Jakarta residents have largely welcomed a new police-military campaign against violent street crime, after a wave of brazen motorbike muggings struck fear into Indonesia’s capital. But rights advocates warn that deploying soldiers alongside police blurs a line between law enforcement and military power, reviving memories of extrajudicial killings in a country still haunted by its authoritarian pas...
Jakarta residents have largely welcomed a new police-military campaign against violent street crime, after a wave of brazen motorbike muggings struck fear into Indonesia’s capital. But rights advocates warn that deploying soldiers alongside police blurs a line between law enforcement and military power, reviving memories of extrajudicial killings in a country still haunted by its authoritarian past. On May 15, Jakarta police announced the formation of a special, 24-hour joint patrol task force...
Under the weight of sustained US export controls on advanced semiconductors, China’s AI chipmakers are battling to forge a self-reliant silicon ecosystem capable of breaking Nvidia’s stranglehold on the market. At the centre of this rivalry is a fundamental design debate: Should the country rely on the versatile graphics processing unit (GPU) or pivot to the highly specialised application-specific...
Under the weight of sustained US export controls on advanced semiconductors, China’s AI chipmakers are battling to forge a self-reliant silicon ecosystem capable of breaking Nvidia’s stranglehold on the market. At the centre of this rivalry is a fundamental design debate: Should the country rely on the versatile graphics processing unit (GPU) or pivot to the highly specialised application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)? The fight is no longer about finding a single Nvidia clone; it is about...
Congo’s Ebola outbreak is being detected across a widening swath of the country’s conflict-hit east as health authorities struggle to trace exposed contacts and determine the true scale of the epidemic. The outbreak’s apparent geographic footprint expanded to 22 affected health zones across three eastern provinces — from 13 reported just days earlier — according to government data. Health official...
Congo’s Ebola outbreak is being detected across a widening swath of the country’s conflict-hit east as health authorities struggle to trace exposed contacts and determine the true scale of the epidemic. The outbreak’s apparent geographic footprint expanded to 22 affected health zones across three eastern provinces — from 13 reported just days earlier — according to government data. Health officials are simultaneously clearing testing backlogs and reclassifying hundreds of suspected cases, making it difficult to determine how much of the increase reflects new transmission and how much reflects improved detection and surveillance. The rapidly growing epidemic has become one of the most complex Ebola outbreaks in years, unfolding across areas impacted by armed conflict, mass displacement and weak health infrastructure. The Bundibugyo strain responsible has no approved vaccine or treatment and has also infected nine people in neighboring Uganda. Read More: What to Know About Ebola as Fears of Spread Grow Authorities increasingly view community cooperation as central to bringing the outbreak under control. Success will depend on “the trust, engagement and leadership of local communities,” the Congolese government and World Health Organization said in a joint statement Sunday. Escaped Patients Congo recorded a total of 282 confirmed cases and 42 confirmed deaths as of May 30, according to the latest situation report from Congo’s National Institute of Public Health. Nineteen new confirmed infections were reported that day alone. Responders are losing visibility over transmission chains as the virus spreads through insecure areas, with contact follow-up rates of just 45%. Families are refusing diagnostic swab testing on corpses in morgues, while shortages of medicines, protective equipment and funding continue to hamper response efforts. Eleven suspected patients fled a hospital in Bambu on Friday because of inadequate nutritional support , while five more patients escaped ...
Tencent Cloud, the cloud business of global technology company Tencent, today announced that it has once again been recognized as a Challenger in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS), marking the fourth consecutive year the company has received this recognition and positioned highest in Asia Pacific for Ability to Execute.
Tencent Cloud, the cloud business of global technology company Tencent, today announced that it has once again been recognized as a Challenger in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS), marking the fourth consecutive year the company has received this recognition and positioned highest in Asia Pacific for Ability to Execute.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. sees two-sided risks to oil prices as a slump in demand competes with supply losses from the Middle East because of the Iran war. April oil sales data from China and Western Europe jointly imply about 2 million barrels a day of downside risk to the bank’s “already low” demand estimates for the month, analysts including Daan Struyven said in a note dated May 31. That adds a...
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. sees two-sided risks to oil prices as a slump in demand competes with supply losses from the Middle East because of the Iran war. April oil sales data from China and Western Europe jointly imply about 2 million barrels a day of downside risk to the bank’s “already low” demand estimates for the month, analysts including Daan Struyven said in a note dated May 31. That adds about $10 a barrel of downside risk to a forecast of Brent crude prices of $90 a barrel in the fourth quarter. The global oil market has been upended by the Iran war, with shipments from Persian Gulf producers through the Strait of Hormuz cut to a trickle — leading to the shut-in of millions of barrels of production. The Brent benchmark has rallied more than a quarter since the start of the conflict in late February, leading to demand destruction, especially for jet fuel and petrochemical feedstocks. “We see significant upside price risks from potentially more persistent Mideast supply losses but also meaningful price downside from weaker demand,” the Goldman analysts said. “Actual end-use oil demand may have fallen more in response to higher prices than expected.” China’s oil imports are set to drop to levels not seen since the pandemic , as the war reveals the extent to which demand has disappeared and may not be coming back. The world’s biggest crude importer may have inbound shipments of just 10.9 million barrels a day this year, according to London-based consultancy Energy Aspects Ltd. Brent futures traded near $93 a barrel on Monday after closing at a six-week low on Friday amid optimism for a peace deal between the US and Iran.
Maximusnd/iStock via Getty Images Fund performance Institutional Class shares of Columbia Intermediate Duration Municipal Bond Fund returned 0.10% for the three months ending March 31, 2026. For monthly performance information, please check online at columbiathreadneedleus. com . The fund's benchmark, the Bloomberg 3-15 Year Blend Municipal Bond Index, returned -0.34% for the same period. The fund...
Maximusnd/iStock via Getty Images Fund performance Institutional Class shares of Columbia Intermediate Duration Municipal Bond Fund returned 0.10% for the three months ending March 31, 2026. For monthly performance information, please check online at columbiathreadneedleus. com . The fund's benchmark, the Bloomberg 3-15 Year Blend Municipal Bond Index, returned -0.34% for the same period. The fund outperformed its benchmark, with its slightly below benchmark duration and bar-bell structure providing down-side protection during the March selloff. Market overview Market volatility returned in the first quarter of 2026, as investors navigated a complex mix of geopolitical risk, shifting inflation expectations and an evolving U. S. Federal Reserve policy outlook. Escalating tensions in the Middle East and a sharp rise in energy prices contributed to renewed inflation concerns late in the quarter, while uncertainty around artificial intelligence ( AI ) –driven productivity gains and global trade policy weighed on risk sentiment. Against this backdrop, the Fed paused its rate-easing cycle, leaving the federal funds rate unchanged at 3.50%–3.75% and reinforcing a data-dependent stance amid persistent inflation pressures and slower employment growth. First-quarter returns were negative across most asset classes. The S&P ( SPGI ) 500 Index and MSCI ( MSCI ) ACWI (ex US) Index both declined, by 4.33% and 0.71%, respectively, while the Russell 2000 Index rose 0.89%. The Bloomberg US Treasury Index, Bloomberg Aggregate Bond Index and Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index all saw negative performance, declining by 0.04%, 0.05% and 0.18%, respectively. Treasury yields moved higher across the yield curve during the quarter, rising by 32, 19, 12 and 4 basis points ( BPS ) in 2-, 5-, 10- and 30-year maturities, respectively. () Municipal yields also increased across the curve, by 3, 26, 36 and 23 for the same maturities. The municipal market witnessed a return of the “January effect, ” lea...