Author: ALJAZEERA

Asia suffered some of the worst economic fallout when the United States and Israel went to war with Iran six months ago.The region is heavily reliant on Gulf oil and gas that normally flows through the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has been reduced to a trickle by Iranian attacks and a US naval blockade.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listAsian countries quickly imposed fuel conservation measures as oil and gas prices surged, ranging from price caps to alternate driving days and work-from-home mandates for civil servants.In the months since, Asia has begun seeking a more permanent solution to…

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has found that the networking technology company Cisco may have violated the civil rights of Middle Eastern and Muslim employees amid a wave of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim comments on internal messaging platforms at the company.In June, the EEOC, which is tasked with enforcing the US’s anti-discrimination laws, said Cisco subjected its employees to a hostile work environment, according to a letter of determination obtained by Al Jazeera.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThe letter, which was first reported by Politico Pro, stemmed from a complaint filed with the EEOC in December…

The Russian and Chinese leaders met in Kyrgyzstan on the sidelines of the SCO summit, being attended by over a dozen heads of state.Published On 31 Aug 202631 Aug 2026Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have reaffirmed their strategic alliance amid growing global uncertainty, as they met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Kyrgyzstan.In their first meeting since May, Xi told Putin on Monday that he was “happy” to meet again. He told the Russian leader, whose country is engaged in a fifth year of war on Ukraine, that bilateral ties between…

In a closely watched speech in Jackson Hole, Kevin Warsh underscores US Fed’s commitment to tackling inflation, with rate hikes possibly on horizon.Published On 28 Aug 202628 Aug 2026United States Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said the US central bank will “have work to do” if policymakers are not confident that underlying inflation is returning to its 2 percent target.On Friday, Warsh stressed that financial conditions do not appear restrictive enough, the closest he has come to acknowledging that interest rate hikes may be needed to ease price pressures.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list“Here is my standard: We…

Ukrainian president seeks to step up attacks following a Moscow visit from the US spy chief.Published On 28 Aug 202628 Aug 2026Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on his military to increase its long-range drone strikes against Russia as Moscow continues to carry out deadly attacks across Ukraine.In his evening address on Friday, Zelenskyy said he plans for the army to launch at least “1,000 drones” against Russia daily, a more than threefold jump from the current estimate of 300.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list“There needs to be more,” the president said. “There is a concrete goal, and…

The trade war that United States President Donald Trump has triggered with Canada is expected to hurt businesses in both countries.But experts say the damage to the Canadian economy will be worse, as the tit-for-tat tariffs have raised the chances of a recession.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listOn Saturday, the US imposed 50 percent tariffs on $20bn worth of Canadian goods after trade negotiations between the two countries collapsed. On Monday, Trump also threatened Canada with new 50 percent levies on all car products, starting January 1.On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled retaliatory measures against more than…

Singapore – For at least three decades, Joanne Teoh, 68, has woken to views of a “pure green canopy” from her flat overlooking Maju Forest in Singapore’s Sunset Way estate.Teoh has watched her mother grow old and her sons grow up in its shade, alongside long-tailed macaques, ambling monitor lizards and critically endangered straw-headed bulbul.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listEarlier this year, Teoh, who has been documenting the forest’s flora and fauna since 2021, glimpsed Himalayan vultures for the first time, causing a stir among Singapore’s birding community.Teoh now fears that this habitat will soon be lost forever…

OpenAI detected its artificial intelligence models communicating with each other and gaining internet access without authorisation months before they hacked the start-up Hugging Face, the creator of ChatGPT has announced following an internal probe.In a report released on Wednesday, OpenAI said its AI agents exploited vulnerabilities in Artifactory, a software repository tool, to post notes and access the internet without human prompting as far back as May.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listOpenAI said its agents went on to exploit a separate Artifactory vulnerability on July 8 to facilitate communication among themselves, setting in motion a chain of actions that…

The United States announced new sanctions on Iran and a slew of global entities doing business with the country on Monday, in what officials have called an “economic D-Day” and officially dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast”, in an effort to force Tehran to negotiate an end to the war.The announcement followed repeated demands by US President Donald Trump that Iranian leaders take actions like dropping their claims over the Strait of Hormuz and return to talks to end its nuclear programme.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listNearly six months into its war on Iran, the US is seeing little impact…

The administration of United States President Donald Trump has announced new economic sanctions on Tehran, describing the measures as an “economic D-Day” as the US war on Iran approaches the six-month mark.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the sanctions on Monday, alongside a naval blockade of Iranian ports.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listBessent said the sanctions target key sources of Iran’s revenue, including its oil and gas industry, and called on countries around the world to cut economic ties with Tehran.What are the sanctions?The Treasury Department said the sanctions will target Iran’s aviation, digital assets, gold, technology and…