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Mon, Dec 22, 2025 06:23 AM All times are UTC

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Punishment in search of a crime – Franz Kafka’s The Trial at 100

| Insights & Views

A book, a 20-year-old Franz Kafka wrote to his friend Oskar Pollack in 1904, must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us. It is a quintessential Kafka image. I see an ice-axe, the sharpened point of its curved metal head...

AI policies in Africa: lessons from Ghana and Rwanda

| Insights & Views

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasing productivity and pushing the boundaries of whats possible. It powers self-driving cars, social media feeds, fraud detection and medical diagnoses. Touted as a game changer, it is...

Election Diary: Dutton tops list of most distrusted, amid deepening voter cynicism about political leaders

| Insights & Views

In this election, voters are more distrustful than ever of politicians, and the political heroes of 2022 have fallen from grace, swept from favour by independent players. A Roy Morgan survey has found, for the first time,...

Malaria scorecard: battles have been won and advances made, but the war isn’t over

| Insights & Views

Sub-Saharan Africa continues to bear the brunt of malaria cases in the world. In this region 11 countries account for two-thirds of the global burden. World Malaria Day is marked on 25 April. What progress has been made...

The UK’s social security system falls way below international human rights standards: new report

| Insights & Views

The right to social security is enshrined in several international agreements on human rights. But the UKs system even before the disability benefits cuts announced earlier this year falls way below these standards. For...

Far-right AfD tops German poll for first time – just weeks after Friedrich Merz’s election win

| Insights & Views

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has topped a national poll for the first time, prompting the popular Bild newspaper to carry the headline: AfD breaks the magic barrier. The poll put the AfD on 26% and the...

What will the UK Supreme Court gender ruling mean in practice? A legal expert explains

| Insights & Views

The Supreme Courts decision in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers will mean changes in how trans people in the UK access services and single-sex spaces. In the highly anticipated judgment announced April 17,...

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Economy

China Keeps Benchmark Lending Rates Steady as Economic Outlook Remains Cautious

China has once again kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged, extending the pause in monetary policy adjustments to a seventh consecutive month in December, in line with broad market expectations. The Peoples Bank of...

Asian Stocks Rise as Wall Street Tech Rally Lifts Markets, Yen Slumps Despite BOJ Rate Hike

Asian share markets moved higher at the start of the week, following strong tech-led gains on Wall Street, while the Japanese yen continued to weaken sharply against major currencies despite a significant interest rate...

China’s Power Market Revamp Fuels Global Boom in Energy Storage Batteries

Chinas sweeping reforms to its electricity market are rapidly transforming the economics of energy storage, driving a surge in both domestic deployment and global exports of battery technology. As international demand for...

Global Demand for Yuan Loans and Bonds Surges as China Pushes Currency Internationalization

Global investors and borrowers are increasingly turning to the Chinese yuan as lending and financing activity accelerates, driven by attractive pricing and Chinas long-term push to internationalize its currency....

Silver Prices Hit Record High as Geopolitical Tensions Fuel Safe-Haven Demand

Silver prices surged to a record high during early Asian trading on Monday, driven by escalating geopolitical tensions that boosted demand for safe-haven assets across global markets. Concerns over renewed hostilities...

Politics

NSW Parliament Recalled After Bondi Beach Shooting to Debate Stricter Gun Laws and Protest Limits

Australias New South Wales state parliament was recalled on Monday for an urgent two-day session to debate proposed new laws that would significantly tighten firearm ownership, ban the public display of terror symbols, and...

U.S. Coast Guard Pursues Sanctioned Oil Tanker Near Venezuela Amid Rising Geopolitical Tensions

The U.S. Coast Guard is actively pursuing a sanctioned oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela, according to U.S. officials cited by Reuters, marking what could become the third such operation in less than two...

Niigata Set to Approve Restart of Japan’s Largest Nuclear Power Plant in Major Energy Shift

Japan is approaching a pivotal moment in its post-Fukushima energy policy as the Niigata regional assembly is expected to endorse the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear facility in...

Justice Department Restores Trump Photo in Epstein Files After Review Clears Image

The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed on Sunday that a photo involving President Donald Trump, which had briefly been removed from the cache of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents, was restored after an internal review...

U.S., Europe, Ukraine Hold Productive Florida Talks on Ending Russia-Ukraine War

Senior officials from the United States, Europe, and Ukraine concluded three days of high-level talks in Florida aimed at advancing efforts to end Russias war in Ukraine, with discussions centered on aligning positions and...

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

U.S. Lawmakers Urge Pentagon to Blacklist More Chinese Tech Firms Over Military Ties

A group of nine Republican U.S. lawmakers has formally urged the Pentagon to expand its list of Chinese companies accused of supporting Chinas military, intensifying scrutiny of Beijing-linked technology firms amid rising...

Dina Powell McCormick Resigns From Meta Board After Eight Months, May Take Advisory Role

Dina Powell McCormick has resigned from Meta Platforms board of directors effective immediately, just eight months after joining the social media company, Meta confirmed on Friday. The unexpected departure comes at a time...

TikTok U.S. Deal Advances as ByteDance Signs Binding Joint Venture Agreement

TikTok has taken a major step toward securing its future in the United States after its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, announced it has signed binding agreements with three major investors to form a new joint venture...

Trump Administration Reviews Nvidia H200 Chip Sales to China, Marking Major Shift in U.S. AI Export Policy

The U.S. government under President Donald Trump has launched a formal review that could pave the way for the first-ever shipments of Nvidias H200 artificial intelligence chips to China, according to multiple sources...

Oracle Stock Surges After Hours on TikTok Deal Optimism and OpenAI Fundraising Buzz

Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) shares surged sharply in extended trading on Thursday, reflecting renewed investor optimism fueled by reports of a potential U.S. TikTok transaction and fresh fundraising discussions...