Reuters: World

Intel to cut dividend to conserve cash U.S. chipmaker Intel Corp (INTC.O) said on Wednesday it would lower its quarterly dividend as a part of its strategy to improve capital amid uncertain times. The company had in January warned it would lose money in the first quarter as two of its most important markets - personal computers and data centers - were weakening after two years of strong growth during the pandemic-led remote work. Intel has committed to reduce $3 billion in costs this year and between $8 and $10 billion in savings by the end of 2025. read more

Seattle becomes first U.S. city to outlaw caste discrimination after council vote Seattle became the first U.S. city to outlaw caste discrimination on Tuesday, after its local council voted to add caste to the city's anti-discrimination laws. The move addresses an issue important to the area's South Asian diaspora, particularly the Indian and Hindu communities. India's caste system is among the world's oldest forms of rigid social stratification. "The fight against caste discrimination is deeply connected to the fight against all forms of oppression," Kshama Sawant, an Indian American Seattle City Council member, said. read more

Russia's Putin issues new nuclear warnings to West over Ukraine President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday delivered a warning to the West over Ukraine by suspending a landmark nuclear arms control treaty, announcing that new strategic systems had been put on combat duty, and threatening to resume nuclear tests. Nearly a year after ordering an invasion that has triggered the biggest confrontation with the West in six decades, Putin said Russia would achieve its aims and accused the West of trying to destroy it. "The elites of the West do not hide their purpose. But they also cannot fail to realise that it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield," he told his country's political and military elite. read more

FTX Japan to allow asset withdrawals starting Tuesday The Japanese unit of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX said on Monday it would allow customers to withdraw deposits of fiat currency and crypto assets beginning Tuesday after months of suspension. FTX Japan said its customers could withdraw assets through the website of Liquid Japan, a crypto exchange it bought in February last year. FTX filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection in November. source

Panic as Turkey, Syria rocked again by 6.3M earthquake A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck southern Turkey near the Syrian border late on Monday, setting off panic and further damaging buildings two weeks after the country's worst earthquake in modern history left tens of thousands dead. Two Reuters reporters said the tremors were strong and lasting, damaging buildings and leaving dust in the night air in central Antakya city, where it was centred. It was also felt in Egypt and Lebanon, Reuters reporters said. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said the tremor struck at a shallow depth of 2 km (1.2 miles). read more

North Korea warns of turning Pacific into 'firing range' after latest missile test North Korea fired two more ballistic missiles off its east coast on Monday, as the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un warned U.S. forces to halt military drills, saying the reclusive nuclear state could turn the Pacific into a "firing range". The launches come just two days after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the sea off Japan's west coast, prompting the United States to hold joint air exercises with South Korea and separately with Japan on Sunday. North Korea's state media confirmed it fired two projectiles from a multiple rocket launcher, aiming at targets 395 km (245 miles) and 337 km (209 miles) away, respectively. read more

Russia tells Macron: Don't forget Napoleon when you talk of regime change Russia on Sunday scolded Emmanuel Macron over remarks about wanting to see Russia defeated, saying Moscow still remembered the fate of Napoleon Bonaparte and accusing the French president of duplicitous diplomacy with the Kremlin. Macron told paper Le Journal du Dimanche France wanted Russia to be defeated in Ukraine but had never wanted to "crush" it. "About 'Never': France did not begin with Macron, and the remains of Napoleon, revered at the state level, rest in the centre of Paris. France - and Russia - should understand," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. read more

Israeli missile strikes building in central Damascus, five dead An Israeli rocket strike early on Sunday hit a building in central Damascus's Kafr Sousa neighbourhood near a large, heavily guarded security complex close to Iranian installations, killing five people, witnesses and officials said. The rare, targeted strike damaged several buildings in the densely populated district close to Omayyad square in the heart of the capital, where multi-storey security buildings are located within residential areas. A police official said on state media that there were several casualties and injured. An Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment. read more

U.S. declares Russia committed 'crimes against humanity' in Ukraine The Biden administration formally concluded that Russia has committed "crimes against humanity" during its nearly year-long invasion of Ukraine, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said on Saturday. "In the case of Russia's actions in Ukraine we have examined the evidence, we know the legal standards, and there is no doubt: these are crimes against humanity," Harris, a former prosecutor, said at the Munich Security Conference. "And I say to all those who have perpetrated these crimes, and to their superiors who are complicit in these crimes, you will be held to account." read more

Blasts hit west Ukraine after Russia fires four missiles, officials say Blasts wounded two civilians and shattered several hundred windows in the west Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi as Russia fired missiles from the Black Sea on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said. Ukraine's air force said Russia launched four Kalibr missiles from the Black Sea, two of which were shot down by air defences. Two explosions were heard in Khmelnytskyi, which lies 170 miles (274 km) west of Kyiv, the regional governor said. Oleksandr Symchyshyn, the mayor of Khmelnytskyi, said on national television that the explosions, which he blamed Russia, had wounded two people, but their injuries were not serious. read more

India FM Jaishankar says Soros dangerous, debate needed on democracy India’s foreign minister said the democratic world needed a debate on democracy, labelling billionaire investor George Soros “old, rich, opinionated and dangerous” for his comments on India that didn’t recognise its difficult path from colonisation. In a speech ahead of the Munich Security Conference the billionaire investor Soros on Thursday criticised India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying India was a democracy but Modi was not a democrat. read more India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told a conference in Sydney on Saturday that Soro's comments were typical of a "Euro Atlantic view". read more

U.S. tries to woo India away from Russia with display of F-35s, bombers The United States brought its most advanced fighter jet, the F-35, to India for the first time this week alongside F-16s, Super Hornets and B-1B bombers as Washington looks to woo New Delhi away from its traditional military supplier, Russia. India, desperate to modernise its largely Soviet-era fighter jet fleet to boost its air power, is concerned about Russian supply delays due to the Ukraine war and faces pressure from the West to distance itself from Moscow. The American delegation to the week-long Aero India show in Bengaluru, which ends on Friday, is the biggest in the 27-year history of the show and underlines the growing strategic relationship between the United States and India. read more