Author: ALJAZEERA

The year 2024 saw the global economy stabilise following the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as growth in many countries lagged pre-2020 levels. Amid a patchy recovery, more than 2 billion people were eligible to vote this year, and economic issues, particularly rising living costs, were a top concern for voters around the world. Meanwhile, governments grappled with how to regulate potentially transformational technology such as artificial intelligence, and Donald Trump’s victory in the United States’ presidential election heralded a sharp turn towards protectionism. Here are seven of the biggest events that shaped the global economy in 2024: Trump…

The United States is bracing for a government shutdown, as members of Congress race to negotiate a last-minute budget deal that would keep federal services funded through the new year. Early on Friday, US media reported that the Office of Management and Budget, under outgoing President Joe Biden, had already signalled that federal agencies should prepare to shutter. Government funding is set to expire just past midnight, on Saturday at 12:01am East Coast time (05:01 GMT). But at a midday press briefing on Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre offered a note of optimism, saying a government shutdown might…

Some members of the workers’ union representing more than 10,000 baristas at Starbucks in the United States have begun a five-day strike at stores in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, citing unresolved issues over wages, staffing and schedules. The strike, which started on Friday, is the latest in a series of labour actions in the US that have picked up pace across service industries following a period when workers of automotive, aerospace and rail manufacturers won substantial concessions from employers. The Starbucks Workers United Union, which represents employees at 525 stores across the US, said late on Thursday that walkouts…

Teamsters union says workers in New York, Atlanta and San Francisco to walk off the job over pay and conditions.Thousands of Amazon employees in the United States are set to go on strike during the busy Christmas period after union officials accused the retailer of refusing to enter negotiations for better pay and conditions. The Teamsters union said on Wednesday that warehouse workers would join the picket line in cities including New York, Atlanta and San Francisco from 6am Eastern Time (11:00 GMT) on Thursday in the largest strike against the company in US history. “If your package is delayed…

Bitcoin’s record rally topped $107,000 after United States President-elect Donald Trump reiterated that he plans to create a US Bitcoin strategic reserve similar to the country’s strategic oil reserve, stoking the enthusiasm of crypto bulls. Bitcoin, the world’s biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, extended gains to a session high of $107,148 and was most recently at $106,877, up 5.43 percent from late Friday. The number two digital currency, Ethereum or Ether, was up 1.85 percent at $3,975.70. “We’re in blue sky territory here,” said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG, an online trading provider. “The next figure the market will be…

Elon Musk’s claims about the risks of voter fraud in the United States presidential election prompted a flurry of concerned correspondence to election officials in a key swing state, newly released emails reveal. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s commentary on X prompted a Republican state senator and others in Pennsylvania, the most important battleground state with 19 Electoral College votes, to contact the top election official in one district to discuss concerns about overseas voting, according to the emails, which provide new insight into the billionaire’s behind-the-scenes effect on the vote. The office of Senator Chris Gebhard in October contacted…

While efforts to regulate the creation and use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the United States have been slow to make gains, the administration of President Joe Biden has attempted to outline how AI should be used by the federal government and how AI companies should ensure the safety and security of their tools. The incoming Trump administration, however, has a very different view on how to approach AI, and it could end up reversing some of the progress that has been made over the past several years. President Biden signed an executive order in October 2023 that was…

The recent re-election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States has dented clean energy prospects in the country. A climate sceptic, Trump has promised to turbo-charge America’s fossil fuel sector and to end offshore wind projects on “day one” of his presidency. On the campaign trail, he repeatedly criticised President Joe Biden’s flagship climate bill – the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). He called the $370bn federal programme a “green new scam”, and pledged to “terminate” it. Some clean energy projects – both planned and ongoing – have been halted, including Canadian solar manufacturer Heliene, which paused…

Republicans have long accused Hunter Biden — the son of President Joe Biden — of taking a board seat on a Ukrainian gas company called Burisma, which he held from 2014 to 2019, in exchange for influence in US – Ukraine policy decisions. The claims led to investigations in both the House and the Senate, which led to myriad issues, as the conservative-led inquiries became a means to undermine President Joe Biden’s credibility by targeting his son. But the same Senators and House members behind the investigations are now silent as Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, takes board seats…

Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, is seeking to put his son Lachlan in control of the media empire.A United States probate commissioner has ruled against billionaire media baron Rupert Murdoch‘s bid to change his family trust to put his global television and publishing empire under the control of his eldest son Lachlan, The New York Times has reported. Nevada commissioner Edmund Gorman concluded that Murdoch and his son Lachlan, who run Fox Corp and News Corp, the owners of Fox News and The Wall Street Journal, had acted in “bad faith” in their effort…