AI worries expose dollar’s hot-money problem
INVESTORS have long treated the US dollar as a refuge when markets fall, but foreign money chasing returns from the AI boom could weaken that safe-haven role if the trade unwinds. Foreign capital has poured in to US mega-cap equities, hyperscaler corporate bonds and power-grid infrastructure. That has made the dollar an increasingly crowded bet […]
World to add less clean energy capacity this year, renewables agency chief says
SINGAPORE — The world will add less clean energy capacity in 2026 for the first time in five years due to inadequate transmission networks and trade barriers, the chief of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said. Growth in solar and wind capacity has been accelerating every year since 2021, when the coronavirus pandemic disrupted […]
Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted Houthi missiles, drones attacking kingdom
CAIRO — The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said on Tuesday it intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles and drones launched by the Houthis towards two regions of Saudi Arabia, as the conflict between the kingdom and the Iran-aligned group intensifies. The Houthis launched three ballistic missiles towards Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Region, and four drones towards the […]
Israel markets see upside in Netanyahu defeat after three-year rally
JERUSALEM/LONDON — Israel’s markets have soared despite three years of war and political turmoil, but some investors see further upside if the opposition defeats Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tuesday’s election, potentially easing regional tensions and political risk. Opinion polls point to a tight contest, with neither Mr. Netanyahu’s ruling Likud bloc nor an opposition […]
Lula, Brazil’s iconic working class president, wins historic fourth term in dramatic comeback
SAO PAULO — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won an unprecedented fourth term on Sunday, the country’s electoral court said, in a shock result that defied polls, precedent and global anti-incumbent sentiment to put the brakes on a wave of right-wing election victories across Latin America. Lula, an icon of the global left […]
Disenchanted Netanyahu supporters are prize of Israel election campaign
DIMONA — In the remote Negev Desert town of Dimona, long a bastion of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, disenchanted voters are going door-to-door campaigning for his top rival, hoping to bring down the veteran prime minister in Israel’s election on Tuesday. The ballot is Israel’s first since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack that shook […]
North Korean internet was hit by DDoS cyberattack, network monitoring firm says
SEOUL — A cyberattack likely caused intermittent internet outages in North Korea that took down several of the reclusive country’s state-managed websites this week, analysis by US network monitoring company Kentik found. North Korea’s internet experienced multiple waves of traffic from places such as Vietnam and the Philippines, at the same time as several North […]
El Niño rains batter Latin America from Mexico to Chile
CIUDAD DEL ESTE, Paraguay — An intensifying El Niño-linked storm season this week brought flooding to Paraguay, killed two farm workers in Argentina’s cattle belt and damaged coastal communities in Peru and Mexico. Part of a luxury condominium complex on Mexico’s Pacific coast in the tourist town of San Pancho in Nayarit State collapsed on […]
China bets on manufactured water and wants to sell it to the world
HONG KONG — China is emerging as a major supplier of water technology to parched countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa, as shrinking natural supplies at home push Beijing to invest heavily in manufactured freshwater, industry experts say. Chinese firms are selling desalination membranes, filtration equipment and engineering services to Egypt, Saudi Arabia […]
Typhoon Champi nears Taiwan, causing flight cancellations and disrupting US-Japan drills
TAIPEI/TOKYO — Taiwan issued a land warning on Thursday as powerful Typhoon Champi approached, prompting more than 200 flight cancellations in the region and forcing changes to a major US-Japan military exercise. At one point a super typhoon and one of the strongest storms in the Pacific this year, Champi weakened slightly on Thursday but […]
