Bismee Taskin

Whereas most other world leaders are “men of action” who go off like proverbial firecrackers when crises emerge, Merkel preferred to do her homework.

London: Bitcoin, Ether and other digital tokens tumbled as China intensified its push to rein in crypto speculation and mining. Bitcoin fell 7.8% to $41,220 as of 7:41 a.m. in New York. The losses were more severe in other coins, with Ether, EOS, Litecoin and Dash all falling more than 7%. Crypto-related stocks also came under pressure, with Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. tumbling 6% in U.S. pre-market trading. China’s central bank said all cryptocurrency-related transactions are illegal, according to a Q&A statement on PBOC’s website. It’s an urgent task for China to root out crypto mining and the crackdown is important to meet carbon goals, according to the guidelines on the website of the nation’s economic planning agency. Bitcoin looks headed toward the $40,000 level or lower, Fawad Razaqzada, an analyst at ThinkMarkets, warned. China’s strict approach is part of the reason why Bitcoin prices collapsed in May and have struggled to regain previous all-time highs above $60,000. “The risks are skewed to...

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh says turmoil in Afghanistan and the region is a result of 'aggressive designs and active support to non-state players'.

Democracy is the most important of the 3 Ds Modi keeps listing. If that is damaged, India’s most powerful PM in five decades also gets publicly admonished, if gently, by US V-P.