Reuters

By Jackie Gu and Yimou Lee

TAIPEI (Reuters) - About a month before Taiwan's January presidential election, China began sending intruders over the Taiwan Strait: more than 100 balloons, some of which passed through the island's airspace or busy, Taipei-controlled air corridors for civil aviation.

Experts say the balloons could be psychological warfare, carry surveillance tools or simply gather meteorological data. On some days, as many as... (continue reading...)

By Tom Westbrook

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The dollar headed for its largest weekly fall versus the euro in two-and-a-half months on Friday as signs of cooling inflation and a softening U.S. economy raised the prospect of rate cuts.

The euro is up 0.9% on the dollar this week, has broken above resistance around $1.0855 and traded as high as $1.0895 in the wake of U.S. inflation posting a slowdown.

It was last at $1.0861. April's... (continue reading...)

By Shariq Khan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose in Asian trading hours on Friday, with global benchmark Brent set for its first weekly increase in three weeks on signs of improving global demand and slowing inflation in top oil consumer the United States.

Brent crude oil prices rose 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $83.48 a barrel by 0018 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 18 cents, or 0.2%, to $79.41 a barrel.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google in a court filing on Thursday is seeking a non-jury trial in the U.S. Justice Department's lawsuit accusing the advertising and search giant of anticompetitive practices in the online advertising marketplace.

The Justice Department, which filed the advertising lawsuit in January 2023, alleged the company has abused its dominance of the digital advertising business and argued that it should be forced to sell its... (continue reading...)

By Sudarshan Varadhan

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Higher electricity demand in Laos due to cryptocurrency mining and erratic rainfall have led to power shortages, an advisor to its state-run utility said, revealing challenges to the nation's prospects as a hydropower exporter to Southeast Asia.

Laos is dubbed the battery of southeast Asia for its hydropower export potential, and its supply of the cheapest and most stable source of clean power is... (continue reading...)