World News

'No one should feel unsafe': Tim Cook flags immigration fear at Apple

Apple CEO Tim Cook says he is 'deeply distraught' over US immigration policy and vows to lobby lawmakers, while reassuring staff, including visa and DACA workers

US tells citizens to 'leave Iran now' ahead of high-stakes nuclear talks

The US Embassy has urged American citizens to leave Iran immediately, citing internet shutdowns, security restrictions and travel disruptions as Washington and Tehran prepare for nuclear talks in Oman

Trump seeks new nuclear arms treaty with Russia as New START expires

The deal expired on Thursday, raising the possibility that US and Russia could potentially pursue new nuclear weapons unhindered by any diplomatic agreement while geopolitical tensions rise

AI race sends Big Tech's capital spending to stratospheric high of $650 bn

The ever-larger numbers - in total, an estimated 60 per cent increase from a year ago - means yet another acceleration in the wave of data centre construction taking place around the world

Russia regrets expiry of nuclear arms pact with US as Trump seeks new deal

Putin last year declared his readiness to stick to the treaty's limits for another year if Washington followed suit, but Trump has argued that he wants China to be a part of a new pact

DHS shutdown risk rises as Republicans rebuffs Democrats demands on ICE

Democrats say they will not vote for a DHS spending bill when funding runs out unless there are changes at US ICE, other federal agencies in the wake of the fatal shootings in Minneapolis

What to know about Thailand's election as growth slows, nationalism rises

There also have been accusations of shady financial influence linked to cybercrime, rampant corruption among officials ahead of the polls

Epstein e-mails reveal he helped arrange White House tour for Woody Allen

In 2015, Epstein used his connections to another friend who had been in President Barack Obama's administration to help the couple get a White House tour

US Census Bureau plans survey with citizenship question, alarming experts

Last August, Trump instructed the Commerce Department to have the Census Bureau start work on a new census that would exclude immigrants who are in the US illegally from the head count

Record discounts on Russian oil to China aim to lure demand as India wavers

Discounts for ESPO Blend, delivered from the Pacific port of Kozmino to China, widened to nearly $9 a barrel to ICE Brent this week, from $7-$8 in recent months

US announces $6 million aid for Cuba amid accusations of 'energy blockade'

The aid is largely meant for those living in Cuba's eastern region, which Hurricane Melissa slammed into late last year

Trump again repeats claim that he stopped war between India, Pakistan

Despite Trump's repeated claims, India has consistently denied any third-party intervention

Amazon misses Q4 earnings estimates despite strong sales, cloud growth

Amazon said it plans to increase capital spending to $200 billion this year from $125 billion as it sees opportunities in artificial intelligence, robots, semiconductors and satellites

US, Russia agree to restore high-level military dialogue after 4 year gap

They were also at last month's talks in the same place as the Trump administration tries to steer Russia and Ukraine toward a settlement

US has right to secure, reinforce military presence on Diego Garcia: Trump

Trump described Diego Garcia as being of 'great importance' to US national security due to its central location in the Indian Ocean and its role in supporting American military operations

Trump administration targets job protections of 50,000 federal employees

It is the biggest change to the rules governing the civil service in more than a century and targets employees that the administration sees as undermining the president's priorities

ECB keeps rates unchanged, plays down impact of dollar weakness on policy

Asked about the currency, Lagarde said the ECB was keeping a close eye on markets but ultimately concluded that no big change has taken place in recent months

Once the hottest bet on Wall Street, private credit has started to crack

Apollo Global Management and BlackRock, two other large players, have also rattled investors with write-downs on large loans to several troubled e-com- merce companies.

HSBC set to push out underperformers as some bankers face zero bonuses

Such a move is aligned with the vision of Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery, who wants to bring the bank more in line with pay practices at American peers

Reliance buys 2 mn barrels of Venezuelan crude after nearly a year: Report

Trading houses Vitol and Trafigura were granted US licenses to market and sell millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil following the US military operation last month to capture President Nicolas Maduro