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Greece, Turkey reel from political fallout of snowstorm
Turkey's main airport stirred back to life on Wednesday and Greece's under-fire prime minister issued a formal apology as the east Mediterranean neighbours faced the political fallout of a paralysing blizzard.
Hong Kong transgender men lose court case on ID cards
Trans people in Hong Kong will not be allowed to have their gender officially recognised on their identity documents unless they undergo sex reassignment surgery, a court ruled on Wednesday.
Rio Tinto begins underground work at vast Mongolia copper mine: state media
Underground operations have finally begun at a copper mine in Mongolia, official media has reported, ending years of delays for Anglo-Australian giant Rio Tinto.
Used cars turn to gold as Sri Lanka economy skids on the edge
Supermarket shelves are bare and restaurants can't serve meals, but Sri Lanka's economic crisis is a bonanza for used car dealers, with vehicle shortages pushing prices higher than a house in a nice area.
Asian markets enjoy much-needed rally as Fed's big day arrives
Asian markets enjoyed some respite Wednesday from the hefty selling at the start of the week, with focus on the end of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting later in the day, when traders hope it will provide much-needed guidance on its plans for hiking interest rates.
Fearful Wall Street awaits Fed's next moves on inflation
The Federal Reserve's first policy meeting of the year hasn't even concluded but Wall Street already is unhappy, wary of what central bank chief Jerome Powell might say on Wednesday about his inflation-fighting plans.
IMF's Gopinath says time to 'recalibrate' Covid restrictions
China should begin to "recalibrate" its aggressive anti-Covid policy as other countries are doing, to try to ease the negative impact the pandemic continues to have on global supply chains and economic growth, a senior IMF official said on Tuesday.
IMF urges El Salvador to remove Bitcoin as legal tender
The IMF on Tuesday called on El Salvador to change course and stop using Bitcoin as legal tender, citing "large risks" posed by the cryptocurrency.
West links Afghan humanitarian aid to human rights
Western diplomats Tuesday linked humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to an improvement in human rights after meeting a Taliban delegation on a landmark visit to Europe.
Making smartphone data anonymous no longer enough: study
Privacy measures that are meant to preserve the anonymity of smartphone users are no longer suitable for the digital age, a study suggested on Tuesday.
Anger mounts in Istanbul, Athens over blizzard chaos
Stranded passengers chanted protests at Europe's busiest airport in Istanbul on Tuesday and soldiers dug out snowed-in drivers in Athens as a rare blizzard stirred up anger and chaos across swathes of the eastern Mediterranean.
US firms have only few days supply of semiconductors: govt
American companies have an average of less than five days worth of semiconductors on hand, a level leaving them vulnerable to production shutdowns if supply is disrupted, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.
Wall Street slumps as Fed meets, Europe rebounds
Wall Street stocks sank on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve began a two-day monetary policy meeting, while European stocks rebounded.
Casino operator to develop 'gaming' resort in UAE
A US-based casino operator on Tuesday announced plans to develop a multi-billion-dollar resort off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a Muslim state in the Gulf where gambling is prohibited.
US consumers slightly more hopeful about inflation, economy: data
American consumers were feeling less confident in January amid elevated prices and a Covid-19 resurgence, but their views of the economy and inflation were growing more positive, a survey released Tuesday showed.
European stocks rebound, Wall Street sinks as Fed meets
Wall Street stocks sank at the start of trading on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve began a two-day monetary policy meeting, while European stocks rebounded.
Fed begins meeting to fight inflation as markets tremble
The Federal Reserve began Tuesday a policy meeting in which central bankers are expected to further signal which weapons they plan to use against inflation and when, amid a selloff on Wall Street that appears set to continue.
Istanbul permits first flights after snow pummels Mediterranean
Europe's busiest airport in Istanbul welcomed its first flight in 24 hours on Tuesday and Greece declared a public holiday as the eastern Mediterranean neighbours began digging out of a rare snowstorm that ground their capitals to a halt.
GE sees revenues rising in 2022 after drop in Q4
General Electric reported a drop in fourth-quarter revenues Tuesday on a mixed performance across its industrial businesses but projected higher sales in 2022 despite inflation.
Freight lobby urges UK-France talks to ease port queues
A leading UK freight lobby group has urged the British and French governments to hold talks to ease miles-long backups at Channel ports that have been blamed on Brexit.
European equities rebound as Fed meets
European stock markets rebounded Tuesday, shrugging off steep Asian losses on the eve of a Federal Reserve monetary policy decision and after tumbling the previous day on Ukraine tensions and US rate hike fears.
Central Asia hit by large-scale power blackout
An electricity grid accident left millions of people in three Central Asian countries without power on Tuesday, idling subway trains, disrupting flights and trapping people in lifts.
Istanbul airport stays shut as snow pummels Mediterranean
Europe's busiest airport in Istanbul delayed its reopening on Tuesday and Greece declared a public holiday as the eastern Mediterranean neighbours began digging themselves out of a rare snowstorm that ground their capitals to a halt.
'Heating or eating': Britons struggle with rising costs
Nestled amid superstores at a retail park, the Colchester Foodbank in eastern England last year gave out a total of 165 tonnes of food -- enough to feed 17,000 people.
Olympic 'curse' strikes again as Beijing costs mount
The "curse" of Olympic overspending looks set to strike again at the Beijing Games, with stringent Covid measures and loss of ticket sale revenues pushing up costs for China.
Israeli firm develops body cams with facial recognition
Twenty years after he planned the controversial barrier between Israel and Palestinians, Dany Tirza is developing a security tool that requires no cement: body cameras with facial recognition technology.
Stuck at the US-Mexican border, two migrants find solace in love
As they linger, trapped at the US-Mexico border, the young Nicaraguan man and Guatemalan woman say it is love that has helped them hang on to their American dream despite the pain of a long, anxious wait.
Forget working from home -- why not live in an old office?
Blocks from the White House, an unassuming edifice in downtown Washington that once held offices used by the US Department of Justice is set to be converted into homes for hundreds of people.
Fed sharpens inflation-fighting tools as rate hikes near
The Federal Reserve has its inflation-fighting weapons ready to fire, and when the US central bank's policy committee convenes this coming week, the focus will not be on whether they will pull the trigger but rather how many times.
Peru declares 'environmental emergency' on coastal area hit by oil spill
Peru on Saturday declared an "environmental emergency" along a stretch of coast hit by an oil spill caused by freak waves from a volcanic eruption in the South Pacific.
French lone Atlantic rower drops off map
A 75-year-old Frenchman attempting to row across the Atlantic, has not given any sign of life since early Friday when he was near the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira, his friends said Saturday.
Taliban warn against dissent, women's rights activism
Afghanistan's new Taliban authorities warned Saturday they have the right to crack down on dissent and jail protesters, as concerns grew over the disappearance of two women activists.
US suspends 44 passenger flights to China operated by Chinese carriers
The United States announced Friday that it was suspending 44 Chinese passenger flights from America to the Asian giant in response to restrictive moves by Beijing on US carriers under its Covid-19 protocols.
Netflix sinks as Wall Street flees 'stay-at-home' stocks
One day after shares of at-home fitness company Peloton tumbled, Netflix found itself in Wall Street's hot seat Friday as markets reassess the diminishing growth prospects of so-called "pandemic stocks."
EU nations quarrel over whether nuclear, gas are 'green'
Hours before the window for lodging objections closes, EU environment and energy ministers meeting in France Friday differed sharply on a European Commission provision that would classify nuclear and natural gas energy as "sustainable".
Biden hails Intel's $20 bn chip plant investment amid shortage
President Joe Biden on Friday praised Intel's plans to spend $20 billion on a new US semiconductor facility, hailing the "historic" investment even as a global chip shortage fans the inflation wave weighing on his leadership.
Gas giants' Myanmar exit unlikely to badly damage junta: analysts
The exit of energy titans TotalEnergies and Chevron from Myanmar's billion dollar gas industry has been hailed by rights groups, but analysts say it will not significantly weaken the generals and may even enrich the military in the short term.
Intel to spend $20 bn on US chip plants amid shortage
US semiconductor giant Intel on Friday announced a $20 billion investment to build two new semiconductor plants in Ohio, as a global chip shortage fans the inflation wave weighing on Joe Biden's presidency.
Reserve Bank chief will be Chile's new finance minister
Chile's leftist president-elect Gabriel Boric, whose victory at the polls last month unsettled the markets, on Friday named the country's Central Bank governor as his finance minister in a young, diverse and woman-majority cabinet.