Global events and international developments affecting markets.
Reporting on international affairs, geopolitical developments, and global economic trends. This category connects world events to their potential impact on financial markets, trade flows, and investor risk perception.
4,273 total articles
Bashar al-Assad's 24-year presidency came to an abrupt close in December 2024 when rebel forces mounted a rapid advance toward Damascus while his external backers were engaged elsewhere. He departed for Moscow, terminating more than fifty years of rule by his family. A subsequent court in Damascus has sentenced him to death in his absence for crime…
Moscow issued a humanitarian pardon for Robert Gilman, a 32-year-old former U.S. Marine who had been detained in Voronezh since January 2022. U.S. officials reported Gilman was aboard a State Department aircraft en route to Washington, accompanied by medical personnel and his mother, and will be moved to a rehabilitation facility in San Antonio, Te…
A court in Damascus sentenced former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to death in a trial conducted in absentia, finding him guilty of killings, torture, arbitrary arrests and crimes against humanity. The ruling, the first conviction of Assad, also handed a death sentence to former security official Atef Najib. Assad was ousted in December 2024 and…
The Democratic Republic of Congo has reported 2,011 confirmed deaths and 4,381 confirmed Ebola cases across five provinces in the country’s current outbreak. Health officials say delayed detection, ongoing conflict and strained services have helped the virus spread faster than in past outbreaks. The outbreak - caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for w…
Spain is preparing for a rare total solar eclipse on August 12 that is expected to draw millions of visitors into rural areas at a time of elevated wildfire danger and extreme heat. Regional governments have opened 660 sanctioned viewing locations and designated parking and camping zones, while more than 35,000 security personnel will be deployed t…
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Uganda's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating at 'B' with a Stable Outlook. The agency pointed to low GDP per capita, weak governance, large fiscal and current account deficits, rising public debt and a heavy interest burden as constraints, while highlighting macroeconomic stability and the prospect of oil production as suppor…
Shakib Al Hasan, the 39-year-old Bangladeshi cricket star and former lawmaker aligned with ousted leader Sheikh Hasina, says he is willing to return from exile to face criminal charges and to stage a farewell series if authorities guarantee his protection. Living in the United States since Hasina was removed from power in August 2024, Shakib spoke …
Negotiations supported by the United States between Venezuela’s interim government and a segment of the opposition commenced on Thursday afternoon in Caracas after nearly a week of postponements. The sessions aim to reshape the country’s political institutions in advance of eventual elections. Government negotiator Jorge Rodriguez and opposition co…
A report citing an internal memo indicates the U.S. State Department will extend a policy requiring visa applicants to expose social media accounts for screening to include foreign journalists. The reported expansion would also cover an additional visa category for workers from Canada and Mexico. The State Department declined to confirm specifics, …
Advocacy groups and a sister of a former U.S. Marine imprisoned in Russia since 2022 say he entered a dissociative stupor in June, is being tube-fed and may be close to death. U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have pressed Russian authorities to release Robert Gilman so he can receive urgent medical care in the United States…
Puerto Rico will implement a rotating water rationing program beginning Friday that will leave tens of thousands of residents without service for 48-hour stretches. The measure, announced by territorial authorities and posted by the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, will run at least through the end of August as officials contend with critically low re…
Ukraine's military intelligence says a North Korean missile unit of roughly 90 personnel has started deploying in western Russia, potentially bringing up to 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers to the Voronezh region under Russia's 112th Missile Brigade. The move would extend an already deep military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang tha…
With the U.S. campaign against Iran now lasting six months, the administration confronts a narrowing set of options: accept a temporary Iran-Oman arrangement that would give Tehran oversight in the Strait of Hormuz, risk a major military escalation that could prolong the crisis, or sustain a costly status quo of blockades and intermittent retaliati…
Uganda's parliament has voted to allow the deployment of its military to the Gaza Strip if called upon to join an International Stabilization Force envisaged in a U.S. ceasefire plan. Defence Minister Kiryowa Kiwanuka told lawmakers that President Yoweri Museveni received a July request via emissaries from U.S. President Donald Trump for Kampala's …
Israeli prosecutors have brought charges against a Jewish settler, Yinon Levi, in connection with the shooting death of Palestinian community leader Owdeh Hathaleen during a July 2025 confrontation in the West Bank village of Umm al-Khair. The indictment, filed by the State Attorney's office on Thursday, marks the first criminal charge of a settler…
The United States has formally requested the extradition of Apollo Quiboloy, a prominent Philippine pastor and founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, who faces U.S. charges alleging a sex-trafficking scheme and sexual abuse of followers. Philippine officials confirm the request has been transmitted to their justice department; domestic legal proce…
Italy's Health Ministry on Thursday placed all major cities under the highest health alert level as an intense heatwave continues to affect the country. Red alerts were declared from Palermo in the south to Bolzano in the north, signaling a potential public health emergency tied to prolonged high temperatures. Measures to help vulnerable residents …
Ghana's headline inflation declined to 4.6% in July from 5.3% in June, driven in part by slower food and non-alcoholic beverage price gains and contained import costs. Officials highlighted exchange-rate stability as a factor restraining imported inflation, while the Bank of Ghana kept its policy rate unchanged as it monitors the potential inflatio…
S&P Global Ratings has upheld Australia’s AAA long-term and A-1+ short-term sovereign ratings and kept a stable outlook, pointing to what it sees as modest general government deficits and stabilizing net debt over the coming years. The agency projects a general government deficit near 1.6% of GDP for the next two years, expects net debt to settle a…
FIFA’s recent efforts to close ranks around President Gianni Infantino after a contentious proposal to sell part of the World Cup’s commercial future have calmed public acrimony but are unlikely to end scrutiny of the organisation’s governance. FIFA apologised to its 211 member associations for the way the plan was handled, pledged a process review…
Five months into the U.S.-Iran war, a national poll finds far more Americans expect the conflict to produce regional instability than foresee increased stability. Respondents also anticipate higher gasoline prices, express anxiety about other global flashpoints and show growing political unease that could affect control of Congress.
A fresh surge of aerial attacks in Zaporizhzhia has deepened insecurity for residents and local businesses, as small explosive-laden FPV drones and larger glide bombs strike neighborhoods, vehicles and public transport. Officials say the pattern of strikes - occurring repeatedly and at predictable times of day - is intended to sow panic as Russian …
The head of Armenia's Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II, and six senior clerics are due to stand trial on Friday on charges related to non-compliance with a court order to temporarily reinstate a defrocked bishop. The proceedings represent the most consequential legal challenge to the leadership of the Apostolic Church - an institution with d…
Ukrainian and allied intelligence assessments indicate North Korea has moved personnel, including a missile unit, and furnished vast quantities of munitions to support Russia’s campaign in Ukraine. Estimates of troop levels in Russia have fluctuated, weapons shipments appear substantial, and Pyongyang presents its involvement as part of a strategic…
FIFA issued an apology to its 211 member associations for errors in the handling of a proposed sale of commercial rights tied to the World Cup, and the organisation's senior management publicly reconfirmed support for President Gianni Infantino after a crisis meeting in Rabat, Morocco. The plan - to sell a 20% stake in a new commercial-rights vehic…
