Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $150 million in new humanitarian aid for Africa's Sahel region during a visit on Thursday to Niger, a country Washington views as an important ally in the fight against Islamist insurgencies.

"We believe this next generation of AI will unlock a new wave of productivity growth," Satya Nadella, Microsoft's chief executive, said in an online presentation.

The West African troops silently pulled their small boats up to a rust-stained ferry and swarmed up its sides on grappling hooks to disarm the mock kidnappers onboard.

Washington's top general said the crash of a U.S. surveillance drone after being intercepted by Russian jets showed Moscow's increasingly aggressive behaviour, while Russia warned Washington that flying drones near Crimea risked escalation.

He will then head to the West African nation of Niger on Thursday, which has been confronting a growing Islamist insurgency.

Relations between Russia and the U.S. have become more hostile since Moscow invaded Ukraine over a year ago, and Washington and its allies oppose Russian influence in West Africa.

The widely-anticipated job cuts are part of a restructuring that will see the company scrap hiring plans for 5,000 openings, kill off lower-priority projects and "flatten" layers of middle management.

The district around the commercial hub of Blantyre was among the hardest-hit. Severe flooding and rain damaged roads and bridges, hampering relief operations.

The demonstrations are the latest expression of growing tensions in Senegal in the run-up to a 2024 election that could see President Macky Sall vie for a controversial third term, which the opposition says is unconstitutional.

The Russian defence ministry offered a different account and Moscow's ambassador to Washington said his country viewed the incident involving a U.S. MQ-9 drone and Russian Su-27 fighter jet as a provocation.

Hassan Ahmed, Coinbase's country director for Singapore, told Reuters in an interview the move was part of the company's international expansion strategy.

Binance is halting its sterling deposits and withdrawals, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday, a month after the crypto exchange ceased dollar transfers.

Crypto-focused U.S. bank Silvergate Capital Corp said it planned to close last week after it was hit with losses following the dramatic collapse of crypto exchange FTX in November last year.

Ukraine's future hinges on the outcome of battles in the east, including in and around Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, with both sides describing brutal fighting in the small city as Russia intensifies a winter campaign to capture it.

The Black Sea grain initiative aimed to prevent a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blockaded by Russia's invasion to be safely exported from three Ukrainian ports.

Islamist militants killed at least 35 people in an overnight attack on a village in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in retaliation for a military crackdown on rebel activity, an army spokesperson said on Thursday.

The visit, set as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed works to reestablish himself on the world stage following the two-year Tigray war, comes as foreign troops remain within the region and bureaucratic hurdles hamper the humanitarian response.

The U.S. Department Justice has appealed a court order approving Voyager Digital's bankruptcy plan, creating a new hurdle for the crypto lender's plan to sell its assets and transfer its customers to Binance.US in a deal valued at $1.3 billion.

Widely perceived to be pragmatic and business-friendly, the 63-year-old Li faces the daunting task of shoring up China's uneven recovery amid global headwinds and weak confidence among consumers and the private sector.

The scale of the bloodshed has shocked the broader community in North Kivu province that has been menaced by marauding armed rebel groups since wars in the 1990s.

While Moscow did not specify Bakhmut casualties, the eastern Donetsk town, now nearly deserted, has been the site of one of the bloodiest and longest battles of the year-long war.

Tunisia's bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund have looked stalled for months, and there is little sign President Kais Saied is willing to agree to the steps needed to reach a deal and help the country avoid a financial crisis.

Officials have said hosting refugees from Ukraine and increasing immigration from Africa and Asia is straining the country of some 11.6 million people.

Moscow says it launched its "special military operation" in Ukraine a year ago to combat a security threat. Kyiv and the West call it an unprovoked war to subdue an independent state.

Analysts said a complete closure of the crypto lender could take one or two years depending on how quickly outstanding loans are repaid and assets are disposed of.

Crypto-focused bank Silvergate Capital Corp said on Wednesday it planned to wind down operations and voluntarily liquidate after it was hit with losses following the dramatic collapse of crypto exchange FTX, sending its shares down 35% in after-hours trade.

Ukraine's military said Russia fired 81 missiles and eight drones in attacks mainly targeting energy infrastructure, and that the weapons used included six hypersonic Kinzhal missiles which Ukraine cannot intercept.

Most of the growers are contracted by private companies to produce the crop and receive seeds, fertilizers and chemicals, to help boost output.

Ukraine's president and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Wednesday for the extension of a deal with Moscow that has allowed Ukraine to export grain via Black Sea ports during Russia's invasion.