BUSINESS

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) hit Epic Games with two separate fines totaling the equivalent of $1.2 million, after finding that underage gamers "could experience pressure in several ways to make purchases."

The US giant aims to complete the all-cash acquisition of Foodpanda Taiwan by the first half of 2025, it said in a statement.

The firm -- also known by its official name Hon Hai Precision Industry -- is the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer and assembles devices for several companies, most notably Apple's iPhones.

After rejecting an improved takeover offer worth GBP34 billion ($43 billion) from BHP, which had hoped to create a copper titan, Anglo said it was accelerating plans to simplify the group and reward shareholders in a "radical" revamp.

The entertainment and electronics behemoth has been in the spotlight after reports said it was working with Apollo Global Management on a potential joint bid for US film and television giant Paramount Global.

Hong Kong's leader on Tuesday defended its foreign trade offices and said he had little recollection of a man accused by Britain of spying for the Chinese city, after a photograph emerged seeming to show the two together.

People in New Caledonia's main city Noumea assessed the damage Tuesday after a night of rioting in the French Pacific territory that saw vehicles and shops torched, and shots fired at security forces.

Inside his Abu Dhabi gastro pub, Chad McGehee inspects shiny steel tanks fermenting a special brew: the first beer made in the conservative Arab Gulf, where alcohol has long been taboo.

The new model GPT-4o -- the "O" stands for omni -- will be rolled out in OpenAI's products over the next few weeks, the company said, with paid customers having unlimited access to the tool.

The US central bank should keep interest rates at their current "restrictive" levels until it sees real progress in the fight to lower inflation, a senior Fed official said Monday.

One of Germany's most controversial politicians from the far-right AfD party on Tuesday faces a court verdict on whether he deliberately used a Nazi slogan at a rally.

Since the first version of Minecraft was released to the public 15 years ago, the block-based world-building game has become a global phenomenon.

Asian investors shifted cautiously Tuesday ahead of the release of key US inflation data that could have a huge bearing on the fate of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year.

When Philippine environmental activist and radio host Gerry Ortega was shot dead on the tropical island of Palawan, his family and friends believed there was enough damning evidence to convict the alleged mastermind.

Shares in GameStop, the company at the center of the "meme stock" craze that throttled Wall Street in early 2021, soared Monday in a move that recalled the earlier speculative frenzy.

Philanthropist Melinda French Gates announced Monday she was leaving the nonprofit foundation she established with her ex-husband Bill Gates -- an organization that has become one of the most influential in the world.

OpenAI on Monday released a higher performing and more efficient version of the artificial intelligence technology that underpins its popular generative tool ChatGPT, making it free to all users.

The escape of an Iranian director and rumours over fresh MeToo allegations were setting the scene Monday for a dramatic Cannes Film Festival, already packed with Hollywood icons and attention-grabbing films.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) suffered a stinging defeat Monday as a court threw out its bid to stop Germany's intelligence services from investigating it as a suspected right-wing extremist organisation.

Australian mining giant BHP revealed Monday that British rival Anglo American has rejected an "improved" takeover bid worth GBP34 billion ($43 billion) as it aims to create a copper titan.

Two Chinese-owned solar panel manufacturers have withdrawn from a public procurement tender in Romania after the EU launched an anti-subsidy probe, Brussels said Monday.

President Vladimir Putin's nomination of top economic official Andrei Belousov as defence minister is a sign of the importance the Russian leader places on the war economy in gaining the upper hand in what he expects will be a long conflict against Ukraine, analysts say.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to intervene in Chevron Corp's proposed $53 billion acquisition of Hess Corp, citing concerns over potential gas price increases.

Brussels also said it would investigate whether social media platform X, owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk, can be exempted from the rules.

The announcement came as Macron kicked off a day of meetings with foreign business leaders at the Chateau de Versailles, called "Choose France".

Last week's rally followed the previous two weeks' rally and was driven by better earnings from semiconductor giant Taiwan Semiconductor and steady bond yields.

Anyone expecting immediate results from Saudi Arabia's unprecedented splurge on football stars was probably disappointed as the billion-dollar spending created a lopsided season with no international silverware so far.

Since winning office last year, President Mohamed Muizzu has reoriented the atoll nation -- known for its upmarket beach resorts and celebrity vacationers -- away from traditional benefactor India and towards Beijing.

The central government will begin issuing some 30-year bonds on Friday as part of a planned sale of more than $138 billion of debt, according to a notice posted to the ministry's website.