The United States has tightened sanctions on Iran, and global stock markets mostly rose in response while oil prices fell and European defence company shares jumped.
The US Treasury Department punished Chinese companies for doing business with Iran and told other countries to cut Iran trade too or face the same sanctions.
Taiwanese prosecutors have charged nine people, including someone who works for the chipmaker Nvidia, with illegally sending AI servers (powerful computers built for artificial intelligence) using Nvidia chips to China.
The U.S. Treasury Department is preparing to expand penalties on countries and companies that do business with Iran, according to a source cited by Reuters. Washington has also asked China to join the effort, according to WFAA. These so-called secondary sanctions can punish non-U.S. firms, including Chinese companies, for trading with Iran. It is not yet clear which sectors would be targeted or whether China, a major buyer of Iranian oil, will agree to take part.
Days after the US announced new sanctions on Iran, its currency, the rial, has dropped to its lowest value on record.
Taiwan's National Security Council, once dismissed as powerless, is now coordinating the island's defense buildup against China, including a proposed 18% rise in next year's military budget, tougher war games, and eased rules for satellite internet providers like Starlink.
German police are checking whether a weapons stash found in a Bavarian forest has ties to Russia.
The United States has announced new penalties, called sanctions, meant to cut off money and trade with Iran, calling the move an 'economic D-Day.' Iran's government called the sanctions 'economic terrorism.' Washington also asked China, which buys most of Iran's oil, to help enforce the sanctions, but China publicly refused, saying they won't solve the underlying conflict.
An undersea internet cable near Taiwan was damaged, and a separate study found China has been testing a bigger navy presence on the Pacific side of the island, the route allies would use to send help in a crisis.
The United States has asked allied countries and China to join a campaign of economic sanctions against Iran, part of President Trump's effort to raise pressure on Tehran during a stalled war.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that much of the world's oil passes through.
Uber and Chinese company Pony.ai plan to put more than 2,000 self-driving taxis on European roads, with a similar push planned for the Middle East.