several career officials who had held leadership positions. The senators, all members…

WASHINGTON -A suspect has been arrested in connection with the theft of U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse at a Washington restaurant, the Secret Service said on Sunday, and Noem said the individual has been living in the United…

WASHINGTON – The U.S. State Department said on Sunday Washington was in touch with both India and Pakistan while urging them to work towards what it called a “responsible solution” as tensions have risen between the two Asian nations following…

BEIRUT -The Israeli army issued an evacuation order on Sunday for residents of a southern Beirut neighborhood, the first such warning in almost a month, in anticipation of a possible strike on what it says are Hezbollah targets – further…

WASHINGTON -U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine needs to happen soon, adding that the Trump administration will spend the coming week trying to determine whether to continue as a…

MADRID – Roger Yu, a gay man from the Philippines who abandoned plans to become a priest, said he was in Italy to pay homage to Pope Francis, a spiritual leader he saw as an inspiring supporter of the LGBTQ…

GENEVA – The United Nations’ refugee agency has had to reduce support for newly displaced people in Ukraine as frontline attacks intensify, it said on Friday, blaming the suspension of U.S. aid and broader donor cuts. Across the world, humanitarian…

DUBAI -U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is open to meeting Iran’s supreme leader or president as the two countries began talks on Iran’s nuclear programme. Following a meeting last week to outline a framework for a potential nuclear…

WASHINGTON – After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Taras Atamanchuk found safety for his family near Houston, Texas. The 32-year-old moved to the U.S. with his wife and daughter in 2023 through former President Joe Biden’s “parole” program for Ukrainians with U.S….

SHANGHAI -Chinese automakers and foreign rivals are launching ever more advanced long-range hybrids to meet rising demand in the world’s largest auto market. Unlike many other major markets, China treats EVs and hybrids as one “new energy vehicle” sector where…

CAIRO – An Israeli airstrike hit a police station in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least 10 people, local health authorities said, and Israel’s military said it had struck a command centre of Hamas and…

BEIJING – The U.S. should stop making threats and resorting to coercion if it wants to make a deal, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday when asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks about potentially lower tariffs on China….

U.S. President Donald Trump is frustrated with the pace of talks on ending the war in Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is going in the wrong direction when it comes to negotiations, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday….

SAO PAULO – An application by the United States’ National Coffee Association (NCA) to get coffee exempted from tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump has been well received, the NCA’s CEO Bill Murray said during an industry event in…

UNITED NATIONS – China and the United States accused each other of unfair trade practices at an informal United Nations Security Council meeting on Wednesday, seeking to portray each other as global bullies amid their escalating trade war. China convened…

European drugmakers are urging the EU to allow higher medicine prices, warning that without stronger investment incentives, the bloc would fall further behind the U.S., where tariff threats have triggered a wave of pharma investment announcements. AstraZeneca Chief Executive Officer…

NEW YORK -Wall Street stocks advanced on Wednesday on revived hopes for progress in the U.S.-China trade dispute and as President Donald Trump soothed fears the Federal Reserve could lose its autonomy with reassurances that he has “no intention of…