Taiwan’s presidential office held a “tabletop” exercise on Thursday simulating military escalations by China, a first-of-its-kind drill involving government agencies beyond the armed forces that highlights Taipei’s urgency in ensuring preparedness against an increasingly assertive Beijing. The simulation involved central and local government units and civil groups, and was aimed…
With the end of 2024 quickly approaching, active investors may be looking to position ahead of 2025. In January, market watchers are often keen to talk about the January effect, which is the idea that stock markets often rally in the first month of the year. However, it has become…
If the Covid era marked a boom time for digital health companies, 2024 was the reckoning. In a year that saw the Nasdaq jump 32%, surpassing 20,000 for the first time this month, health tech providers largely suffered. Of 39 public digital health companies analyzed by CNBC, roughly two-thirds are…
A Starbucks barista strike is expanding to 5,000 workers at what organizers said was more than 300 stores in 45 states, just as the company’s busy holiday stretch begins. Though it still represents only about 3% of all U.S. Starbucks locations, it’s an expansion of an action that began last…
Perched high atop Corcovado Mountain, Christ the Redeemer is more than a religious symbol or tourist attraction — it’s an enduring icon of Brazilian identity. The Cristo Redentor, as Brazilians call it, is a postcard not only for the city of Rio de Janeiro but for the entire country. The…
A newborn baby froze to death in a tent encampment in Al-Mawasi, in southern Gaza, on Wednesday, highlighting the stark challenges to survival faced by Palestinian children displaced from their homes amid Israel’s ongoing assault on the strip. Sela Mahmoud Al-Fasih “froze to death from the extreme cold” in Al-Mawasi,…
Saudi Arabia executed 330 people this year, the highest number in decades, despite de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman’s 2022 assertion that the death penalty had been eliminated except for murder cases under his vision for a new open kingdom. The country is spending billions to transform its reputation for…
King Charles III has used his Christmas message to hail the efforts of healthcare workers and all those who support others, praising the medical staff who provided “strength, care and comfort” during his and the Princess of Wales’ cancer treatments. In his third Christmas address, the 76-year-old British sovereign spoke…
Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on Wednesday authorities in his country were investigating an undersea power cable outage on a line connecting Finland and Estonia. An unplanned break in service on the Estlink 2 interconnector occurred at 1026 GMT, operator Fingrid said in a statement on the Nordpool regulatory…
Families and relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza lit the first candle of Hanukkah on Wednesday, marking the start of the second such holiday without their loved ones, according to a statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters. Thousands of people attended a silent protest led by…