International News

China asks banks to curb US Treasury exposure as bond market jitters grow

Chinese officials had urged banks to limit purchases of US government bonds, and instructed those with high exposure to pare their positions, according to sources

Starmer says won't quit after losing 2 aides over Mandelson-Epstien ties

The resignation of Starmer's communications director, Tim Allan, on Monday, after just five months on the job will feed the sense of crisis engulfing his office

In a first, Samsung family's Korean art collection heads on world tour

Now, the works are on their first-ever overseas tour, riding a global wave of interest in Korean culture that extends well beyond pop music and film into the country's deepest artistic traditions

Russia will actively support BRICS agenda presented by Indian chair: Lavrov

Russia will actively support India's chairmanship of BRICS with its current agenda, which is "modern, highly-relevant" with an emphasis on counter-terrorism and energy security, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday. India formally assumed on January 1, 2026, the chairmanship of BRICS, a 10-member bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, along with five new members. "India's chairmanship, in my view, presents a modern, highly relevant agenda that addresses today's challenges while preparing for the future. We will actively support it," Lavrov said in an interview with TV BRICS International Network ahead of Russian Diplomats' Day, marked on February 10. The foreign minister said that India places particular emphasis on counter-terrorism, which remains highly relevant. "Terrorist activities are observed in Afghanistan, along its borders, and along the IndiaPakistanAfghanistan corridor, as well as in other hotspots," he said. "This priority is particula

Isro identifies south polar landing site on Moon for Chandrayaan-4 mission

The Chandrayaan-4 Mission is at least two years away, but the ISRO has identified a location in the South Polar region of Moon to land its lander. The union government has approved the Chandrayaan-4 mission, designed as a lunar sample-return mission and it will be India's most complex lunar endeavour yet. "We are targeting 2028 for Chandrayaan-4," ISRO chairman V Narayanan had earlier said. According to ISRO officials, they had zeroed in on four sites of the Mons Mouton (MM) and found one of them suitable for landing on the lunar surface. Mons Mouton is a region on the Moon. Officials said they had identified locations -- MM-1, MM-3, MM-4 and MM-5. Of them, MM-4 was chosen for the landing. "The four sites in Mons Mouton area were fully characterised with respect to terrain characteristics using high resolution Orbiter High Resolution Camera (OHRC) multi view image datasets," they said. It was found that one kilometre by one kilometre area around MM-4 contains "the less hazard ..

Meet Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong's media mogul sentenced to 20 years in prison

The 78-year-old was found guilty of colluding with foreign forces and also upheld a separate sedition case

Japan PM Takaichi eyes defence, immigration reforms after landslide win

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's gamble that her personal popularity would lead to big election gains for her struggling party paid off hugely. On Monday, she began the process of translating that new power, made manifest in a two-thirds supermajority gained in parliamentary elections the day before, into what she hopes will be sweeping conservative legislation that will shift Japanese security, immigration, economic and social policies. The first steps include reappointing her Cabinet and pushing forward on a delayed budget, and the votes next week that will re-elect her as prime minister. Takaichi, in an interview with public television network NHK following her victory, said her efforts will make Japan strong and prosperous. NHK, citing vote count results, said Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP, alone secured 316 seats by early Monday, comfortably surpassing a 261-seat absolute majority in the 465-member lower house, the more powerful of Japan's two-chamber ...

Who is Thailand's leader Anutin and how did he seal clear win in elections?

Anutin is now set to head a coalition govt with comfortable majority that may end bouts of political upheaval which have rattled the Southeast Asian nation in recent years and left its economy adrift

Thailand votes in early election with three main parties vying for power

Voters in Thailand went to the polls Sunday in an early general election seen as a three-way race among competing visions of progressive, populist and old-fashioned patronage politics. The battle for support from 53 million registered voters comes against a backdrop of slow economic growth and heightened nationalist sentiment. While more than 50 parties are contesting the polls, only three - the People's Party, Bhumjaithai, and Pheu Thai - have the nationwide organisation and popularity to gain a winning mandate. A simple majority of the 500 elected lawmakers selects the next prime minister. No outright winner expected Local polls consistently project that no single party will gain a majority, necessitating the formation of a coalition government. Although the progressive People's Party is seen as favoured to win a plurality, its reformist politics aren't shared by its leading rivals, which may freeze it out by joining forces to form a government. The People's Party, led by ...

Denmark sees surge in apps to help boycott US goods amid Greenland row

The makers of mobile apps designed to help shoppers identify and boycott American goods say they saw a surge of interest in Denmark and beyond after the recent flare-up in tensions over US President Donald Trump's designs on Greenland. The creator of the "Made O'Meter" app, Ian Rosenfeldt, said he saw around 30,000 downloads of the free app in just three days at the height of the trans-Atlantic diplomatic crisis in late January, out of more than 100,000 since it was launched in March. Apps offer practical help ------------------------------- Rosenfeldt, who lives in Copenhagen and works in digital marketing, decided to create the app a year ago after joining a Facebook group of like-minded Danes hoping to boycott US goods. "Many people were frustrated and thinking, How do we actually do this in practical terms?'" the 53-year-old recalled. "If you use a bar code scanner, it's difficult to see if a product is actually American or not, if it's Danish or not. And if you don't know tha

Portugal voters choose between moderate, populist in presidential runoff

Centre-left Socialist candidate Antonio Jose Seguro is heavily favoured to defeat hard-right populist Andre Ventura in Portugal's runoff presidential election on Sunday in a vote that will test the depth of support for Ventura's brash style of politics. Recent opinion polls say Seguro will collect twice as many votes as Ventura in the head-to-head between the two top candidates in last month's first round of voting, when none of the runners captured more than 50 per cent of the vote required for victory. But making it through to the runoff is already a milestone for Ventura and his Chega (Enough) party, which has quickly grown into a significant force in Portuguese politics during a wider European shift to the right. Seguro, a longstanding Socialist politician, has positioned himself as a moderate candidate who will cooperate with Portugal's centre-right minority government, repudiating Ventura's anti-establishment and anti-immigrant tirades. In Portugal, the president is largely a

Trump gives his 'total endorsement' to Japan's Takaichi ahead of elections

Japan's first female PM, whose coalition is widely expected to win, according to opinion polls, is seeking a public mandate

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

Oil slides over 2% as easing supply fears follow planned US-Iran talks

Brent crude futures were ​down $1.73, or 2.5 per cent , at $67.73 per barrel at 1402 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude was down $1.67, or 2.5 per cent , at $63.47

Kremlin says Russia will uphold nuclear stability after New START expires

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the New START treaty, which set limits on each side's missiles, launchers and strategic warheads, would lapse at the end of Thursday

UK PM Keir Starmer apologises to Epstein victims amid Mandelson row

Starmer said he regretted believing what he described as "lies" conveyed by Mandelson at the time of the appointment and acknowledged the public manner in which the matter unfolded

More Ukrainians weigh surrendering Donbas land for peace amid war fatigue

Ukraine has spent years fortifying cities in the Donbas, and has lost a huge number of soldiers defending the industrial region

Seif al-Islam, son of late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, shot dead

Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son and one-time heir apparent of Libya's late dictator Moammar Gadhafi, was killed in the northern African country, Libyan officials said Tuesday. The 53-year-old was killed in the town Zintan, 136 kilometers (85 miles) southwest of the capital, Tripoli, according to Libyan's chief prosecutor's office. The office said in a statement that an initial investigation found that Seif al-Islam was shot to death, but did not provide further details about the circumstances of his killing. Khaled al-Zaidi, a lawyer for Seif al-Islam, confirmed his death on Facebook, without providing details. Abdullah Othman Abdurrahim, who represented Gadhafi in the U.N.-brokered political dialogue which aimed to resolve Libya's long-running conflict, also announced the death on Facebook. Seif al-Islam's political team later released a statement saying that "four masked men" stormed his house and killed him in a "cowardly and treacherous assassination." The statement said that h

Markets, spending, debt signals fail to predict where global economy heads

From markets to spending to debt, usually reliable indicators that forecast where the economy is headed are proving deeply fallible