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 Mark Mobius, pioneering emerging markets investor known as the 'Indiana Jones of investing,' dies at 89 Mark Mobius, a pioneering emerging-markets investor known for turning developing economies into a major global asset class, has died at the age of 89. Mobius died on Wednesday, according to a statement posted on his LinkedIn page, with no cause of death disclosed. He was widely known as the “Indiana Jones of emerging markets” for his willingness to invest in volatile and often overlooked regions across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Over a career spanning more than four decades, Mobius became one of the most influential figures in global investing. He spent more than 30 years at Franklin Templeton, where he helped build and lead the Templeton Emerging Markets Group and played a major role in bringing emerging markets into mainstream institutional investing. He later continued his work through Mobius Capital Partners and other ventures focused on frontier ec...

BBC to cut up to 2,000 jobs in $677 million cost-saving plan over two years    The BBC said Wednesday it plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs over the next two years as part of a major cost-saving effort aimed at reducing its annual budget by about 10%, or £500 million ($677 million). The planned layoffs, announced during a staff call, would mark the broadcaster’s largest workforce reduction in more than a decade. Interim Director-General Rhodri Talfan Davies told employees in a memo that the move was driven by financial pressures, including inflation, declining license fee income, weaker commercial revenues, and broader economic uncertainty. The broadcaster has previously warned of “substantial financial pressures” and outlined plans to reduce spending by roughly 10% by 2029, with most of the cuts expected in the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2027. The restructuring comes ahead of former Google executive Matt Brittin taking over as director-general next month, following leadership ...

 Canadian father accused of killing daughter and faking kidnapping claim to face trial in New York this summer  The trial of a Canadian man accused of killing his 9-year-old daughter in Ticonderoga and falsely reporting her as kidnapped is scheduled to begin this summer. Luciano Frattolin is set to go on trial July 20 after pleading not guilty to charges of murder and concealment of a human corpse in connection with the July 2025 death of his daughter, Melina. A grand jury indicted him in the case, and he has remained in custody since a judge ruled him a flight risk. Authorities issued an Amber Alert for Melina after she was reported missing by her father, who claimed she had last been seen near Interstate 87 by Exit 22 in Lake George and may have been taken by men in a white van. Investigators later said inconsistencies emerged in his account, and they concluded there was no kidnapping. Her body was later discovered in a shallow pond in Ticonderoga following a multiagency sea...

Trump announces 10-day Israel-Lebanon ceasefire pause after talks with leaders, amid ongoing Hezbollah conflict U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 10-day pause in fighting between Israel and Lebanon set to begin Thursday at 5 p.m. ET, following what he described as “excellent” conversations with both countries’ leaders. The announcement comes amid ongoing conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group operating in Lebanon, where Israeli strikes have reportedly killed nearly 2,200 people. Earlier in the day, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun declined to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite Trump’s earlier indication that direct talks between the two leaders would take place. However, diplomatic contacts have recently advanced, with Israel’s and Lebanon’s ambassadors to the United States holding their first direct discussions in decades earlier this week. The situation remains tense, with the ceasefire pause viewed as a temporary step in b...

 Victoria Beckham has finally addressed the growing distance between her family and her eldest son, Brooklyn Beckham, saying that despite the tension, her focus has always been on love and protection. In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, the fashion entrepreneur and former Spice Girl spoke carefully about the ongoing family strain. While she did not mention Brooklyn by name, her words clearly reflected the emotional weight of the situation. “I think that we’ve always, we love our children so much,” she said. “We’ve always tried to be the best parents that we can be.” Victoria added that life in the spotlight has shaped much of their family journey, but insisted that her and David Beckham’s priority has remained the same through the years. “For more than 30 years now, all we’ve ever tried to do is protect our children and love our children,” she said, before making it clear that she did not want to go further on the issue. “That’s all I really want to say about it.” H...

 Pope Leo, in Cameroon, decries 'handful of tyrants' ravaging the world Pope Leo blasted leaders who spend billions on wars and said the world was "being ravaged by a handful of tyrants", in unusually forceful remarks in ‌Cameroon on Thursday days after U.S. President Donald Trump attacked him on social media. Leo, the first U.S. pope, also decried leaders who used religious language to justify wars and urged a "decisive change of course" in a meeting in the biggest city in Cameroon's anglophone regions, where a simmering conflict going back nearly a decade has left thousands dead. "The masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is not enough to ​rebuild," the pontiff said, Reuters reported. "They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration ​are nowhere to be found." '...