Author: ALJAZEERA

Tehran, Iran – When Mohammad, a 29-year-old resident of western Tehran, renewed his tenancy contract earlier this week, the price increase did not come as a surprise.His landlord had raised the rent for the 20-year-old apartment to 230 million rials ($130), up from 130 million rials ($73), while keeping the fast-depreciating deposit at 5 billion rials ($2,800 at the current exchange rate).Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listMonthly minimum wage in Iran is currently about $90, which can go to $120 after accounting for government-issued subsidies, electronic coupons and marriage or housing-related allowances.Most tenants are believed to be surviving…

Businessman Adani was accused on bribing Indian officials and misleading US investors to a secure solar power plant project in India.Published On 18 May 202618 May 2026The administration of United States President Donald Trump has moved to dismiss criminal fraud charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani in a case where he is accused of bribing Indian officials for as much as $265m to secure contracts and lying to US investors to land a solar energy project in India, allegations that his company has long denied.The case was dropped by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) after Adani pledged a $10bn…

China will buy ‘at least’ $17bn worth of US agricultural goods annually, the White House says.Published On 18 May 202618 May 2026China will buy “at least” $17bn worth of agricultural goods from the United States annually following US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s summit in Beijing, the White House has said.China will make the purchases through 2028, with the 2026 target applying to the remainder of the year on a proportionate basis, according to a fact sheet released on Sunday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThe White House said the deal is in addition to China’s commitment…

London, United Kingdom – Britain’s next political battleground could be shaped by a generation of young Muslim voters coming of age faster than Westminster realises.A new report by the Muslim Council of Britain released this week found Muslims make up 6.5 percent of the population of England and Wales, with a median age of just 27 – 13 years younger than the national average. Nearly half are under 25, meaning British Muslims are one of the youngest and fastest-growing groups in the country.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listResearchers say that shift could become politically significant if the voting…

Published On 15 May 202615 May 2026China has agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets, with a potential for the order to rise to as many as 750 planes, United States President Donald Trump has said, adding that the planes would have GE Aerospace engines.The deal “includes approximately 200 planes and a promise of up to 750 if they do a good job”, Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Friday. More details about the deal, such as which type of jets and when the order would be delivered, were not immediately available.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listNeither…

Elon Musk accuses OpenAI of breaching charitable trust and prioritising profit over AI safety and nonprofit values.Published On 14 May 202614 May 2026Lawyers for OpenAI and Elon Musk began closing arguments in a landmark trial that could impact the future of the ChatGPT maker.On Thursday, each side presented a concluding statement to jurors, who will decide whether OpenAI and its leaders profited from a venture that was meant to be a “charity”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThe lawsuit was brought by Musk, the world’s richest man and the founder of a rival artificial intelligence (AI) model, Grok.Musk sued…

Amid an oil blockade against the island, the US blames Cuba’s communist leadership for ‘standing in the way’ of aid.The United States has offered $100m in humanitarian assistance to Cuba on the condition that the island’s communist government agrees to “meaningful reforms”.The sum was made public in a statement from the US State Department on Wednesday, though the administration of President Donald Trump underscored it had made the offer privately in the past.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listBut the $100m comes with strings: namely, that Cuba’s government commits to Trump-approved changes.“Today, the Department of State is publicly restating…

Taipei, Taiwan – Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to seek concessions on Taiwan and US tariffs when he meets United States President Donald Trump for a high-stakes summit taking place in the shadow of the war on Iran.Trump will arrive in China on Wednesday evening for a three-day visit that will mark the first trip by a US leader to the country since 2017, when Trump visited in the early days of his first term.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listUnlike Trump, who is renowned for his mercurial policymaking, Xi is widely seen as predictable in his goals…

Senator Hawley plans legislative action supporting President Trump’s bid to waive the petrol tax amid rising consumer costs.United States President Donald Trump said he will cut the 18-cent federal tax on petrol to offset surging prices that have continued to soar after his comments that the US ceasefire with Iran is on “life support”.On Monday, Trump said he would suspend the petrol tax, but did not specify an end date.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list“Yup, we’re going to take off the gas tax for a period of time, and when gas goes down, we’ll let it phase back…

Brent crude rises amid clashes in critical waterway.Published On 8 May 20268 May 2026Oil prices have jumped after clashes between United States and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz pushed their tenuous ceasefire to the brink.Futures for Brent crude rose as much as 7.5 percent during a volatile trading session on Thursday, before easing as Asia’s markets opened on Friday morning.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThe international benchmark stood at $101.12 per barrel as of 03:00 GMT, down from the day’s high of $103.70.The latest rise came after the US and Iran exchanged fire in the critical strait,…