IBT Staff Reporter

Top Indonesian economic officials on Wednesday backed the expanded use of local currencies in trade and investment, instead of the U.S.

Al Shabaab militants attacked several police stations and security checkpoints in Somalia's capital Mogadishu early on Wednesday, officials and the militants said, a show of force as the nation prepares for a much-delayed presidential election.

Philippines boxing icon and presidential candidate Manny Pacquiao said he will welcome an international probe into President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs if elected, and promised to fight narcotics "the right way", with due process, not street shootings.

Russian army, Putin's favoured foreign policy tool

Ukraine's comedian-turned-president stars in crisis

Poland, Hungary risk funding cuts after EU rule-of-law decision

A dozen undocumented migrants on Mexico's southern border sewed their mouths shut on Tuesday in a bid to convince the country's immigration authority to grant them passage toward the U.S.

China's President Xi Jinping has told Hong Kong's leaders that their "overriding mission" was to stabilise and control a worsening COVID-19 outbreak, media reported on Wednesday as a fast rising wave of infections overwhelmed authorities.

China's President Xi Jinping has told Hong Kong's leaders that their "overriding mission" was to stabilise and control a worsening COVID-19 outbreak, pro-Beijing media reported, as infected patients lay in beds outside overwhelmed hospitals.

US accuses Russia of deploying thousands more troops to Ukraine border

As costs jump, Sao Paulo Uber drivers set to launch rival app

Asian shares rallied on Wednesday as fears of a Russian invasion of the Ukraine this week dissipated after Moscow indicated it was returning some troops to base from exercises, delivering investors a measure of relief.

Asian shares rallied on Wednesday as fears of a Russian invasion of the Ukraine this week dissipated after Moscow indicated it was returning some troops to base in an apparent de-escalation, delivering investors a measure of relief.

World stocks crept higher on Wednesday for the second day in a row, while safe-haven assets such as government bonds and gold lost ground, despite Western scepticism over Russian claims of a troop pullback from Ukraine's borders.

World stocks crept higher on Wednesday for the second day in a row and safe-haven assets such as government bonds lost ground, though market moves were checked by Western scepticism that Russia had indeed pulled back troops from Ukraine's borders.

World stocks edged lower while oil and gold rose on Wednesday with markets seeking signs of de-escalation after NATO and the United States said they have not seen Russia pull back troops from Ukraine's borders.

Oil and gold rose on Wednesday after NATO and the United States said Russia was increasing its troop build-up near Ukraine, while a dovish reading of minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting last month helped stocks rebound on Wall Street.

Middle East benchmark Dubai crude soared to a record this week while spot premiums for April-loading Russian oil jumped to their highest in more than two years in Asia, trade sources said on Wednesday as prices returned to pre-pandemic levels.

A Japanese government delay in rolling out COVID-19 booster shots left it more vulnerable than other rich countries when the Omicron variant brought a surge of deaths, say experts, local governments and a former vaccine czar.

The euro held on to overnight gains in early Asian trade on Wednesday having jumped on reports that some Russian forces had moved away from the Ukraine border, though, with tensions still elevated, the common currency failed to make further progress.

The euro's rally from the previous day petered out in Asia on Wednesday, though it held its overnight gains, as optimism after reports that some Russian forces had moved away from the Ukraine border, was tempered by news of a cyber attack.

The U.S. dollar fell for a second day on Wednesday as investors became less worried about the risk of Russia invading Ukraine and awaited the release of minutes from the U.S.

Online privacy and profit clash with fortunes at stake

'Unstoppable' Mbappe underlines value to PSG and leaves Messi in shade

10 dead, 11 missing as Spanish trawler sinks off Canada

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has faced accusations of weak leadership in the Ukraine crisis and of being too soft on Russia, but his unexpectedly combative stance in talks in the Kremlin with President Vladimir Putin has earned him plaudits.

The U.S. Federal Reserve will kick off its tightening cycle in March with a 25-basis-point interest rate rise, a Reuters poll of economists found, but a growing minority say it will opt for a more aggressive half-point move to tamp down inflation.

The United States and its allies are prepared to respond to Russian cyberattacks amid escalating tensions over Ukraine, with the scope of retaliatory actions or sanctions depending on the severity of the hacks, U.S.

P.J. O'Rourke, the American journalist, political satirist and best-selling author who rose to fame as editor-in-chief of the now-defunct humor magazine National Lampoon, has died at the age of 74.