The Republican U.S. House is set to open in turmoil, Tesla makes its China boss the highest-profile executive after Musk, and driver and YouTube star Ken Block dies in a snowmobile accident
by Linda Noakes
World News
People lay flowers near the Eternal Flame memorial at a ceremony in memory of Russian soldiers killed in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Samara, Russia, January 3, 2023. REUTERS/Albert Dzen
State media in China played down the severity of its surge of COVID infections ahead of an expected briefing today by its scientists to the World Health Organization, which is hoping for detailed data on the evolution of the virus.
Israel’s new far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir briefly visited Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, a site also revered by Jews, prompting condemnation from Palestinians and neighboring Jordan.
An attack on a prison in the Mexican border town of Juarez left 19 dead and allowed a cartel kingpin to escape along with two dozen other prisoners, authorities said. An armed group launched almost-simultaneous attacks on the prison and the municipal police station.
Protesters in Bolivia’s farming region of Santa Cruz are blocking highways out of the province, threatening to snarl the domestic transport of grains and food, as anger simmers following the arrest of local governor Luis Camacho.
U.S. News
Kevin McCarthy walks to the House floor on Capitol Hill, December 23, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Pro rally driver Ken Block, who later became an internet sensation with his daring stunts behind the wheel, has died aged 55 after a snowmobile accident.
Actor Jeremy Renner, who played Hawkeye in the Marvel ‘Avengers’ movies, was in critical but stable condition in a Nevada hospital, a day after suffering a traumatic injury while plowing snow.
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was in critical condition after suffering a cardiac arrest during yesterday’s National Football League game against Cincinnati.
A traveler boards a train at Waterloo Station in London, December 16, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville
British rail workers kicked off the new year with a week-long strike, disrupting the return to work for millions of commuters in the latest bout of industrial action to hit the country. Britain is in the grip of its worst run of worker unrest since Margaret Thatcher was in power in the 1980s.
King Dollar’s reign (definitely) coming to an end, bonds bouncing and emerging markets rising again are just some of the trades international money managers are betting on in 2023. Sky-high inflation and the global gut-punch of nearly 300 central bank interest rate hikes over the last 12 months are putting the focus firmly on how badly economies now buckle.
The World Bank is seeking to vastly expand its lending capacity to address climate change and other global crises and will negotiate with shareholders ahead of April meetings on proposals that include a capital increase and new lending tools, according to an ‘evolution roadmap’ seen by Reuters.
Tesla’s China chief Tom Zhu has been promoted to take direct oversight of the electric carmaker’s U.S. assembly plants as well as sales operations in North America and Europe. In other news, South Korea’s antitrust regulator said it would impose a $2.2 million fine on Tesla for failing to tell its customers about the shorter driving range of its electric vehicles in low temperatures.
Nic Szerman lost his job at Meta Platforms in November, just two months after joining full-time, falling victim to a sweeping 13% reduction of its workforce as the advertising market cratered. Days later he was back working, seeking investment for his own company Nulink, a blockchain-based payment company. We look at the startups springing from the ashes of a Big Tech purge.