IBT Staff Reporter

As war in Ukraine drives up already high input costs, even firms with business models fine-tuned to Japan's deflationary economy are toying with higher prices, testing acceptance by consumers hardened by repeated affirmations of an elusive inflation goal.

Exxon Mobil Corp and BHP Group said on Thursday they will go ahead with a project to boost gas output from their Gippsland Basin Kipper field off southeast Australia, which would help fill a looming gas shortage in the local market.

Japan's core machinery orders slipped for the first time in five months in January, a worrying sign for an economy already facing heightened pressure from the Ukraine war and high energy and raw material prices.

The Bank of England looks set to press on with raising interest rates on Thursday as it tries to stop soaring inflation from becoming engrained in the British economy.

A powerful earthquake off Japan's northeast coast left thousands of homes without water and power on Thursday and forced factories to suspend operations, adding to supply chain woes for makers of smartphones, electronics and automobiles worldwide.

At the U.S. border with Mexico, American officials are allowing Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion of their homeland to enter the United States and stay without fear of deportation for a year, according to people crossing.

Biden slams 'war criminal' Putin as Ukraine civilian horror grows

The United Nations refugee agency has welcomed the response by advanced countries to the Ukrainian refugee crisis and urged them to act in a similar way towards refugees from other war zones, regardless of nationality, race or religion.

The United Nations refugee agency has welcomed the response by advanced countries to the Ukrainian refugee crisis and urged them to act in a similar way towards refugees from other war zones, regardless of nationality, race or religion.

The Federal Reserve raised short-term interest rates on Wednesday by a quarter of a percentage point and signaled that it plans to lift them further in the coming months to battle high inflation, a shift that will likely be felt by most households.

Former CNN primetime host Chris Cuomo filed a request for arbitration on Wednesday, seeking $125 million in damages for alleged wrongful termination.

The United States is considering removing Iran's Revolutionary Guards from its foreign terrorist organization blacklist in return for Iranian assurances about reining in the elite force, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The busiest U.S. seaport expects its robust flow of imports to continue in the near term, but is closely monitoring COVID-19 shutdowns in major cities in China, its executive director said on Wednesday.

Iran nuclear deal 'close', Tehran frees captives as obstacles narrow

Canada launched a C$250 million ($191 million) fund to curb gun violence, earmarking a significant amount to stop gun smuggling at the border, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said on Wednesday.

Facebook on Wednesday removed official Russian posts that falsely claimed reports of Russia bombing a children's hospital in Ukraine were a hoax, a company spokesperson said, even as similar messages appeared on other social media platforms.

Chile's divisive battle over abortion rights could get a central role in the Andean country's planned new constitution after an assembly voted to approve part of the draft text that calls on the state to guarantee women's reproductive rights.

Federal Reserve policymakers have made "excellent progress" on their plan for reducing the central bank's nearly $9 trillion balance sheet, and could finalize details at their next policy meeting in May, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday.

Iran has defied Western powers by converting some of its uranium enriched to near weapons-grade into a form less easily recovered, diluted and shipped out of the country, a report by the U.N.

At least 10 vessels carrying Russia-linked cargoes of crude and refined products were approaching the United States on Wednesday, as suppliers rushed to deliver ahead of the U.S.

A poorly edited video purporting to show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy publicly capitulating to Russian demands drew widespread ridicule on Wednesday, but experts said it could be a harbinger of more sophisticated deceptions to come.

France will end government subsidies for the installation of new residential gas heaters and boost support for renewable energy heating in a bid to further reduce reliance on Russian fossil fuel exports, the environment minister said on Wednesday.

A new law bans the United States' former spies from hiring themselves out to foreign governments right after they stop working for Washington.

Intesa Sanpaolo said on Wednesday that its loans to Russian and Ukrainian clients amounted to 5.1 billion euros net of guarantees from credit export agencies, which is around 1% of the total for Italy's biggest bank.

'Lost everything': Ukrainians sail to new lives in Sweden

US Fed raises interest rate in battle against high inflation

CF Industries Holdings is increasing fertilizer shipments to both U.S.

When headlines flashed on Tuesday morning that the leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia were on a train to Kyiv for talks with the Ukrainian president, it was news to some members of their immediate families.

In a bitterly divided Washington, Republicans and Democrats apparently agree on one thing: the twice-yearly ritual of changing clocks needs to end.