Here are the top stories making headlines around the world on March 24, 2023:
- The Chinese government has strongly opposed any US pressure to force ByteDance to sell its Chinese TikTok business to the US, citing security risks. Bloomberg news agency reported that this move would hurt investor confidence in the US.
- Credit Suisse Group AG and UBS Group AG are among several banks under investigation by the US Department of Justice for allegedly helping a Russian oligarch evade sanctions, according to Bloomberg.
- An Asian investor group is preparing to file a lawsuit against the Swiss government after Credit Suisse cut the value of $17 billion of Additional Tier 1 (AT1) financial instruments to zero as part of the takeover agreement by UBS. The move has sparked concerns about a similar crisis in Asia, and regulators are trying to regain investor confidence, according to Nikkei Asia News Agency.
- Do Kwon, founder of Terraform Labs, which cost cryptocurrency investors an estimated $40 billion last year, has been indicted by a federal prosecutor in New York on fraud charges.
- Citizens Financial Group Inc. is reportedly preparing to acquire the private banking business of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) shortly after SVB went bankrupt. The business is called SVB Private, according to Reuters.
- Wal-Mart has informed hundreds of employees at its five e-commerce distribution centers in the US to find a new job within 90 days at the company’s other distribution centers, according to a spokesperson for the company.
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has observed the test of weapons designed to carry out nuclear strikes against the United States and its allies, including a new generation of underwater drones that can cause radioactive tsunami waves.
- Utah has become the first US state to enforce a law limiting youth access to social media. Governor Spencer Cox has signed two bills that aim to limit when and where young people can use social media and stop companies from luring young people to the site, according to reports.
- European Central Bank (ECB) officials are likely to reassure leaders in the European Union (EU) that banks in the Eurozone remain safe, according to Reuters. However, the ECB is expected to call on EU leaders to push for deposit insurance measures.
- An attack on a building on a US military base in northeastern Syria has killed two US contractors and injured five government officials. The incident is believed to be an Iranian drone attack, according to the US Department of Defense.
- Twitter has announced that it will end its authentication system that gives white checkmarks on a blue background to accounts that are considered real and “attested”. The system will start shutting down from April 1 onwards.
- Philippine and China deputy foreign ministers have pledged to work together to resolve maritime issues between the two countries, saying that they play an important role in relations between the two nations.