The US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, with surging inflation fuelled by President Donald Trump’s war on Iran seeing three of the committee’s 12 policymakers calling for a quarter-percentage-point rate hike. The Fed’s open market committee (FOMC) held rates at 3.50-3.75 per cent for the fifth straight meeting, with its chairman, Kevin Warsh, denying that he…
President Donald Trump vowed to hit back hard at Iran after it attacked US bases in Jordan on Wednesday, as the Middle East war reignited and once again drew in the Islamic republic’s proxies. The warning came after a short lull in the fighting that had spurred hopes of a return to negotiations appeared to draw to an end,…
A powerful earthquake measuring a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 struck Japan’s southern Kumamoto prefecture on Tuesday, prompting authorities to issue a tsunami warning and emergency alerts across several regions on Kyushu Island. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said the quake could generate tsunami waves of up to one metre (3.28 feet) and urged residents in coastal areas to remain…
Several major US semiconductor stocks fell on Wall Street on Monday, following a report of a technological breakthrough that could accelerate the growth of China’s computer chip industry. According to the website The Information, Chinese company Shanghai Yuliangsheng is making immersion deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machines. The process uses ultraviolet light to etch microscopic circuits onto silicon. Contacted by…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday for the first time since the start of the Iran war, over which they have publicly disagreed. Relations between Netanyahu and Trump have occasionally appeared strained in recent months, but both have sought to tone things down. Tuesday’s meeting is expected to…
This handout photograph taken and released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on June 16, 2026, shows Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaking about the agreement reached with the United States. Iran’s foreign ministry on Monday said it was not currently involved in negotiations with the United States, despite a halt in recent fighting between the two sides. “Mediators may…
