The Taliban now hold the keys to an untouched trillion-dollar trove of minerals including some that could power the world’s transition to renewable energies, but Afghanistan has long struggled to tap its vast deposits.

Alongside a grinding seven-year military conflict, Yemen’s government and the Huthi rebels are locked in battle on another front--a currency war that has opened up a gulf in riyal values.

General Motors Co said yesterday it would take a hit of US$1 billion (RM4.23 billion) to expand the recall of its Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles due to the risk of fires from the high-voltage battery pack--a blow for the largest US automaker as it seeks to ramp up EV sales. 

Major stock markets in the Gulf mostly rebounded on Sunday, after declining in the previous session, but falling oil prices continued to weigh on Saudi Arabia where the benchmark index extended losses. 

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said on Friday its annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, will take place on August 27 virtually and not in person as planned, the clearest sign yet of the impact of the Covid-19 Delta variant on the Fed’s plans.

Algeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.3 per cent in the first quarter of this year helped by a better performance from the energy sector, official data showed on Saturday, after a 3.9 per cent contraction a year earlier.

Britain on Friday said a planned takeover of chip designer Arm by US firm Nvidia raises  “serious competition concerns”, while the deal may still be probed on security grounds.

The White House is withholding support for a Democratic proposal to impose a pollution tax on imports from China and other countries, casting doubt on whether Democrats will be able to deploy what environmentalists consider one of the greatest weapons to tackle global climate change in a massive spending bill this year.

The investment surge by both new and established automakers in the electric vehicle market is a bonanza for factory equipment manufacturers that supply the highly automated picks and shovels for the prospectors in the EV gold rush.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said on Friday it would demand stricter background checks on customers to bolster efforts against money laundering, with immediate effect, a move that comes after weeks of pressure by regulators globally.

Mexico sought formal consultation with the United States on Friday over the interpretation and application of tougher content rules for vehicles set out in the USMCA trade pact.

Nvidia Corp’s planned $40 billion acquisition of British chip designer ARM hit a major hurdle on Friday after a UK regulator found it could damage competition and weaken rivals, and required a further lengthy investigation.

US energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a third week in a row, as a recovery in oil prices prompted some drillers to return to the wellpad over the past year. 

President Joe Biden’s administration announced steps on Thursday to allow US states to continue expanded unemployment benefits as the country grapples with a surge in the Delta variant of Covid-19, even as data showed jobless claims declining for a fourth straight week.

German car giant Volkswagen will slash production at its main plant due to ongoing problems with the global supply of computer chips, a spokesman told AFP on Friday.

European business leaders have warned that Hong Kong’s stringent quarantine measures have left its residents  “indefinitely trapped” in the city, threatening its status as an international business centre.

China passed a sweeping privacy law aimed at preventing businesses from collecting sensitive personal data Friday, as the country faces an uptick in internet scams and Beijing targets tech giants hoovering up personal data.

Stocks recovered ground on Friday despite concerns about economic growth amid rising Covid-19 cases, which continued to take its toll on oil prices.

The US military in Afghanistan sent helicopters to rescue over 150 Americans unable to reach the Kabul airport gates, an official said Friday, in the first evidence that US forces were willing and able to go beyond the US-secured compound to help people seeking evacuation.

President Joe Biden should keep Jerome Powell at the helm of the Federal Reserve for another four years to build confidence in an improving economy that still faces significant risks, Senator Steve Daines said in a letter to the president on Thursday.