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Yoshihide Suga will step down as Japan’s prime minister after just a year in office, during which his popularity plummeted as he struggled to contain Covid-19. Suga announced on Friday that he would not seek re-election in this month’s leadership race for the ruling Liberal Democratic party, according to Toshihiro Nikai, the party’s secretary-general. The

YouTube’s paid music streaming services have amassed 50m subscribers, a milestone for Google as it competes with Amazon, Apple and Spotify in the fiercely competitive market. After a slow start since launching in 2018, YouTube’s music streaming services have attracted millions of new paying users in recent months to reach 50m subscribers in August, according

Joe Biden is poised to launch his most forceful defence yet of America’s chaotic pullout from Afghanistan, a day after the last US troops flew out of Kabul airport ending their 20-year military presence in the country. In remarks scheduled for 2.45pm local time at the White House, the US president will attempt to put

The US dramatically scaled back its evacuation mission in Afghanistan on Monday with the number of civilians being airlifted out of Kabul falling sharply as its forces scramble to withdraw ahead of Tuesday’s deadline to end the 20-year war. Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said military commanders were sharing some drawdown logistics with Taliban commanders to

The US launched a drone strike to protect the Kabul evacuation effort on Sunday, as the Biden administration and its European allies promised to help people leave Afghanistan after Tuesday’s deadline for withdrawal.  The US military said it had carried out a “self-defence” air strike on a vehicle in the Afghan capital, which posed an “imminent

The US has carried out a drone strike in eastern Afghanistan against an Isis-K “planner” behind the deadly attack on Kabul airport on Thursday, as countries wrap up desperate efforts to evacuate thousands of Afghans trying to flee. According to US Central Command on Friday night, American forces conducted an “over-the-horizon counter-terrorism operation” in Nangarhar

Jay Powell has sent his strongest signal yet that the Federal Reserve could start dialling back its massive pandemic-era stimulus programme this year, declaring “clear progress” in the recovery of the US labour market. In a closely watched virtual speech at the Jackson Hole gathering of central bankers on Friday, Powell said the US central

The US has warned American citizens to avoid Kabul airport because of security threats, just hours after secretary of state Antony Blinken urged the Taliban to ensure “safe passage” for people seeking to flee Afghanistan. The deteriorating security situation at the airport has been a mounting concern for US and western officials trying to evacuate

Delta Air Lines said it would start charging unvaccinated employees enrolled in its healthcare plan an additional $200 a month, becoming the latest US company to cajole workers into having the Covid-19 jab. The first fully-fledged approval of a vaccine this week by the US Food and Drug Administration, which gave a green light to

Joe Biden is sticking by his plan to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan by the end of the month, defying international pressure, including from key European allies, to allow more time for evacuations. The US president’s decision caps days of uncertainty about the fate of the August 31 deadline for the final pullout of American

US president Joe Biden urged employers to require workers to get vaccinated against Covid-19 after the Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the BioNTech/Pfizer jab. “If you’re a business leader, a non-profit leader, the state and local leader, who has been waiting for full FDA approval to require vaccinations. I’m calling on you

Seven Afghan civilians have been killed around Kabul international airport as chaos continued to hamper western efforts to evacuate people from the country, one week after the Taliban retook control. Confirming the civilian deaths, the UK defence ministry acknowledged on Sunday that “conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging”, as the US warned its citizens

The brother of slain Afghan warlord Ahmad Shah Massoud has called on the Taliban to form an inclusive government following their recapture of the country, and warned of resistance if they refused. Ahmad Wali Massoud, one of a band of leaders holding out against the Taliban from their base in the Panjshir valley, raised the

Joe Biden pledged to evacuate every American trying to leave Afghanistan and insisted the botched US airlift was making “significant progress”, dismissing suggestions his administration had ignored warnings the Taliban would conquer Kabul at lightning speed. “This is one of the largest, most difficult airlifts in history,” said Biden in a televised address to the

The US Federal Trade Commission has refiled its antitrust complaint against Facebook, doubling down on its accusations that the social media group maintains monopoly power and uses a “buy or bury” strategy to neutralise competitors. Initially filed in December, the original lawsuit accused Facebook of conducting a “years-long course of anti-competitive conduct”, as it sought

The Taliban is rushing to work out how to govern Afghanistan after the militant Islamist group’s exiled leaders came back to a country that has changed profoundly since it was driven from power 20 years ago. While the Taliban has been setting up shadow governors and administrators to rule its conquered territory, the US has

The Biden administration scrambled to put a botched evacuation of Afghanistan back on track on Tuesday as it admitted its original plans needed to be changed following a day of chaos and violence at Kabul’s international airport. In an attempt to project competence after the Taliban swiftly took control of the country in the face

Afghans were bracing themselves for life under strict Islamic rule on Monday after the Taliban drove the US-backed government of Ashraf Ghani from power to establish control of Kabul. Thousands of residents filled the airport and throngs of people tried to push their way on to planes in a desperate effort to flee after the

Residents of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, are bracing for a potential onslaught after the Taliban seized more than half of the country’s provincial capitals and encircled the city. The insurgent group, which is seeking to impose a strict interpretation of Islamic law over the population, on Friday over-ran Puli Alam, the capital of eastern

Britain’s defence secretary has warned that Afghanistan risks descending into civil war and becoming a failed state as the Taliban captures large cities and gains ground in the wake of the hasty US troop withdrawal. The Islamist militia is now in control of Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second-biggest city, and Lashkar Gah in Helmand province after weeks

The Federal Reserve could start dialling back its ultra-accommodative monetary stimulus by the end of the year, given the strength of the economic rebound, according to a top official at the US central bank. In an interview with the Financial Times, Mary Daly, president of the San Francisco Fed, expressed confidence that the robust recovery

A British man working at the UK embassy in Berlin has been arrested on suspicion of passing information to the Russian intelligence services, German prosecutors said on Wednesday. The 57-year-old UK national, named only as David S, was arrested on Tuesday in Potsdam, a town to the south-west of Berlin, following a joint investigation by

SoftBank’s bets on an increasingly uncertain Chinese technology market have become the prime focus for shareholders as Masayoshi Son’s investment conglomerate reported a sharp drop in quarterly net profits. While listings of its portfolio companies helped the Japanese group’s flagship Vision Fund post a profit, the $100bn vehicle took a $6.3bn hit on nine of

The world is likely to temporarily reach 1.5C of warming within 20 years even in a best-case scenario of deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, a landmark report on climate change signed off by 234 scientists from more than 60 countries has concluded. Even with rapid emissions cuts, temperatures would continue to rise until “at

ByteDance, the owner of short-video app TikTok, has revived a plan to go public despite a widening regulatory assault targeting Chinese technology companies, aiming for a Hong Kong listing by early next year. The Chinese group, which raised about $5bn in December at a $180bn valuation, is planning to list in either the fourth quarter

WhatsApp has condemned Apple’s new child safety tools as a “very concerning . . . surveillance system”, even as governments around the world have cheered the decision to proactively search for illegal photos of child sexual abuse. The stand-off sets up a battle between other tech platforms and officials calling for them to adopt similar tools. An Indian government

Retail investors are scooping up funds that track Chinese stocks after sharp falls in recent weeks, marking a contrast to institutions that have remained more cautious as Beijing cracks down on key sectors. A US listed exchange traded fund, which holds big names such as Alibaba, Tencent, JD.com and Meituan, has attracted more than $2bn

Joe Biden will catapult his climate change agenda on Thursday by signing an executive order calling for half of all new vehicles sold in the US to be electric by 2030 as part of plans to slash transport emissions. The US president will announce the target as he lays out plans to reinstate and toughen

Employees of Archegos Capital Management face losses of about half a billion dollars after the value of a deferred pay plan set up by the firm crashed along with its other investments. The family office run by Bill Hwang is yet to release money it owes to former employees, who saw the value of their

Tencent has announced new restrictions limiting how long minors can play its online games after the Chinese internet group came under intense pressure from state media, which labelled the gaming industry a “spiritual opium”. In a social media post, the company said it was introducing the measures after “relevant authorities” requested greater protection of minors