French Constitutional Council ruling deals blow to Le Pen
PARIS -France’s Constitutional Council ruled on Friday that local politicians can be barred from office immediately if convicted of a crime, leaving the door open for far-right leader Marine Le Pen to potentially be barred from the 2027 presidential race….
Ubisoft shares drop, erase early gains on talk hedge funds shorting stock
Ubisoft shares reversed gains in afternoon trade on Friday after rising as much as 12% earlier on plans to set up a subsidiary to house three of its popular video game franchises. The stock was down around 1% at 1451…
Chile’s Codelco sending more copper to US after tariff threat
SANTIAGOÂ -Chile’s Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, has been redirecting some of its spot sales to the United States, CEO Ruben Alvarado said on Friday. U.S. President Donald Trump in February ordered a probe into potential new tariffs on…
Skadden Arps in talks with Trump team to avoid executive order, New York Times reports
WASHINGTON – Law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has had discussions with advisers to U.S. President Donald Trump about a deal to avoid an executive order like those imposed on some of its competitors, the New York Times…
Factbox-How Canada is retaliating against US tariffs
OTTAWA -Canada plans additional retaliation for U.S. President Donald Trump’s auto tariffs and reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners scheduled for early April. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday he had not yet determined what actions Canada might…
Carmakers weigh risk of price hikes as Trump tariffs loom, sources say
BERLIN – European carmakers are trying to work out how much their prices might have to rise in response to looming U.S. import tariffs, industry sources said, fearing any first-movers could risk a backlash from U.S. President Donald Trump. The…
Israel flouting international law with forced evacuations in Gaza, UN says
GENEVA -The U.N. Human Rights Office accused Israel on Friday of violating international law by forcibly displacing Palestinians in Gaza under “mandatory evacuation orders”. The Israeli army has issued what the U.N. described as 10 mandatory evacuation orders, covering large…
US drillers cut oil and gas rigs for first time in three weeks, Baker Hughes says
U.S. energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for the first time in three weeks, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday. The oil and gas rig…
Kushner’s Affinity’s assets jump to $4.8 billion after Gulf cash injection
LONDON -Jared Kushner’s investment company Affinity Partners saw assets under management jump 60% last year to $4.8 billion, according to a regulatory filing, after it received a cash injection from Middle East investors including Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund. Kushner, son-in-law…
Appeals court won’t block US military’s transgender ban, for now
A federal appeals court has paused a lower court order blocking President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military, but has signaled that it may quickly reconsider that decision if the military takes action against transgender members….
German finance minister warns of tariff hit to U.S. and German economies
BERLIN – Germany’s Finance Minister Joerg Kukies warned on Friday that U.S. tariffs would hit both the German and the U.S. economies and that Berlin was working to prevent an escalating trade war. Kukies made the statement to Reuters after…
CoreWeave’s retail appeal may be tempered by IPO timing, financial pressures
Concerns sparked by CoreWeave’s debt pile and other financial challenges may weigh on retail investor enthusiasm as it prepares to go public after what analysts said was a poorly timed IPO. The Nvidia-backed AI infrastructure company, which focuses on data…
The science behind the powerful earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand
SINGAPORE -A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.7 centred in the Sagaing region near the Myanmar city of Mandalay caused extensive damage in that country and also shook neighbouring Thailand on Friday. HOW VULNERABLE IS MYANMAR TO EARTHQUAKES? Myanmar lies on…
U.S. logistics firm settles claims it helped Chinese companies ship fentanyl chemicals
U.S. shipping and logistics company IMC Pro International has agreed to pay $400,000 to the U.S. government to settle allegations that it helped Chinese chemical companies ship fentanyl-making chemicals to the United States, according to U.S. authorities. The deal was…
South Sudan government says arrested Vice President Machar will be investigated
NAIROBI -South Sudan’s First Vice President Riek Machar is under arrest and will be investigated, the country’s information minister said on Friday, raising the risk that the rift between Machar and President Salva Kiir could plunge the nation back into…
Chemical weapons inspectors granted access to Assad-era sites in Syria, say sources
AMSTERDAM – Chemical weapons inspectors have been taken by Syria’s caretaker authorities to previously unseen production and storage locations dating from the rule of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled three months ago, sources said on Friday. A team from the…
Myanmar shadow government says 12 killed in quake, urgent international help needed
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar has killed at least 12 people and urgent international assistance is needed, the war-torn country’s shadow foreign minister told Reuters on Friday. Zin Mar Aung, the top diplomat of the parallel National Unity Government,…
World Court to hear Sudan genocide case against United Arab Emirates
THE HAGUE – The World Court said on Friday it would hear a case brought by Sudan demanding emergency measures against the United Arab Emirates and accusing the Gulf state of violating obligations under the Genocide Convention by arming paramilitary…
UN’s WFP says 58 million face hunger crisis after huge shortfall in aid
ROME – The U.N. World Food Programme warned on Friday that 58 million people were at risk of extreme hunger or starvation unless urgent funding for food aid is secured, after drastic shortfalls from donors so far this year, including…
Tin prices jump after earthquake hits Myanmar
LONDON – Tin prices hit two-week highs in London on Friday as speculators bet that an earthquake that rocked major producer Myanmar could delay a restart of production in its main mining region. Benchmark tin on the London Metal Exchange…
China’s Xi urges global CEOs to protect trade as Trump tariffs loom
BEIJING -China’s President Xi Jinping urged a gathering of multinational CEOs on Friday to protect global industry and supply chains, as Beijing seeks to assuage foreign firms’ concerns over the Chinese economy’s health amid threats of more U.S. tariffs. Beijing…
Ukrainian gas firm reports damage from Russian strike amid energy ceasefire
KYIV -A Russian drone attack has damaged warehouses owned by Ukraine’s state gas producer in the central region of Poltava during a truce on energy strikes, officials said on Friday, while the company said its gas production facilities had been…
China will resolutely respond to US reciprocal tariffs, state media says
BEIJING -China will take resolute countermeasures if the United States harm the country’s interests with its upcoming reciprocal tariffs, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said on Friday. If the U.S. wants to discuss cooperation with…
Iran speaker says US bases will be struck if Trump attacks Iran
Tehran would strike U.S. bases in the region if Washington follows through on its warning of military consequences for Iran in the absence of a new nuclear deal, the speaker of the Iranian parliament said on Friday. U.S. President Donald…
Canada’s GDP for January expands by 0.4% as tariff impact looms
OTTAWA -Canada’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 0.4% on a monthly basis in January as economic activity continued the momentum of the last few of months, data showed on Friday. Economists said part of the growth was helped by an…
Rio Tinto in talks with Congo to develop lithium deposit, Bloomberg News reports
Rio Tinto has held talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo about developing one of the world’s biggest hard rock lithium deposits, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The discussions, which are in the preliminary…
U.S. equity funds see biggest weekly inflows since November
U.S. equity funds witnessed robust demand in the week through March 26 as signals of a more measured tariff approach from the Trump administration helped shift investor focus back to prospects of growth in corporate earnings. Investors acquired U.S. equity…
Ukraine working to ensure minerals deal with US reflects its interests, official says
Ukraine is working to ensure that a minerals deal with the U.S. reflects all its interests and is in a spirit of strategic partnership, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Friday. “Given the importance of the agreement, it…
US says it expects Lebanese government to disarm militant groups
WASHINGTON – The U.S. State Department said on Friday Israel was defending itself from rocket attacks that came from Lebanon and that it was incumbent upon the Lebanese government to disarm militant groups such as Hezbollah. The comment from a…
CK Hutchison will not sign deal to sell strategic Panama ports next week, sources say
Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison will not sign a deal next week to sell its two port operations near the Panama Canal to a BlackRock-led group, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said, as pressure mounted from Beijing. China’s…