Author: ALJAZEERA

Fire broke out on fifth floor of hotel near popular Khao San Road, fire department says.Three foreigners have died in a hotel fire in a popular tourist area of Thailand’s capital Bangkok, according to local authorities. The fire broke out on the fifth floor of the Ember Hotel on Sunday night, Bangkok’s Fire and Rescue Department said on Monday. One woman died at the scene and two men were pronounced dead in hospital, the fire department said. Seven others are receiving treatment in hospital, according to the fire authorities. The names and nationalities of the deceased were not immediately released.…

Seoul, South Korea – When Alex looked into the price difference between rhinoplasty, commonly known as a “nose job”, in the United States and South Korea, she thought that flying to the Asian country for the surgery was a no-brainer. “$30,000 or $6,000, the choice was clear,” Alex, who asked not to be referred to by her real name, told Al Jazeera, describing her decision to undergo the procedure in the country “known to be number one in plastic surgery”. But less than a year later, the entertainer found herself grappling with severe complications. The implant from her surgery had…

Plans, which include Mitsubishi, announced as Japan tries to gain foothold in electric vehicle market.Japan’s Honda and Nissan are planning a merger, which would create the world’s third-largest carmaker as the industry pivots away from fossil fuels. The company’s two presidents, Toshihiro Mibe of Honda and Makoto Uchida of Nissan, signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday, projecting the establishment of a holding company by August 2026, which could potentially position them third in the market after Toyota and Volkswagen. Honda, currently Japan’s second-largest carmaker, is widely viewed as the only national partner able to rescue Nissan, which has struggled…

The United States has long been Israel’s primary international backer, lending it vast political, diplomatic and financial support. This has only increased since Israel began its assault on Gaza last October, even as it gradually expanded the parameters of its war, in which it is widely accused by human rights groups of committing genocide. According to Brown University’s Watson Institute, the US government provided Israel with almost $18bn in weapons and military aid in the first year of Israel’s war. But Israel is also increasingly dependent on another source of funds: bonds, bought by states and municipalities across the US.…

Hsinchu, Taiwan – A crane bird flies across a silent rice paddy, the water slowly trickling in the background. It is a tranquil and stereotypical image of an East-Asian countryside. Little seems to suggest I am just a few kilometres removed from one of the hearts of the global economy. This is Hsinchu, a small city close to Taipei in Taiwan. It is what you could literally call the Silicon Valley of the world. Just a few kilometres from the tranquil rice paddies, gargantuan buildings rise from the ground, air conditioning humming permanently over the bustle of traffic. These are…

Washington, DC-based lender says Cairo agreed to raise tax-to-revenue ratio and accelerate divestment of state-owned firms.The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that it has reached an agreement with Egypt to unlock about $1.2bn in funds to prop up the country’s troubled finances. The Washington, DC-based lender said on Tuesday that it reached the “staff-level agreement”, which is subject to approval by the Executive Board, after Cairo outlined steps to improve macroeconomic stability. Egyptian authorities agreed to raise the tax-to-revenue ratio by 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) over the next two years and accelerate the divestment of state-owned…

Committee on Foreign Investment in the US fails to agree on national security risks of proposed takeover of US Steel.A decision on whether to allow Nippon Steel’s proposed takeover of US Steel has fallen to United States President Joe Biden after a government panel failed to agree on possible national security risks. The failure of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) to reach a consensus on the $15bn deal on Monday increases the likelihood that Biden will block the takeover in his final days in office. Biden voiced his opposition to the acquisition during his ill-fated re-election…

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…