BUSINESS

Hollywood celebrities are paying the price for taking sides in the Gaza war -- plastering their social media accounts with slogans such as "Free Palestine" or "I stand with Israel".

Israel pressed on with its offensive in and around Gaza's main cities on Friday, more than two months after Hamas's deadly attack sparked a war that has claimed thousands of lives and left the Palestinian territory in ruins.

Egypt is gearing up this month for a presidential election certain to win incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi a third term in office, despite rising public discontent as the country faces its worst ever economic crisis.

UK leader Rishi Sunak insisted Thursday that his latest immigration plan would work, as the issue threatened to tear apart his ruling Conservatives, putting his premiership in jeopardy.

The United States announced joint military flight drills in Guyana on Thursday as soaring tensions over a contested oil-rich region with neighbor Venezuela prompted the UN Security Council to call an urgent meeting.

Hundreds of staff at the Washington Post, one of America's most storied newspapers, walked off the job Thursday in a 24-hour strike, their union said, after 18 months of contract negotiations failed to secure a deal.

The leaders of Saudi Arabia and Russia used a rare face-to-face meeting to urge oil producers to stick to pledged supply cuts, a joint statement said Thursday.

The European Union failed to clinch a deal Thursday on a sweeping law on artificial intelligence after nearly 24 hours of negotiations, but vowed to continue talks the next day.

A much-anticipated US approval of wider bitcoin trading has helped the world's biggest cryptocurrency reach 20-month heights, risking however pain for new investors unaccustomed to its volatility.

In the current market, founders who can't build a scalable business with local investors can get attention from U.S.-based VCs by making meaningful connections, showcasing their product-market fit and understanding key differences in the growth mentality in and outside of the U.S.

Chinese exports rose in November for the first time in seven months, officials said Thursday, as the country navigates a troubled recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Asian stocks sank Thursday, extending a rollercoaster week across world markets as investors jockey for position ahead of key US jobs data, while oil struggled to bounce back after hitting a five-month low.

Sat in a soggy field and strapped into a virtual reality headset, Ukrainian soldier Igor was piloting a military drone test flight using a small control panel in his hands.

The US state of New Mexico filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing Facebook and Instagram of being a "breeding ground" for predators who target children.

McDonald's announced an aggressive expansion roadmap Wednesday to reach 50,000 restaurants worldwide by 2027, in the fastest growth plan in brand history.

Large US banks railed against new proposed capital requirements at a congressional hearing Wednesday, joining Senate Republicans in casting the measures as crimping loans to everyday Americans.

Canada's central bank on Wednesday held its key lending rate at five percent, citing the global economic slowdown and easing inflation.

The US trade deficit continued to grow in October due to a fall in exports, according to government data published Wednesday.

Google on Wednesday infused its Bard chatbot with a new-generation artificial intelligence model called Gemini, which it touts as being able to reason better than ChatGPT and other rivals.

Hiring in the US private sector eased in November, as the post-pandemic boom in restaurant and hotel employment moderated, payroll firm ADP said Wednesday.

US-based streaming platform Twitch said Wednesday it would stop its service in South Korea in February because of "seriously high" network costs, dealing a blow to millions of users in one of the heartlands of e-sports.

Britain on Wednesday announced a fresh round of sanctions against Russia's "war machine" in Ukraine, as David Cameron headed to Washington for his first visit as foreign secretary.

Israeli forces battled Hamas militants in Gaza's main southern city on Wednesday in some of the most intense combat of the two-month-old war sparked by the October 7 attacks.

Asian stocks rose Wednesday after a tepid start to the week as data pointing to a softening US labour market restoked hopes the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in the new year.

Hundreds of staff at The Washington Post, one of America's most storied newspapers, will walk off the job for 24 hours Thursday, their union announced, slamming the company for refusing to negotiate a contract "in good faith."

The United States said Tuesday it would refuse visas for extremist Israeli settlers behind a wave of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, as it also asked Israel to do more to spare civilians in Gaza.

Released under a prisoner-hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas, former Palestinian detainees have described beatings, deprivation and a radical deterioration in conditions in Israeli jails following Hamas's bloody October 7 attacks.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen warned Tuesday, ahead of an annual EU-China summit, that Europe won't tolerate its soaring trade imbalance with China forever.

Thousands of Italians paid their last respects Tuesday to a university student killed by her ex-boyfriend, a case that has triggered nationwide grief and rage at violence against women.