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Insights & Views

Wed, Dec 24, 2025 10:36 AM All times are UTC

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Who are Ismaili Muslims and how do their beliefs relate to the Aga Khan’s work?

| Insights & Views

Prince Karim Aga Khan at an event on Oct. 2, 2019, in London. Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Prince Karim Aga Khan, who died on Feb. 4, 2025, served as the religious leader of Ismaili Muslims around the world since being...

Trump has purged the Kennedy Center’s board, which in turn made him its chair – why does that matter?

| Insights & Views

Former Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter walks by The Reach, a major expansion of the performing arts center completed during her tenure. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky President Donald Trump dismissed half the appointed...

Cutting funding for science can have consequences for the economy, US technological competitiveness

| Insights & Views

National Institutes of Health indirect costs, which are under the knife, go toward managing laboratories and facilities. Fei Yang/Moment via Getty Images America has already lost its global competitive edge in science, and...

The biggest threat in the Ontario election isn’t Donald Trump, it’s voter disengagement

| Insights & Views

Premier Doug Ford has justified his early election call on the need to respond to United States President Donald Trumps threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports. While the threat of tariffs on all Canadian...

Green skills to help nature repair itself are scarce: what we’re doing to train more experts in South Africa and Senegal

| Insights & Views

Africas population is growing. This means more landscape change and development of supporting infrastructure. Ecosystems are under pressure, made worse by natural disasters induced by climate change. In response,...

Goma is threatened by conflict and a volcano: we’ve created a handbook to help hotspots like these

| Insights & Views

The city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was taken over by the M23 rebel group in January 2025. This was a tragic escalation of a decades-long conflict thats led to mass displacement and deaths. Goma, a...

Deeply religious African countries (surprisingly) provide little state support to religion – unlike countries in Europe

| Insights & Views

In most of the world, countries with religious populations are more likely to have governments that support religion through laws and policies. These laws might include religious education, funding for religious...

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Economy

Asian Stock Markets Trade Flat as Holiday Liquidity Thins and BOJ Minutes Watched

Asian stock markets traded mostly flat on Wednesday as subdued year-end trading volumes and holiday-thinned liquidity limited investor activity across the region. With Christmas and New Year holidays approaching, many...

US and Japan Fast-Track $550 Billion Strategic Investment Initiative

The United States and Japan have agreed to accelerate coordination on their Strategic Investment Initiative, a major bilateral framework backed by a $550 billion fund established under the two countries tariff agreement....

Japan Plans $189 Billion Bond Issuance as Record Budget Signals Expansionary Fiscal Policy

Japan is preparing to issue new government bonds worth approximately $189 billion to help finance a record-breaking national budget for the next fiscal year, according to a draft budget reviewed by Reuters. The move...

BOJ Minutes Reveal Growing Debate Over Interest Rate Hikes and Inflation Risks

Bank of Japan (BOJ) policymakers actively debated whether to continue raising interest rates toward levels considered neutral for the economy, according to minutes from their October policy meeting released on Wednesday....

Gold Price Breaks $4,500 as Safe-Haven Demand and Rate Cut Bets Fuel Rally

Spot gold surged past the key psychological level of $4,500 per ounce for the first time on Wednesday, marking a historic milestone for the precious metal and reinforcing its status as a preferred safe-haven asset. The...

Politics

U.S. Signs $2.3 Billion Global Health MOUs With Four African Nations

The United States has signed four new global health memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Botswana, and Ethiopia, reinforcing its long-term commitment to strengthening global health security...

U.S. Discusses Migrant Transfer Plan With Palau Despite Lawmaker Opposition

The United States has renewed discussions with Palau over a controversial proposal to transfer third-country nationals to the Pacific Island nation, despite clear resistance from Palaus lawmakers earlier this year....

NSW Passes Toughest Gun and Anti-Terror Laws After Bondi Beach Shooting

Australias most populous state, New South Wales, has passed sweeping new gun control and anti-terrorism laws following the deadly Bondi Beach mass shooting, marking the most significant tightening of firearm and protest...

Democratic Attorneys General Sue Trump Administration Over Proposed Limits on Gender-Affirming Care for Youth

A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block proposed rules by the Trump administration that would significantly restrict access to gender-affirming care for transgender...

U.S. Pledges Maximum Sanctions on Venezuela Amid Rising Global Tensions

The United States has told the United Nations it will impose and strictly enforce sanctions to the maximum extent against Venezuela in an effort to deprive President Nicolás Maduro of financial resources, escalating...

Science

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Breakthrough Success With First NASA Mission

Blue Origins massive New Glenn rocket marked a major milestone as it completed its first mission for paying customers, sending two NASA satellites toward Mars and successfully landing its reusable booster at sea. The...

Cogent Biosciences Soars 120% on Breakthrough Phase 3 Results for Bezuclastinib in GIST Treatment

Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ: COGT) shares skyrocketed over 120% after the biotech company announced groundbreaking results from its Phase 3 PEAK trial evaluating bezuclastinib in combination with sunitinib for patients with...

Technology

Texas App Store Age Verification Law Blocked by Federal Judge in First Amendment Ruling

A federal judge in Texas has blocked the enforcement of a new state law that would have required app stores and developers to verify users ages, marking a significant legal win for major technology companies and digital...

FTC Praises Instacart for Ending AI Pricing Tests After $60M Settlement

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has welcomed Instacarts decision to end its artificial intelligence-based price testing, a move that follows weeks of consumer backlash and regulatory scrutiny. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson...

John Carreyrou Sues Major AI Firms Over Alleged Copyrighted Book Use in AI Training

Investigative journalist John Carreyrou, widely known for exposing fraud at Silicon Valley blood-testing startup Theranos and for authoring the bestselling book Bad Blood, has filed a new copyright infringement lawsuit...

Italy Fines Apple €98.6 Million Over App Store Dominance

Italys competition authority has imposed a 98.6 million ($115.53 million) fine on U.S. technology giant Apple and two of its subsidiaries, citing alleged abuse of a dominant market position related to the distribution of...

Moore Threads Unveils New GPUs, Fuels Optimism Around China’s AI Chip Ambitions

Moore Threads Technology Co Ltd (SS:688795), often described as Chinas potential alternative to NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), attracted investor attention after unveiling a new lineup of graphics processing units at...