Business

The Biden administration has scrapped oil leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on the basis of "legal deficiencies". The leases awarded by the Trump administration had been widely criticised by environmental groups. However, the White House's move comes after it approved an oil drilling project in another Alaskan reserve a few months ago. Also in this edition, China's trade slump persists and our Taiwan correspondent Lucie Barbazanges meets with insiders from the semiconductor industry.

According to the International Energy Agency, global investment will need to surge to $2 trillion a year within a decade to reach the Paris climate agreement goals. One of the hurdles to financing the green transition in Africa is ballooning debt. A new paper by the Debt Relief for a Green and Inclusive Project shows the region will face debt servicing costs that are roughly the same as their climate financing needs. For more, we spoke to Kevin P. Gallagher of Boston University's Global Development Policy Center.

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk is now Europe's largest company in market capitalisation, ahead of French luxury giant LVMH. This follows the UK launch of Wegovy, a weight loss drug that cuts appetite and cravings. Tens of thousands of people have already signed up to waiting lists for the treatment. Also in this edition: Qantas's long-serving CEO will retire earlier than expected following a ticket scandal and we take a look at the startup bringing solar-powered cold storage to Kenyan farmers.

With more than 41 percent of exhibitors at the Munich IAA mobility show headquartered in Asia, analysts say European carmakers will need to prove their ability to compete with China in the electric vehicle age. Chinese companies, whose presence has doubled at the event compared to last year, have their sights set on Europe's EV market. While lagging behind, domestic players are still making an effort. Over the weekend, Mercedes and BMW both unveiled new electric models. We take a closer look.

India on Friday sent its Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on a mission to land on the moon, hoping to join the three other countries that have managed the feat. Comparatively, though, India's quest has a considerably lower budget, with a price tag of $74.6 million. The launch comes at a time of growing opportunities in the space industry. According to an Indian minister, the country's space sector is on trajectory to become a trillion-dollar economy in the coming years.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met with Chinese economic officials and US business leaders on Friday as she tries to soothe mounting tensions between the world's two largest economies. Also, Twitter threatens legal action over Meta's new "Threads" app, and delivery app firms sue New York City over a minimum wage law for drivers.

Shortly after arriving in Beijing, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said her visit was an "opportunity to communicate" and "avoid misunderstanding". Relations between the world's two biggest economies have become strained due to disputes over trade and technology. No major agreements are expected to come out of Yellen's meetings with Chinese officials. Instead, analysts say the focus is on restarting dialogue. We take a closer look at the high-stakes, low-expectations trip.

Seven hours after its launch, some 10 million people had signed up to the new "text-based social media platform" Threads, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The app aims to attract Twitter users who are unhappy with some of the changes on that platform under Elon Musk's ownership. Also in this edition, we see how heatwaves in India are leaving a mark on the country's agricultural and construction sectors. Plus, one California company gets approval for a test flight of a flying car.

Fresh figures have shown the extent of the European Union's efforts to reduce its energy dependency on Russia, with Moscow accounting for just 3 percent of the bloc's oil imports in the first quarter of this year, compared to 26 percent during the same period in 2022. The EU has also moved away from Russian natural gas, relying more heavily on Norway, the UK and Algeria. This comes as the decline in Moscow's export revenues weakens its currency.

In spite of an agreement struck in April to cut production of crude by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, oil prices still haven't seen a boost. In this edition, we see that concerns over global economic growth are outweighing the production cuts. Also, European space rocket Ariane 5 gears up for its final lift-off and Singaporean bank UOB makes a winning bet on Taylor Swift fans.