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☆ Death toll from Moscow concert hall attack rises to 115. The FSB confirmed 11 suspects have been arrested.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewThe death toll from the attack on Moscow's Crocus City Hall Friday night has risen to 115 as Russia's Federal Security Bureau confirmed eleven suspects had been arrested in connection with the attack. Emergency services vehicles are seen outside the burning Crocus City Hall concert hall following the shooting incident in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow on March 22, 2024. ArrestsRussia's FSB confirmed that 11 people had been arrested in connection with the attack on the concert hall. AdvertisementA woman lays flowers at a makeshift memorial in front of Moscow's Crocus City Hall a day after terrorist attack. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned the terrorist attack "in the strongest possible terms," his spokesman said.

Persons: —, STRINGER, Andrey Vorobyov, OLGA MALTSEVA, Vladimir Putin, Dmitrii Peskov, Mykhailo Podolyak, Amaq, Daniel Byman, Hamid Karzai, Byman, Putin, Antonio Guterres Organizations: Service, Moscow's, Federal Security, Russia's, Business, Islamic, Kremlin, TASS, Associated Press, Getty, Health, Moscow Crocus City, Getty Images, Russian Federation, Novosti, State, Hall, Kyiv, ISIS, CNN, The New York Times, AP, Russian, CSIS, Central, UN, Council Locations: Moscow's Crocus, Islamic State, Russian, Crocus, Krasnogorsk, Moscow, AFP, Ukraine, Khorasan Province, Afghanistan, Kabul, Russia

Isis has claimed responsibility for the attack. Two sources familiar with the American information said that since November there had been a steady stream of intelligence that ISIS-K – an affiliate of ISIS that is active in Afghanistan and the surrounding region – was determined to attack Russia. Moscow has intervened tellingly in Syria’s civil war, to the support of President Bashar al-Assad and against ISIS. A US official said Friday that Washington had no reason to doubt ISIS’ claim that it was responsible for the latest attack. On Friday, following reports of the Crocus City Hall attack, the US embassy advised US citizens not to travel to Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Gunmen, Isis, Putin, Adrienne Watson, “, tellingly, Bashar al, Assad, ” Michael Kugelman, Washington Organizations: CNN, ISIS, Crocus, Hall, US National Security, RIA Novosti, Wilson Center, Reuters, Central Asian Locations: Moscow, Russia, United States, ”, Khorasan, Kaluga, Afghanistan, Washington, Crocus

☆ Falling fertility rates pose major challenges for the global economy, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Falling fertility rates are set to spark a transformational demographic shift over the next 25 years, with major implications for the global economy, according to a new study. That would leave 49 countries — primarily in low-income regions of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia — responsible for the majority of new births. "Future trends in fertility rates and livebirths will propagate shifts in global population dynamics, driving changes to international relations and a geopolitical environment, and highlighting new challenges in migration and global aid networks," the report's authors wrote in their conclusion. That shifting demographic landscape will have "profound" social, economic, environmental and geopolitical impacts, the report's authors said. "As the workforce declines, the total size of the economy will tend to decline even if output per worker stays the same.

Persons: Asia —, Dr, Christopher Murray Organizations: Institute for Health Metrics, CNBC Locations: Saharan Africa, Asia, Chad, Niger, Tonga, Samoa, Asia's Tajikistan

☆ How Putin and Xi both bent their nations to their will to become presidents for life
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

In the past decade, Putin and Xi have crushed what little remained of domestic opposition on their paths to absolute power. Advertisement"Both Putin and Xi's careers were forged as highly effective backroom operators forging relationships of dependency and patronage," he said. GREG BAKER via Getty ImagesDover said it would be a mistake to see Putin and Xi simply as dictators operating by arbitrary fiat. Both, he said, had built effective networks of loyalists capable of responding to crises and enacting their ambitious strategies to seize more global power. Xi and Putin bond over hatred of Western powerIt's on the global stage that the synergy between the leaders is of growing significance and growing alarm to Western leaders.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Putin, It's, Xi, Graeme Thompson, Robert Dover, Li, notionally, Korea's, GREG BAKER, Getty Images Dover, Xi's, Thompson Organizations: Service, Business, Reuters, Eurasia Group, Hollywood, Getty, University of Hull, Communist Party, US, National People's, of, People, Getty Images, Central, Putin, Beijing Locations: China, Russia, Soviet Union, Moscow, Hong Kong, Beijing, Dover, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Taiwan, Putin Russia, East Asia

☆ A Montana man trying to illegally create a 'giant sheep hybrid' went on a hunt for sheep parts and testicles, the authorities say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

These huge sheep, sold for up to $10,000 each, fetched higher prices in the game market. AdvertisementA Montana rancher, who pleaded guilty to two wildlife-related felonies, tried to illegally breed a "giant hybrid sheep" species for higher returns in the hunting market, the Justice Department said. Schubarth bred his offshoot species from a single male argali sheep he kept at his ranch and called the "Montana Mountain King," prosecutors said. The rancher brought the "Montana Mountain King" to his property in Montana despite knowing he was breaking state animal trafficking laws, per court documents. He then extracted semen from the "Montana Mountain King," using it to inseminate dozens of ewes of different species, prosecutors said.

Persons: Arthur Schubarth, —, Arthur, Jack, Schubarth, Marco, It's, argali, Prosecutors, Lacey, Ron Howell Organizations: Service, Justice Department, Central Asia, DOJ, Rocky, Business, Wildlife, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Locations: Montana, Central, Kyrgyzstan

☆ Montana rancher paid $4,200 to clone a dead sheep and launched a farm of super hybrids worth up to $550,000
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A Montana rancher was charged with illegally selling offspring from a cloned sheep across state lines. There's nothing illegal about selling sheep for exorbitant prices — unless those animals are Marco Polo argali sheep, or in Schubarth's case, hybrids of Marco Polo argali sheep. Marco Polo argali sheep are native to central Asia and are considered threatened under the US Endangered Species Act. Shortly thereafter, Schubarth allegedly got his hands on some of those sheep parts and, in 2015, paid a deposit of $4,200 to produce cloned sheep embryos from the dead argali's remains. AdvertisementIn May 2017, a pure argali sheep was born from one of those cloned embryos.

Persons: —, Arthur, Jack, Schubarth, Marco Polo, George Schaller, Joyce Tischler, Lacey, King, Matthew Polak, Dolly, it's, Alison Van Eenennaam, Davis, Van Eenennaam, Gregory Kaebnick, isn't, Rula Rouhana, Reuters It's, Kaebnick, didn't Organizations: Service, Department, Lewis & Clark Law School's Center for Animal Law, European Union, Getty, University of California, and Wildlife Service, The Hastings Center, Reproductive Biotechnology, Reuters Locations: Montana, Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Dubai

☆ I'm a millennial mom who's visited 57 countries with my kids thanks to many income streams, including $4,000 a month blogging and extra cash from flipping homes
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Karen Edwards has traveled to or lived in 57 countries with her husband and four children. AdvertisementThis as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Karen Edwards, who blogs about her family's life abroad. Karen Edwards' son and the camper van they lived in. My kids played with Peruvian children — it was really, really special. AdvertisementKaren Edwards' husband and children.

Persons: Karen Edwards, —, I've, Edwards, Karen Edwards I've, It's, We've, it's, Karen Edwards ⁠, they've, we'll Organizations: Service, Sri Locations: Sri Lanka, Dublin, London, Abu Dhabi, London Borough, Croydon, Southeast Asia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Canada, Argentina, US, Mexico, Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Belize, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombo, Peru, Bolivia, Europe, Central Asia

☆ Russia can't reach a pro-Russian region in Moldova easily — but there are ways it can cause trouble
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Mikhail Svetlov/Getty ImagesMoscow is continuing its saber-rattling over the pro-Russian region of Transnistria in Moldova, and analysts are saying that while Russian authorities would find it hard to physically reach the breakaway region to annex it, there are still ways it can stir up pro-Russian unrest — and trouble for Moldova. All U.N. members consider the region to be part of Moldova, which has expressed a desire to reintegrate the region. Similarly to Ukraine, Moldova has a pro-Western government and wants to join the European Union. Problematically for Russia, Moldova and Transnistria are landlocked, sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine. CNBC has asked the Kremlin to comment on concerns that Moscow could look to destabilize Moldova and is awaiting a response.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Svetlov, Russia, Problematically, it's, Ian Bremmer, doesn't, Maia Sandu, Putin, Sergei Lavrov, Abdoulaye Diop, Maxim Shipenkov, Lavrov, Bogdan Tudor Organizations: Getty, Moldovan, Kremlin, Russia's Defense Ministry, European Union, Eurasia Group, Gazprom, Western, CNBC, Foreign Affairs, Cooperation of, Reuters, Russian, West, RIA Novosti, Google, Russian Federation, Institute for, EU, Afp Locations: Kremlin, Moscow, Russian, Transnistria, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Moldovan, Romania, Cooperation of Mali, Reuters Russia, Central Asia, USSR, Sochi, Donetsk, Luhansk, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Georgia

☆ The best EV plays are now in China. Analysts are raising price targets on this stock
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

With Apple reportedly out of the electric car game and Tesla losing market share in some Chinese cities, the best EV stock plays are arguably now all based in China. Li Auto 's market share waned, and Morgan Stanley analysts are watching whether there will be a boost from new models. "Following our upgrade earlier this month, Li Auto delivered impressive earnings/guidance, further cementing its position as a top-tier China OEM," Deutsche Bank analysts said in a late February report. Li Auto management said they expect gross margin to fluctuate between 10% and 25%, but generally remain above 20%. But even with its premium pricing the company isn't immune from intense competition in China's electric car market.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Nio, BYD, Li Auto, Li, Li Auto's, Weibing Lu, Xi Jinping, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Apple, Friday, China, Deutsche Bank, Li Auto, Bank of America Securities, Huawei, Forseven, CYVN Holdings Locations: China, Hong Kong, Shanghai, U.S, Europe, Japan, East, Central Asia, Abu Dhabi, Norway

☆ Dubai wants to build the biggest airport in the world. Here’s how that’s going
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Miquel Ros | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

To put that in perspective, that’s nearly 63 million more travelers than the world’s current busiest airport, Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International, handled in 2022 and nearly 100 million more than Dubai International. philipus/Alamy Stock PhotoThe recent Dubai Air Show, held at a purpose-built venue at Al Maktoum International Airport in 2023, offered some intriguing hints about what’s ahead for DWC – and some insights into Dubai Airports’ long-term strategy. “We have prioritized expansion and investments at DXB to meet our customers’ requirements and plans,” Paul Griffiths, Dubai Airports CEO, tells CNN. Changing the business modelNew artist renderings haven't been released in a decade, but Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths says the team will soon be working on ambitious new designs. It will have capacity for 185 million passengers per year, or almost seven times the number it handled in 2022.

Persons: Al Maktoum, it‘ll, that’s, Hartsfield –, let’s, DWC, ’ Al Maktoum, DWC –, ” Paul Griffiths, ”, Griffiths, ” Griffiths, “, haven't, Paul Griffiths, “ We’re, Mohammed bin Rashid, Nadine Itani, Abu Dhabi’s, Foster Organizations: CNN, Al, Al Maktoum International Airport, Dubai World, Dubai Airports, Dubai International, Al Maktoum International, Hartsfield, Hartsfield – Jackson Atlanta International, Emirates Cargo, UAE, ‘, ’ Al Maktoum International, Dubai Air, Dubai, AFP, Traveller, Emirates, University of Surrey, Hamad International Airport, Kuwait International, Partners, Sharjah International Airport, Air, Riyadh Air Locations: Budapest, Al Maktoum, Dubai, Dubai’s, Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia, Emirates, England, India, Middle, Europe, Qatar, Muscat , Oman, Bahrain, Gulf, Kuwait, British, Sharjah, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Saudi

☆ Bikepacker Turned His Lifestyle Into a Business That Covers His Costs
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Shubhangi Goel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

They started running at me shouting — most of them had machetes,” Ridley told Business Insider in a video call. AdvertisementLiving on $6 a dayRidley, now 33, is a full-time “bikepacker” who has been traveling the world for eight years. His solo travels started with nights in hostels and traveling by buses and trains. Ridley’s YouTube channel, where he shares short smartphone videos of his rides, began growing around the pandemic. Darsy turned her hobby of documenting their travels into a professional YouTube channel that has become her source of income.

Persons: —, Tristan Ridley, “, ” Ridley, Ridley, bikepacker ”, ”, Tristan Ridley “, I'm, ” —, Tristan Ridley Ridley, Sophie Darsy, Ryan Ellison, Darsy, influencer Gaby Beckford, Valtteri Heinila, Heinila, “ I'm Organizations: Service, Business, YouTube Locations: Papua New Guinea, Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, Australia, Southeast Asia, China, Central Asia, Stockholm, Helsinki, Singapore

☆ The Endangered Languages of New York
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Alex Carp | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +19 min

Most people think of endangered languages as far-flung or exotic, the opposite of cosmopolitan. All told, there are more endangered languages in and around New York City than have ever existed anywhere else, says Perlin, who has spent 11 years trying to document them. She has published children’s books in Wakhi and other endangered languages of the Pamir mountains in Central Asia. By the start of the pandemic, the city had begun official outreach in nine Indigenous languages and recorded videos in several other endangered languages. We cross-referenced E.L.A.’s New York City language list with three independent databases that track the threat level of languages around the world: Ethnologue, which catalogs all known living languages in the world; UNESCO’s World Atlas of Languages, a survey of all the languages spoken in UNESCO member states; and the Endangered Languages Project, a site to which the public can contribute content, managed by the First Peoples’ Cultural Council and the Endangered Languages Catalogue (ELCat) project at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Persons: Bukhori, Zaza Bartangi, Alex Carp, Ross Perlin, Perlin, Zenaida Cantu, Ikhiil Mardakhayev, Ken Hale, Michael Krauss, Krauss, ” Eleanor Castillo Bullock, Eleanor Castillo Bullock, Gloria Angeles, Gloria Tadii, ’, Daniel Kaufman, Trung, Kaufman, ” Kaufman, Gola, Rasmina Gurung, Safiyatou, E.L.A, ”, “ Ahh, “, —, Ganja Perlin, Ibrahima Traore, Kamel Mrowa, Kante, Husniya Khujamyorova, Pamiri, ” Perlin, Seke, ” Gurung, ” Irwin Sanchez, ” Patricia Tarrant, Patricia Tarrant, Thelma Carrillo, Carrillo, Uttam Singha, Singha, Jean James, Jean, Gurung, doesn’t, Ibrahima Traore's, Coleman Donaldson Organizations: Lenape, Scottish, U.S, Arts Medicine Agriculture Education International, Rebeldía, Language Alliance, Perlin, Rockefeller Center, American Indian Community House, city’s Health Department, Manipuri, New York City, Endangered Language Alliance, of, UNESCO, First, Cultural, University of Hawaii Locations: Syrian, Pangasinan, Nauaran, Kurdish Moroccan, Zaza Bartangi Puerto, Taíno, New York City, New York, Nepal, Brooklyn, Bangladesh, India, Queens, Central Mexico, Mexico, Israel, Hope, Belize, Kukaa, Oaxaca, Manhattan, E.L.A, QUEENS, Pangasinan Kham, Woodside, Elmhurst, Jackson, Tshugsang, Kathmandu, Brooklyn , New York, America, Roosevelt, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Language, ”, Australian, — Culiacán, Mexico City , New York, Los Angeles, Ganja, Harlem, Bronx, Montclair , N.J, “, Bouaké, Lebanon, Midwood , Brooklyn, Wakhi, Central Asia, Pamir, Tibet, city’s, New, Latin America, United States, Jamaica Estates, Staten, Lummi, Manoa

☆ Comac C919: China’s homegrown passenger aircraft makes international debut
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

China calls the C919, which can carry just under 200 passengers, its first large homegrown passenger jet. It s certified to carry passengers only within mainland China and flies with China Eastern Airlines. The C919’s overseas debut comes at a time when Boeing is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. “There is a lot of interest to see the actual aircraft, how it performs and how it is in flight,” he said. “It will become a competitor in a small way, but it won’t be in the same league as Airbus and Boeing,” he said.

Persons: Cindy Koh, Shukor Yusof, ”, Edgar Su, Yusof, TransNusa Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Boeing, Airbus, Singapore Airshow, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, China Eastern Airlines, Singapore’s Economic, Board, Sunday, Max, Air, Endau, Singapore, Reuters, Center for Strategic, International Studies, American Locations: China, Hong Kong, Western, Air Alaska, United States, Washington, Hong, Victoria, Beijing, Southeast Asia, Africa, Central Asia, Indonesian

☆ 'Intellectually inferior' humans caused Neanderthals to go extinct, a new book claims
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A new book “The Naked Neanderthal” says humans were the main cause thanks to their superior weapons. Compared to early humans, Neanderthals were muscular with a prominent brow and less pronounced chin. Since humans were the final species to occupy the cave, Slimak argues it's because they'd replaced those Neanderthals by wiping them out. Humans' superior weaponsScientists have found relatively few weapons belonging to Neanderthals , Slimak wrote. Yet genes can't tell us much about the nature of these interactions or how closely or amicably humans and Neanderthals lived.

Persons: Ludovic Slimak, —, April Nowell, sapien, “, ”, Slimak, Bill O'Leary, sapiens, they'd, Chemnitz State Museum of Archaeology Hendrik Schmidt, Nowell, haven't, Nikola Solic, ” Nowell, Sapiens Organizations: Service, University of Victoria, Smithsonian Museum, Washington, Getty, Chemnitz State Museum of Archaeology, Reuters Locations: Europe, East, Central Asia, Southern Siberia, Southern France, Chemnitz, France, Spain, Krapina, Croatia

They found that 10 countries, including Kenya, Morocco, Niger, Yemen, and Pakistan, experienced the majority of locust outbreaks among 48 affected nations. The researchers also found a strong link between the magnitude of desert locust outbreaks and weather and land conditions like air temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, and wind. El Nino, a recurring and natural climate phenomenon that affects weather worldwide, was also strongly tied to bigger and worse desert locust outbreaks. “As such variability increases, it is logical to predict that locust outbreaks will increase as well,” said Tallamy. The desert experienced locust outbreaks in 2019 after uncontrolled breeding following cyclones, which filled the desert with freshwater lakes.

Persons: Elfatih Abdel, Rahman, Douglas Tallamy, ”, Paula Shrewsbury, al Khali, Xiaogang Organizations: Agriculture Organization, National University of Singapore, Food, International, of, Physiology, Nino, University of Delaware, University of Maryland, World Bank, Associated Press Locations: Africa, South Asia, Agriculture, Kenya, Morocco, Niger, Yemen, Pakistan, East Africa, Shrewsbury, India, Asia, Arabian, West Africa, AP.org

☆ BlackRock is overhauling the way it advises powerful investors, from sovereign wealth funds to central banks
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The shake-up targets the $10 trillion money manager's influential group that provides services to high-stakes institutional clients like sovereign wealth funds, insurers, and central banks. The group has ambitions to become "the most trusted advisor to financial institutions in our industry," he wrote. AdvertisementThe FSIG includes the firm's Financial Markets Advisory team and the Financial Institutions Group. It had also historically encompassed the Official Institutions Group, known as OIG, which will no longer be a stand-alone unit, a BlackRock spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday. She has been critical to driving relationships with institutions and "instrumental in making BlackRock the partner of choice for central banks globally," he wrote.

Persons: —, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Charles Hatami, BlackRock's, Hatami, Isabelle Mateos y, OIG, Mateos y, Crystal Wan, Olivier Van Eyseren, Anne Parthiot, Mark Erickson, Kimberly Kim, Erickson, Hiro Shimizu, Philipp Hildebrand, BlackRock's Brandon Hall, Brandon Hall, Ben Leax, Rob Goldstein, FMA, Larry Fink Organizations: Service, Business, BlackRock's Financial, Strategic Investors Group, Business Insider, Financial, Group, BlackRock, International Monetary Fund, FIG, EMEA, Presidential, Brandon Locations: Isabelle Mateos y Lago, Hatami, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, Pacific, Ukraine, Central Asia, US

☆ Former Drug Smugglers Share How Drug Trafficking Actually Works
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Dylan Brzezinski | Ju Shardlow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Pieter Tritton, a former cocaine smuggler, speaks with Business Insider about trafficking cocaine from Ecuador to Europe through a cartel connection. Tritton was arrested in Ecuador and sentenced to 12 years in one of the world's most violent and corrupt prisons. David McMillan is a British Australian former drug smuggler. Shaun Attwood is a former drug smuggler who ran a successful ring trafficking MDMA pills in the US in the '90s. He speaks with BI about his experience with drug-dealing gangs and how the drug market works.

Persons: Pieter Tritton, Tritton, David McMillan, Adi Jaffe, Jaffe, Shaun Attwood, Attwood, Neil Woods, Woods, incapablestaircase.com Adi Jaffe, Neil Organizations: University of California Locations: Ecuador, Europe, British Australian, Southeast, Central Asia, Los Angeles, American

The highway is the most politically charged slice of a politically turbulent country. It winds 180 miles from Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, through the fertile plains of Punjab Province to Lahore, the nation’s cultural and political heart. For centuries, it was known only as a sliver of the Grand Trunk Road, Asia’s longest and oldest thoroughfare, linking traders in Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. As Pakistan heads into national elections on Thursday, the road is buzzing. Politics dominates the chatter between its vendors and rickshaw drivers, their conversations seeped in a culture of conspiracy, cults of political personality and the problems of entrenched military control.

Locations: Pakistan’s, Islamabad, Punjab Province, Lahore, Central Asia, Pakistan

☆ White House, Capitol Hill divide on use of military in Red Sea is getting dangerous for the economy
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

U.S. import and export data shows that the majority of the country's trade is on foreign-flagged vessels. The Congressional calls to consider prioritizing U.S.-flagged vessels come at a time when the Iranian-backed Houthis continue to attack shipping in the Red Sea. Other nations, including U.S. ally France, have already declared their priority is to escort French-linked vessels after facing nationalistic pressure. "It could also be argued that directing military action to defend U.S. commercial shipping is within this power. However, most vessels transiting through the Red Sea are not U.S. ships, which raises questions about the extent to which these authorities can be exercised," they wrote.

Persons: Gerald R, Dwight D, Eisenhower, Mohammed Al, —, Biden's, Charles, Bud, Darr, Salud Carbajal, Hapag Lloyd, Carbajal's, Tim Kaine, Todd Young, Chris Murphy, Mike Lee Organizations: United States, Ford, Anadolu, Getty, Capitol, U.S, MDS Transmodal, Congressional, Gaza, Senate Foreign Relations, White House, Representatives, MSC, U.S . Navy, Maersk, White, Senate Armed Services, Foreign Relations, Senate, Relations, Counterterrorism Locations: Red, U.S, Iranian, Iran, France, Marshall, United States, East, South Asia, Central Asia

☆ I founded a company in Singapore in my 20s. Then I realized it was the perfect time in my life to walk away — so I did.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Shubhangi Goel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Cheah Wenqi , the 28-year-old cofounder of a Singapore-based media company. I was in my third year at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore when I cofounded a media company with three friends. Some of the videos we worked on for our class went viral, which is when we started thinking about creating our own platform. In my final years with the company, I headed the product growth and development team and worked on developing our YouTube page. After around five years on the job, I started thinking about what's next.

Persons: Cheah Wenqi, I, what's, Cheah, TikTok, Instagram, I'm Organizations: Nanyang Technological University, Central Locations: Singapore, Japan, China, Central Asia

The terrorist threat from al-Qaida, the Islamic State group and their affiliates remains high in conflict zones in Africa and in Afghanistan – and threat levels have risen in some regions including Europe, U.N. experts said in a new report. The Islamic State group broke away from al-Qaida over a decade ago and attracted supporters from around the world. In Iraq, they are carrying out “a low-intensity insurgency with covert terrorist cells” while in Syria attacks have intensified since November, the experts said. In West Africa and the Sahel, the panel said, “violence and threat have escalated again” in conflict zones, raising concerns among U.N. member nations. The experts point to “a deficit in counterterrorism capabilities,” which Islamic State and al-Qaida affiliated groups are continuing to exploit.

Persons: Abu Hafs al, Hashemi, “, ”, Al Organizations: Islamic State, . Security, Central, Islamic Locations: Africa, Afghanistan, Europe, Iran, Pakistan, Central Asian, “, al, Iraq, Syria, Islamic, West Africa, Islamic State, Somali, Shabab, “ al, Mogadishu, Somalia, Israel, Gaza, Al, Islam, Jerusalem, France, Belgium

☆ I left the US and moved to Istanbul for a fresh start. I love it here, and my American dollars go far.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Maria Mocerino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

I left the US to start over and I've spent the past few months falling love with Istanbul. The city is stunning and bustling — and I find that my American dollars go far here. For example, I'm living in a digital-nomad hotel in Kadikoy, one of the hippest neighborhoods on the Asian side, right by the water. I'm able to save money each month, which I always found challenging to do while living in NYC. I've had chestnuts, corn, and mussels stuffed with spiced rice and topped with fresh lemon juice for just a few dollars.

Persons: I've, It's, —, who's, I'd, Maria Mocerino, Hagia Sophia Organizations: Service, East, West, Yorker Locations: Istanbul, United States, Los Angeles and New York City, —, Central Asia, Kadikoy, NYC, Europe, Asia, Marmara, Hagia, Sultanahmet, Beyoğlu

Global inflation is expected to fall to 5.8% in 2024 and to 4.4% in 2025. “The global economy begins the final descent toward a soft landing, with inflation declining steadily and growth holding up. That is not to say the global economy is without challenges. It also raises concerns about a revival of global inflation pressures as importers face surging shipping costs,” said Lydia Boussour, senior economist at EY-Parthenon. “For now, we don’t expect the situation in the Red Sea to substantially alter the outlook for global inflation and global monetary policy this year,” she added.

Persons: ” Pierre, Olivier Gourinchas, ”, Lydia Boussour, Gourinchas, ” Gourinchas, Eric LeCompte, LeCompte Organizations: Monetary Fund, IMF, Federal Reserve, . News, USA Locations: U.S, China, –, Ukraine, Iranian, Suez, EY, India, Russia, East, Central Asia, Saudi Arabia, “, Brazil

☆ Pope Francis says Africa’s criticism of same-sex blessing a “special case”
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Pope Francis has addressed criticism over his consent to priests to bless same-sex couples, saying the pushback from African bishops was “a special case” influenced by culture. African Catholic bishops said in a letter the pope’s endorsement “caused a shockwave” on the continent and “has sown misconceptions and unrest in the minds of many”, including pastors. Kazakhstani bishops Tomash Peta and Athanasius Schneider jointly described blessings for same-sex unions as a contradiction to the age-long practice and doctrine of the Catholic Church. “To bless couples in an irregular situation and same-sex couples is a serious abuse of the most Holy name of God,” said the preachers who head the Archdiocese of Saint Mary in the country’s capital Astana. French Archbishop Hervé Giraud said last month he could bless a gay couple as he believed such a blessing was not an acceptance of a same-sex union.

Persons: Pope Francis, “, Francis, ”, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, Tomash Peta, Athanasius Schneider, of Saint Mary, Hervé Giraud, ” Giraud Organizations: CNN, Italian, Stampa, Catholic Church, of, “, Catholic, La Croix Locations: Africa, Madagascar, Uganda, Asia, of Saint, Astana, Europe, France, Austria, Germany, Sens

☆ China earthquake: Powerful 7.1 quake strikes Xinjiang region near Kyrgyzstan border
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The quake struck Wushi county, also known as Uqturpan county, in Aksu prefecture near the Kyrgyzstan border shortly after 2 a.m. local time, state-run news agency Xinhua reported. Strong tremors caused two houses to collapse and downed two major power lines near the epicenter, though electricity was quickly restored, according to Xinhua. The Xinjiang railway authority immediately sealed off routes in areas affected by the quake and suspended 27 trains, Xinhua reported. Nearly 200 rescue workers have been dispatched to the quake zone, and hundreds more are being assembled, Xinhua reported. The tremors were also felt across the border in Kyrgyzstan, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Persons: ” Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Xinhua, CCTV, China Earthquake Networks, United States Geological Survey, Reuters, Residents, United Nations Locations: Hong Kong, China’s, Xinjiang, Central, Aksu prefecture, Kyrgyzstan, Xinhua, Wushi, Kashgar, Hotan, Kazakhstan, Almaty, Uzbekistan, China, Beijing, Gansu, Qinghai

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