PARIS -- Climate change caused by carbon dioxide emissions already in the atmosphere will shrink global gross domestic product in 2050 by about $38 trillion, or almost a fifth, no matter how aggressively humanity cuts carbon pollution, researchers said Wednesday. But slashing greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible remains crucial to avoid even more devastating economic impacts after midcentury, they reported in the journal Nature. Economic fallout from climate change, the study shows, c

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cautioned Tuesday that persistently elevated inflation will likely delay any Fed interest rate cuts until later this year, opening the door to a period of higher-for-longer rates. “Recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence" that inflation is coming fully under control and "instead indicate that it’s likely to take longer than expected to achieve that confidence,” Powell said during a panel discussion at the Wilson Cen

ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece — Even without the help of Apollo, the flame that is to burn at the Paris Olympics was kindled Tuesday at the site of the ancient games in southern Greece. Cloudy skies prevented the traditional lighting, when an actress dressed as an ancient Greek priestess uses the sun to ignite a silver torch — after offering up a symbolic prayer to Apollo, the ancient Greek sun god. Instead, a backup flame was used that had been lit on the same spot Monday, during the fina

SAN FRANCISCO -- Meta's oversight board said Tuesday it is scrutinizing the social media titan's deepfake porn policies, through the lens of two cases. The move by what is referred to as a Meta "supreme court" for content moderation disputes comes just months after the widespread sharing of lewd artificial intelligence-generated images of megastar Taylor Swift on X, formerly Twitter. The Meta board picked its two cases, regarding images shared on Instagram and Facebook, to &q

Samsung Electronics was the most popular home appliance brand in the United States last year in terms of market share, data showed. Samsung Electronics took up 21 percent of the home appliance market share in the US in terms of sales in 2023, followed by Korean rival LG Electronics at 19 percent, General Electric at 18 percent and Whirlpool at 15 percent, according to data from market researcher TraQline. A survey by also showed that Samsung was the most considered brand when consumers purchas

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday warned members not to further escalate tensions with reprisals against Iran, while the US warned the Security Council it would work to hold Tehran accountable at the UN. Guterres, speaking to a meeting of the UN Security Council, told member states that the UN charter bars the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state as he also condemned Iran's attack on Israel. Iran launched a swarm of

The United States on Sunday highlighted its role in helping Israel thwart Iran's aerial attack as President Joe Biden convened leaders of the Group of Seven countries in an effort to prevent a wider regional escalation and coordinate a global rebuke of Tehran. The US assisted Israel in shooting down dozens of drones and missiles fired by Iran on Saturday in what was the first time it had launched a direct military assault on Israel. Israeli authorities said 99% of the inbound weapons were s

Countries around the world condemned Iran's strikes on Israel late Saturday, warning the attack threatened to further destabilise the Middle East. Here are some of the main reactions so far: US - US President Joe Biden promised "ironclad" support for Israel after holding an urgent meeting with top security officials. "I just met with my national security team for an update on Iran's attacks against Israel. Our commitment to Israel's security against threats from Iran and its

Booms and air raid sirens sounded across Israel early Sunday after Iran launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles in an unprecedented revenge mission that pushed the Middle East closer to a regionwide war. A military spokesman said the launches numbered more than 300 but 99% of them were intercepted. Calling the outcome “a very significant strategic success,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Iran fired 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 b

After a winning debut on Wall Street last month, Donald Trump's media group has suffered a bruising retreat, denting the Republican candidate's wealth as he faces legal challenges. Since entering public markets on March 26, Trump Media and Technology Group has seen its market value plummet from around $11 billion to under $4.5 billion. That's an unhappy reversal for the former White House inhabitant and current presidential candidate, who faces around a half billion dollars in civ

The United States, Japan and the Philippines affirmed their commitment to the "complete" denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and denounced North Korea's growing military threats in their joint statement Thursday. Following their countries' first-ever trilateral summit in Washington, President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued the "joint vision" statement, noting Pyongyang's provocative actions have "

US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro has noted South Korea's capabilities to build high-quality ships, including warships, in a cost-effective way while voicing concerns that America's shipbuilding capabilities have "atrophied" over the past decades. Toro made the remarks during an event organized by the Navy League in Maryland on Tuesday, stressing the need to reverse the United States' underinvestment in modernization and industrial capacity. "Our Korean and Japanese allies

The United States, Britain and Australia are considering cooperation with Japan on advanced capability projects of their trilateral AUKUS security pact, their defense chiefs said in a joint statement Monday. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his British and Australian counterparts, Grant Shapps and Richard Marles, issued the statement, noting their consideration of cooperation with Japan in AUKUS Pillar II projects. Launched in September 2021 in an apparent move to counter China's regio

India’s financial hub Mumbai, with a population of 21.6 million, now holds the highest number of billionaires in Asia and ranks third behind New York and London in the world ranking, according to Hurun Research Institute’s global rich list. Mumbai overtook Beijing to become Asia’s leading billionaire hub for the first time with 92 billionaires. South Korea’s Seoul places 19th globally with 31 billionaires. In country rankings, China was still at the top of the list with

BEIJING - US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Premier Li Qiang sounded a hopeful tone on US-China cooperation on Sunday, though the American policymaker noted both sides cannot shy away from tough conversations. The US-China relationship can only move forward with direct and open communication, Yellen told Li, after arriving in the Chinese capital from the southern city of Guangzhou. Li, in welcoming Yellen, said "China sincerely hopes that the two countries will be partners, not