KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) – The closure of border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is inflicting losses of millions of dollars on Afghan traders. The two South Asian neighbors share a 2,640-kilometer (1,640-mile) land border with 18 crossing points. The Torkham border in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and the Spin Boldak border in ...
LONDON / ANKARA (AA) – Houthi attacks on Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea have caused a significant decline in vessel tonnages and grain flows. Wheat flow through the Red Sea has especially been affected as shipping companies are forced to avoid the Suez Canal and reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, at the […]
ANKARA (AA) – Electric carmaker Tesla has said it will halt production at its facility in Germany for two weeks, citing supply chain disruptions due to the Red Sea shipping attacks. “Due to a lack of components, we are therefore forced to suspend vehicle production at GigaBerlin for the period between January 29 and February [&hell...
NEW YORK (AA) – A US consumer group has filed a lawsuit against Starbucks, accusing the company of “misleading and deceptive” marketing. Although Starbucks claims to source ethically produced coffee and tea, the company’s marketing actually misleads consumers, claimed a statement by the National Consumers League. The st...
OpenAI is introducing ChatGPT Enterprise, a business tier for ChatGPT that offers enterprise-grade security and privacy ISTANBUL (AA) – US-based artificial intelligence (AI) research lab OpenAI introduced Monday ChatGPT Enterprise, a business tier for its large language model-based chatbot. “Since ChatGPT’s launch just nine m...
KAZAN, TATARSTAN – AUGUST 1: The Halal Market in Kazan, the capital of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, is drawing a large number of Muslim shoppers. The market, which opened its doors in 2011, offers an array of halal products and services, serving as a prominent platform to promote the halal industry in Russia. Inside […]
WASHINGTON – Fitch Ratings has downgraded the U.S.’ long-term foreign-currency credit rating to “AA+” from “AAA” with a stable outlook. That change reflects expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years and a high and growing general government debt burden. It also reflects debt limit standoffs an...
WASHINGTON – The U.S. regulator Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has proposed new rules for banks with more than $100 billion in total assets. The new rules would replace the current system, which allows banks to use their internal models to calculate their risk-based capital requirements. “The proposal would replace cu...
JAKARTA, Indonesia – Hong Kong is seeking to diversify its financial markets to be more accommodating to Islamic finance. This includes amending laws to create a tax structure for sukuk comparable to that for conventional bonds. Hong Kong is making several efforts to attract Islamic finance and strengthen its ties with Indonesia and othe...
TEHRAN / KARACHI (AA): Iran and Pakistan on Thursday inaugurated a border market as well as an electricity transmission line in the presence of top government officials. The Mand-Pishin Border Sustenance Marketplace is one of six border markets planned for the two neighboring countries’ shared border, as agreed in a memorandum of underst...
