Category: World

Facebook’s creator payment system has become entangled in Alberta’s separatist politics after an investigation identified overseas-run accounts impersonating local activists and publishing content that promoted breaking away from Canada.The accounts presented themselves as voices from inside Alberta’s independence movement, using names, profile images and language designed to appear local. Several were linked to operators outside Canada who appeared to be using divisive political material to attract views, engagement and possible platform earnings. The activity raises fresh questions about how Meta’s

A powerful offshore earthquake struck the southern Philippines early Monday, killing at least 12 people, damaging buildings in General Santos City and sending coastal residents racing to higher ground after tsunami waves hit parts of Mindanao.The magnitude was placed at 7.8 by global monitors, while domestic bulletins initially listed the tremor at 7.4. The quake struck at 7.37am local time, with its centre at sea near Sarangani province, south-west of General Santos, at a shallow depth that intensified the shaking

Britain is preparing to use public procurement to support domestic artificial intelligence chipmakers, offering to buy semiconductor equipment from UK-based technology companies as ministers seek to stop promising hardware firms from shifting capital, talent and production plans overseas.Technology Secretary Liz Kendall is expected to outline the plan at London Tech Week, where the government will position strategic purchases as part of a broader effort to give early-stage chip designers a credible first customer. The proposal is aimed at companies developing

Air France-KLM has left open the possibility of taking a role in any takeover approach for easyJet, adding a strategic airline dimension to Castlelake’s early-stage interest in the Luton-based low-cost carrier.Chief Executive Ben Smith indicated that the Franco-Dutch airline group would consider contact from Castlelake if the investment firm sought a partner for a possible offer. His comments come as the US-based asset manager studies whether to proceed with a bid for easyJet before a 26 June deadline under UK

Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to travel to North Korea on June 8 for a two-day state visit aimed at reinforcing Beijing’s leverage over Kim Jong Un at a moment when Pyongyang has expanded its nuclear posture, tightened defence ties with Russia and shown less dependence on its long-standing patron.The trip, Xi’s first to North Korea in nearly seven years, places China at the centre of a shifting security landscape in north-east Asia. It comes after Kim used the

Côte d’Ivoire is set to extend electricity access to more than 100,000 households after the African Development Bank Group approved €103.14 million in financing for a major grid-expansion programme aimed at strengthening the country’s power system and narrowing remaining access gaps.The financing, approved by the bank’s Board of Directors in Abidjan on 15 May 2026, will support the second phase of the Project to Strengthen the Structures of the Electricity System and Access to Electricity, known as PROSER II. The

A second New World screwworm case has been confirmed in a Texas calf, sharpening concern among ranchers and animal-health officials over the first domestic livestock detections of the deadly parasite in about six decades.The US Department of Agriculture identified the latest infection in a one-month-old calf in Zavala County, about 5.6 miles from the first confirmed case near La Pryor, south Texas. The first calf, about three weeks old, had larvae in the umbilical area, indicating the parasite had entered

Iran’s World Cup players have been granted visas to enter the United States, easing a major logistical and diplomatic obstacle 10 days before their opening match against New Zealand in Los Angeles.A White House official said the players’ entry documents had been approved overnight after Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, said the squad was still waiting for US visas. The clearance removes the most immediate threat to Iran’s participation in its scheduled US-based group-stage fixtures, although some members of

Washington has moved to close a sensitive gap in its China technology controls after Trump administration officials concluded that overseas units of Chinese companies may have been able to buy Nvidia’s most advanced artificial intelligence chips without the export licences required for direct shipments to China.The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security issued guidance on 31 May clarifying that licence requirements for advanced computing items apply to companies headquartered in China and Macau even when purchases are made through

FIFA has barred supporters from bringing refillable water bottles into 2026 World Cup stadiums, turning fan safety and match-day costs into a flashpoint days before the tournament opens across the United States, Canada and Mexico.The governing body has revised its Stadium Code of Conduct to prohibit bottles, cups, jars and cans, including empty transparent reusable plastic bottles that had earlier been allowed. FIFA said the change was made “to prevent risk and injury to players and attendees”, arguing that containers

Jersey is facing a defining test over whether its finance-led prosperity can keep pace with faster, technology-driven rivals without eroding the small-island character that has long set it apart.The British Crown Dependency, once widely labelled a tax haven, has spent decades recasting itself as a regulated international financial centre. That shift has helped turn a 45-square-mile island of just over 100,000 people into one of the world’s more influential offshore hubs, serving banks, fund managers, private wealth advisers, trust companies

Romanian President Nicușor Dan is preparing to nominate Eugen Tomac as prime minister, seeking to break a month-long political deadlock and restore fiscal direction in one of the European Union’s most strained economies.Tomac, a member of the European Parliament and leader of the People’s Movement Party, has emerged as the presidency’s preferred option after talks among mainstream parties failed to produce a stable governing formula. His expected nomination comes after Ilie Bolojan’s administration was brought down by a no-confidence motion

MMC Port Holdings Sdn Bhd has approached prospective bidders for a minority stake in the business, shifting attention from a delayed public listing to a private transaction that could test investor appetite for one of Southeast Asia’s most significant port platforms.The move follows the postponement of an initial public offering that had been expected to rank among Malaysia’s largest listings in more than a decade. The company, controlled through MMC Corp by Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, had been preparing

Bull and Hon Hai Technology Group, better known as Foxconn, will manufacture artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure in Europe under a strategic partnership designed to strengthen the region’s computing supply chain and reduce dependence on external technology providers.The project will use Foxconn’s manufacturing base in Pardubice in the Czech Republic and Bull’s factory in Angers, France, to produce AI systems and related components for European AI factories, neo-cloud providers, enterprises, research institutions and cloud service providers. The initiative is expected

FIFA has confirmed the final squad lists for the 2026 World Cup, naming a record 1,248 players across 48 national teams for the expanded tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States.The lists mark the last major administrative step before the competition opens on 11 June, with the final scheduled for 19 July after 104 matches across the three host countries. Each participating association has submitted a 26-man squad, creating the largest pool of players ever assembled for a World

Washington and Tehran exchanged fresh military strikes across the Gulf, placing new pressure on a fragile ceasefire and raising the risk of wider disruption around one of the world’s most important energy corridors.US forces intercepted Iranian ballistic missiles and drones aimed at neighbouring Middle East countries and then struck a military ground control station on Iran’s Qeshm Island, near the Strait of Hormuz. The operation followed what the US military described as attempted attacks by Iran across the region on

Spiro has raised $215 million in equity financing to expand its electric motorcycles, battery-swapping network and energy infrastructure across Africa, marking one of the largest funding rounds for the continent’s clean mobility sector.The Nairobi-based electric mobility platform said the investment was backed by institutional investors from Europe and Africa, including Impact Fund Denmark and Equitane, alongside continuing support from long-standing partners such as FEDA. The company did not disclose the valuation attached to the round.The funding gives Spiro fresh capital

Typhoon Jangmi lashed the Tokyo metropolitan area on Wednesday, bringing heavy rain, swollen rivers, power cuts and widespread disruption to air and rail services after striking central Japan and moving towards the country’s most densely populated region.The storm, classified as a severe tropical storm as it crossed parts of Japan, pushed flood risks higher across central and eastern prefectures, with authorities warning residents in vulnerable areas to move early to safer ground. River levels rose sharply in parts of Tokyo,

Gold has overtaken US Treasuries as the world’s largest reserve asset by market value, marking a significant change in the composition of official reserves and underlining how central banks are adjusting to geopolitical risk, high debt levels and uncertainty over the dollar-based financial system.The European Central Bank’s latest review of the international monetary system shows gold accounted for 27 per cent of total official foreign reserves at the end of 2025, ahead of US Treasuries at 22 per cent and

Swiss watch exports fell sharply in April as shipments to the United States slumped from a distorted high base created last year, when brands and distributors rushed inventory across the Atlantic before higher US tariffs took effect.Exports dropped 16.6 per cent year on year to CHF2.13 billion, with the United States accounting for the largest drag on the industry’s monthly performance. Shipments to the US, still the sector’s biggest market, fell 56.4 per cent to CHF372.3 million, reversing the exceptional