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Koalas are normally found in eucalyptus trees, but one couple came home in Australia on Wednesday and were shocked to find one in their bedroom.

Rufino, who moved to Australia from Brazil, posted the unexpected encounter on Instagram, saying she was lost for words upon seeing the marsupial inside her home.

“I was so nervous that I forgot my English,” she wrote in an Instagram post, with the observation “Only in Australia.”

“I was nervous and worried about how we would manage him to go out,” she said.

Koalas, which are mostly found on Australia’s east and southeast coasts, are endangered in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory, mainly due to disease, drought, bushfires and land clearing.

In South Australia, where the Rufinos live, koala numbers are stable, and in some areas, populations are so healthy they’re being managed to protect the habitat.

The koala left the bedroom after Brunno used a sweater to try to guide it outside.

Video showed the koala scurrying around the house, presumably looking for a way out, as Rufino screamed frantically in the background. Koalas rarely attack people and are most often seen at the tops of trees, lazily chewing eucalyptus leaves.

Rufino said her husband later used a blanket to shoo the koala away and it then found its way to the door.

She said she occasionally spots koalas walking down the street or sitting in eucalyptus trees in her area and thinks this one might have sneaked in through the pet door.

While southern koalas are doing well, there are fears that disease and habitat loss could see further declines in endangered populations along Australia’s east coast.

In 2022, a 10-year national recovery plan was launched, but two years on, the long-term survival prospects for wild koalas in listed areas remain “poor,” according to an annual report released in May.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Thousands of Mattel’s “Wicked”-branded fashion dolls are flying off shelves, but not because of consumer demand.

The toy company has been forced to pull its line of character dolls after a package misprint. Instead of listing the website for Universal’s “Wicked” movie, boxes featured a link to a pornographic website for a group called Wicked Pictures.

“Mattel was made aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel Wicked collection dolls, primarily sold in the U.S., which intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com  landing page,” Mattel said in a statement. “We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this. Parents are advised that the misprinted, incorrect website is not appropriate for children. Consumers who already have the product are advised to discard the product packaging or obscure the link and may contact Mattel Customer Service for further information.”

Target, Walmart and Amazon had removed the line of “Wicked” dolls from their online storefronts as of midday Monday, as had Best Buy, Barnes & Noble and Macy’s. The products were also being sold at Kohl’s and DSW, among other retailers. Some sites were still taking action on the listings throughout the day Monday.

It is unclear if Mattel will reprint the packages or provide retailers with stickers to cover the incorrect website domain. Mattel did not return CNBC’s request for additional comment after providing its initial statement.

“Like any business, mistakes can and do happen in the toy business,” said James Zahn, editor in chief of The Toy Book. “This was likely an innocent oversight that made it through the normal processes. Most consumers — kids and adults alike — will never read the fine print on a package, and at the end of the day, the packaging is designed to end up in the trash. The odds of a kid reading the back of a doll box and being inclined to go online and visit the website are pretty slim.”

The mishap comes as Universal floods retail shelves with “Wicked”-related product ahead of the film’s Nov. 22 release. The green-and-pink barrage is expected to bring a big boost to the retail industry just in time for the crucial holiday period.

However, Mattel could see its revenue impacted by the cost of removing the dolls.

“I suppose the impact depends on the resolution, which we don’t yet know,” said Jaime Katz, an analyst at Morningstar.

“The big winners in the short term are resellers, as this snafu sparked a flipper frenzy this weekend as retail shelves were quickly emptied by opportunists looking to make a quick buck by selling on eBay or Facebook Marketplace,” Zahn noted.

Already dozens of Mattel’s misprinted dolls are available on eBay for list prices ranging between $40 and $2,100. The dolls retailed for between $20 and $40 depending on the character and outfit.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the distributor of “Wicked.”

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Netflix’s cheaper, ad-supported tier has reached 70 million global monthly active users two years after it was launched.

The company said Tuesday more than 50% of its new sign-ups are for ad-supported plans in countries that offer the option. Netflix said it continues “to see positive momentum and growth across all areas of the business,” adding it has seen “steady progress across all countries’ member bases.”

Netflix launched the option in November 2022 as one of its responses to a slowdown in subscriber growth.

Recently, subscriber growth hasn’t been an issue. Last month Netflix reported it added 5.1 million subscribers during the third quarter, beating Wall Street estimates. In total, Netflix counts 282.7 million memberships across all of its pricing tiers.

Beginning next year, Netflix said it will no longer update investors on its subscriber numbers as it shifts focus toward revenue and other financial metrics as performance indicators.

When Netflix launched its ad platform two years ago, the company said Nielsen would rate its content.

Netflix in May announced it would air two National Football League games on Christmas Day this year as part of a three-year deal. On Tuesday it said it sold out of its ad inventory for the two live games.

Netflix also said it’s brought on FanDuel and Verizon as advertisers for the games. FanDuel will become the exclusive pregame sportsbook betting partner, Netflix said, and will have a sponsored in-show feature.

Media companies have been focusing on ad-supported strategies for their streaming options that woo customers with cheaper plans and also offer advertising revenue that can help move the streaming businesses toward profitability. While the ad market has been slow for traditional TV, it has grown for streaming and digital businesses.

Netflix offered its last update on its ad-supported tier in May, when it said it reached 40 million global monthly active users, nearly doubling the figure it had shared in January. That announcement came during Upfronts, when media companies make their pitches to advertisers.

Netflix also announced in May it would launch its own advertising platform, ending a partnership with Microsoft for that technology. It’s rolled out the platform in Canada and plans to launch it in the U.S. by the end of the second quarter next year. It plans to set the platform live everywhere by the end of 2025.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Elon Musk spent $44 billion to buy Twitter, now known as X, and at least $130 million to help get Donald Trump elected president.

It’s a combination that’s paid off handsomely. Since Trump’s victory last week, Musk is about $70 billion richer on paper.

Most of Musk’s wealth is wrapped up in his holdings of Tesla, and in the four trading days since the election, the electric vehicle maker’s stock has soared by about 39%. That’s lifted the company’s market cap well past $1 trillion.

Musk’s net worth has swelled to $320 billion, according to Forbes, putting him close to $90 billion ahead of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, the world’s second-richest person. Ellison, a close friend of Musk’s and a former Tesla board member, is a longtime Republican donor who’s seen his own Trump bump, with Oracle’s 10% increase lifting his net worth by about $20 billion.

For Musk, getting Trump back into the White House became another full-time job. He funded a swing-state operation to register right-leaning voters, and he led rallies as a surrogate for his favored candidate. He started $1 million giveaways to registered voters who signed one of his America PAC petitions, and he faced a lawsuit over running an illegal lottery in Pennsylvania.

Musk also used X, the social media platform he acquired in 2022, to constantly tout his support for Trump while frequently spreading misinformation about his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as topics like immigration and voter fraud.

Now, Musk is trying to make sure he cashes in on his investments.

After the election last week, Musk briefly joined Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, NBC News reported. Other outlets, including The New York Times and ABC, have reported that Musk has been weighing in on staffing decisions for the next administration, and he’s spent a lot of time since the election at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Brendan Carr, who is likely to be Trump’s choice to run the Federal Communications Commission, is seen as a longstanding Musk ally.

Musk ran a straw poll on X for his 200-million plus followers asking who should be Senate majority leader, and he’s personally endorsed Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott for the position. He also reposted a comment from Trump about the need for the majority leader to support recess appointments for his nominees so they don’t need Senate confirmation.

“Without recess appointments, it will take two years or more to confirm the new administration!” Musk wrote.

Musk has long sought to reduce regulatory authority so that he can eliminate impediments to his sprawling business empire, which includes Tesla and X, as well as defense contractor SpaceX, artificial intelligence startup xAI, brain computer interface company Neuralink and tunneling venture Boring Co.

Those companies are currently embroiled in a range of probes and lawsuits from federal agencies pertaining to matters including alleged securities law violations, workplace safety, labor and civil rights violations, violations of federal environmental laws, consumer fraud and vehicle safety defects.

Given the executive branch’s outsized control over federal regulatory bodies, Musk can look forward to regulators and intelligence agencies winding down some or all of the 19 known ongoing federal investigations and lawsuits against Tesla, SpaceX and X.

“He’s got the golden touch right now and has the ear,” said Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster, a longtime Tesla bull, in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday.

In addition to Tesla, SpaceX is also a “clear beneficiary” of a Trump presidency, Munster said. He added that xAI could be rewarded as the new administration considers AI regulations.

“I’m stretched to try to find out how this could play out negative for Elon,” Munster said.

Musk didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Musk owns 411.06 million Tesla shares, as of the latest filings, and about 304 million performance-based options. In January, Judge Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Chancery Court voided Musk’s historic pay package from 2018 that included the options, calling it “unfathomable” in part because Musk controlled the board. Shareholders then voted in June to retroactively ratify the package. McCormick has said a final ruling on whether to restore Musk’s compensation will come soon.Musk and Ellison aren’t the only two billionaire tech executives to see a post-election windfall.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has added about $4.5 billion to his net worth since Trump’s victory. Coinbase shares soared 20% on Monday, bringing their gains since Tuesday to 67%.

The crypto exchange was a major contributor to pro-crypto candidates up and down the ballot, largely through a PAC called Fairshake. Most of its preferred candidates were victorious, setting the stage for the likelihood of a more favorable regulatory environment for the industry.

That’s a win for Tesla as well. At the end of the third quarter, the company reported “digital assets” with a fair value of $729 million. Cryptocurrencies have rallied since the election, with bitcoin jumping about 29% to a record of over $88,000 on Monday.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

In the days since President-elect Donald Trump won the presidential race, Nicole Bivens Collinson’s phone has barely stopped ringing.

Collinson, who helps lead the international trade and government relations division at the lobbying firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, said she is fielding “dozens and dozens and dozens” of calls from anxious U.S. companies looking to protect themselves from Trump’s hardline tariff plans by finding loopholes and exemptions.

“Absolutely everyone is calling,” Collinson told CNBC. “It is nonstop.”

Over the course of the 2024 campaign, Trump made universal tariffs a core tenet of his economic platform, floating a 20% tax on all imports from all countries with a specifically harsh 60% rate for Chinese goods.

That hyper-protectionist trade approach sent chills up the spines of economists, Wall Street analysts and industry leaders who warned that across-the-board tariffs could make production — and in turn, consumer prices — more expensive, just as they were recovering from pandemic-era inflation spikes.

“The threat of tariffs has alarmed retailers and a wide range of other U.S. businesses,” David French, senior vice president of government relations at the National Retail Federation, told CNBC. “Our members have been working on contingency plans since President Trump secured the nomination.”

Ron Sorini, a principal at the lobbying firm Sorini, Samet & Associates, echoed that sentiment, noting that he takes at least two to three calls a day to field companies’ concerns about the proposed tariff ramp-up, especially in China.

″[Companies] question where they should go, and how do they get the components out [of China]? How do they get the whole supply chain out?” Sorini said.

When Trump unleashed his first set of China tariffs in 2018, securing an exemption became a golden ticket in corporate America, a way to safeguard a company’s China-based supply chains rather than paying the hefty price of relocation.

And to obtain that golden ticket, it paid to know the right people.

A 2021 research study found that applications for Trump’s first-term tariff exemptions were more likely to be approved when they came from lobbying firms whose employees had made political contributions to the Republican Party.

Now, with Trump set to retake the White House in a matter of weeks, tariff escalation is becoming a more likely reality.

And in corporate America, the race is on to find the right lobbyists to help companies rub shoulders with the right people, to give them an advantage in securing tariff loopholes.

“Firms are prepared,” SUNY Buffalo finance professor Veljko Fotak, one of the authors of the 2021 study, told CNBC. “The real winners of this process are going to be the lawyers and lobbyists.”

What tariffs will look like in the next Trump administration, and whether exemptions will be available at all, are both unknown.

“Until that clarity comes, businesses will have to plan for a variety of scenarios,” Tiffany Smith, vice president of global trade policy at the National Foreign Trade Council, told CNBC.

In response to CNBC’s request for comment about the Trump team’s plan for exemptions and companies’ concerns of the tariff proposals, Trump transition team spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt doubled down on the president-elect’s campaign promises.

“The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail. He will deliver,” Leavitt told CNBC in a statement.

In the meantime, companies have been trying to set up defenses against Trump’s more aggressive trade approach. These include stockpiling goods in the short run, readying price hikes so they can pass the cost of import duties on to customers, and trying to move their production out of China.

On Thursday, Steve Madden pledged to reduce its Chinese imports by 45% over the next year in anticipation of Trump’s tariff plans.

But exiting China is a significant undertaking for many U.S. companies, especially small businesses that may not have the buying clout or leverage to move production so easily.

“What I would urge is that folks look at the impact on small businesses. Those are the people that are really getting hurt. There’s got to be some way to help companies like that,” Sorini of Sorini, Samet & Associates told CNBC. “Because they really can’t do it on their own.”

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Where might you invest as the year winds down and holiday spending kicks into high gear? A look at historical seasonality trends might help you figure out which sectors tend to outperform in the final months and into the new year.

To begin, the first step is to open up your S&P Sector ETFs ChartLists. If you don’t have an S&P Sectors ChartList, it’s time to create one. My ChartList includes the ETFs listed in the Sector Summary Dashboard panel.

  • Consumer Discretionary (XLY)
  • Financials (XLF)
  • Communications (XLC)
  • Industrials (XLI)
  • Technology (XLK)
  • Real Estate (XLRE)
  • Utilities (XLU)
  • Energy (XLE)
  • Consumer Staples (XLP)
  • Materials (XLB)
  • Health Care (XLV)

In the View List As dropdown menu on your ChartList, select Seasonality. When your seasonality chart pops up, you can then select each chart in your sector ChartLists.

Because this is an election year, I am setting each chart to a 10-year lookback period (from 2015 to 2024) to capture three election years. I also view each sector relative to the S&P 500 ($SPX) to set a benchmark comparison (you can set this at the bottom of your seasonality chart in the Compare Symbol To box).

Top Two Sectors to Watch from November to January 2025

If you thought Consumer Discretionary spending might spike from the holiday season to January (considering the beginning of the Q4 earnings season), the results might surprise you.

Remember, we’re looking at entire sectors, not individual stocks that might outperform their sector peers. That said, the two sectors that pop out in a seasonality analysis relative to the S&P 500 are Financials (XLF) and Communications Services (XLC). Take a look at XLF’s seasonal performance (see image below).

FIGURE 1. 10-YEAR SEASONALITY CHART OF XLF. October and November are the strongest months for the Financials relative to the broader market.Image source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

If you bought XLF in August, then you are on the right side of seasonality. November happens to be the strongest seasonal month of the year relative to the broader market. While seasonality alone shouldn’t be the only reason to invest in a given sector, the fundamental and political contexts affecting financials happen to align. Let’s take a look at a daily chart of XLF.

FIGURE 2. DAILY CHART OF XLF. The Bullish Percent Index in the top panel should buying pressure. The divergence in money flow between the On Balance Volume and the Chaikin Money Flow indicates retail traders may be driving prices higher.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

The Bullish Percent Index (BPI) for the financials sector is soaring above 70%, representing the percentage of stocks experiencing bullish P&F breakouts. However, a BPI over 70% also suggests that the index may be overbought.

Note the divergence between the On Balance Volume (OBV) and the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF). While both measure buying pressure, the CMF can reflect “smart money” activity, since it tracks buying/selling pressure relative to daily price ranges, often capturing institutional accumulation or distribution patterns. If OBV rises while CMF declines, that may signal that retail buyers are driving prices up while institutions quietly sell, suggesting potential weakness in the uptrend.

If you’re expecting a pullback, perhaps to enter or add to an existing position, look to the 20-day and 50-day simple moving averages (SMAs) for a potential bounce. Otherwise, watch support at $46 (see blue dotted line). A close below this level could invalidate the uptrend, fulfilling its seasonal weakness heading into January.

The other outstanding seasonal sector chart was XLC, a proxy for the Communications Services sector.

FIGURE 3. SEASONALITY CHART OF XLC. The January profile reflects an interesting observation.Image source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

This chart is extraordinary.

  • Over the last 10 years, XLC has had 100% higher closes relative to the S&P 500 in January.
  • Its average return, relative to the S&P 500, has been 3.1%, marking its strongest relative seasonal month.

November and December may be weak, but they’re the perfect setup for a strong January. But will January 2025 repeat this historical pattern? Shift over to a daily chart for a closer look.

FIGURE 4. DAILY CHART OF XLC. XLC has a similar profile as XLF in that it looks overbought. There could be a pullback in price.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Like financials, XLC’s BPI is extremely bullish at nearly 87%, yet this level (over 70%) warns of potential overbought conditions.

The OBV and CMF are also diverging, hinting that retail investors may be driving prices higher, while the smart money may be holding back. Given the seasonality context of a weak November (which, so far, it isn’t) and a tepid December, you might expect XLC to pull back, giving you a strong setup for a January 2025 surge.

Watch the 20-day- and 50-day SMAs as potential support levels in this case. More importantly, keep a close eye on the two swing points at $91.50 and $90, indicated by blue dotted lines on the chart. A close below $90 could signal significant weakness and, unless institutional buying pressure increases, the risk of further downside remains high.

A Few Tips and Tricks

I’ve demonstrated a few ways to use Seasonality Charts to identify seasonality in stocks and sectors.

  • Drill Down on the Seasonality to Prepare, but Not to Predict: Seasonality charts give you historical context to inform the likelihood of a sector performing a certain way if similar seasonal factors influence the market again. Seasonality is NOT a predictor, but an indicator of possible outcomes that certain factors may historically skew.
  • Check Sector ETFs Daily Charts: If you’re interested in investing in sector ETFs, then check the daily chart to see if there are any viable entry points.
  • Drill Down to the Stock Level: If you’re looking at sectors to spot individual stocks, proceed to the stock level. You may want to repeat the process above, as individual stocks may also have their own seasonality depending on factors like earnings cycles, industry-specific trends, or recurring market events.

However, many other ways to apply seasonality charts to your analysis exist. Check out the StockCharts support page on Seasonality Charts and explore how to apply this tool to your analysis.


Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

The post-election euphoria may have taken a breather on Tuesday, as the US stock market indexes closed lower. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ($COMPQ) was only lower by 0.09%, whereas the S&P 600 Small Cap Index ($SML) was down the most—it closed lower by 1.54%.

A MarketCarpets Ride

On a day when the equity indexes closed lower, Tuesday’s StockCharts’ MarketCarpets shows that the downward move was mostly from a handful of sectors. Materials, Health Care, Real Estate, Utilities, Industrials, and Energy were the worst hit. Consumer Discretionary was also hit hard, except for Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN), the highest cap-weighted stock in the sector.

FIGURE 1. MARKETCARPET FOR TUESDAY. Although a lot of sectors were a sea of red, the Mag 7 stocks closed higher.Image source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

What stands out in the MarketCarpet is that the heavily weighted Mag 7 stocks, NVDA, MSFT, GOOGL, AMZN, META, and NFLX, closed higher for the day. AAPL was the exception—it closed unchanged. So, it’s unsurprising that Communication Services and Technology were Tuesday’s top performers.

Because most of the largest cap-weighted stocks closed higher, pulling up the Nasdaq 100 Equal-Weighted Index ($NDXE) chart made sense. The daily chart below shows that the index is still bullish despite Tuesday’s pullback, a decline of -0.41%. $NDXE broke above its July high post-election and is trading relatively close to its all-time high.

FIGURE 2. DAILY CHART OF NASDAQ 100 EQUAL WEIGHTED INDEX ($NDXE). Even though the large cap-weighted stocks performed well, the equal-weighted index is also bullish despite underperforming the Nasdaq 100 Index ($NDX).Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes only.

The last bar on the chart hit the November 7 (the last large body day) low and bounced back. Since the long body of November 7, there are now three short bodies, suggesting that market participants aren’t decisive in one way or another (see the candlestick bars within the green rectangle).

Note that $NDXE is underperforming relative to the Nasdaq 100 Index ($NDX), which isn’t unusual. What is interesting to see is that the relative performance is declining. This may mean that we could see a rotation into Technology and Communication Services as the year plays out.

Finding Stocks Using MarketCarpets

With many mega-cap tech stocks trading at elevated prices, does this mean the less sought-after smaller-cap tech stocks won’t see much upside movement? Not necessarily. One way to identify some of the smaller-weighted tech stocks is to look for technically strong stocks within the top-performing sector that are lower priced.

For example, expand the Technology sector in the MarketCarpet (click Technology header) and follow the path below:

Select SCTR from Measurements > 1M Change from Color By > Equal Weight from Size By.

I use the equal weight because it makes it easier to identify the different stocks. Note that this is just an example; you can use any parameters that meet your investing needs.

The screenshot below is the result of the above-mentioned selection criteria.

FIGURE 3. DIVING DEEPER INTO THE TECHNOLOGY SECTOR. Organizing the MarketCarpets by SCTR and equal weight makes it easier to identify the technically strong stocks.Image source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

The table on the right displays the top performers based on your selected criteria. Mouse over the squares of those top performers and, from the thumbnail chart, identify the stocks that meet your price-per-share threshold. Then, double-click on the tile in the MarketCarpet to see the Symbol Summary page for your selected stock. From here, you can do a deeper analysis; if the stock has upside potential, add it to an appropriate ChartList. Set a price alert so you’re notified when the alert is met.

The bottom line: The stock market offers many opportunities. The key to taking advantage of those opportunities lies in your market analysis. The StockCharts MarketCarpets help you do a top-down analysis of the market to identify stocks or ETFs to trade.


Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

As countries around the globe prepare for a second Trump presidency, one world leader is teeing up a carefully calibrated diplomatic strategy.

It said Yoon had done so “following the advice of those around him,” but declined to say when the president practiced golf.

Since Donald Trump reclaimed the White House last week, he has maintained a frenetic schedule as world leaders call to congratulate and court the incoming US leader, with analysts scrutinizing who will clinch a first meeting.

Trump visited more golf courses than any recent president during his first year in office in 2017, spending weekends at his properties in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia, sometimes bringing lawmakers or business leaders with him.

Japan’s late leader Shinzo Abe famously presented gold-plated golf clubs to a newly-elected Trump during a visit to his Manhattan tower in November 2016. The two leaders also golfed together in Florida and Japan.

During his last presidency, Trump met several times with then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in and held rocky talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un – meeting him in a series of unprecedented summits, and boasting that the two had fallen “in love.”

Back then, golf also featured in the bilateral relationship. During a 2017 visit to South Korea, Trump told local lawmakers that “Korean golfers are some of the best on Earth.” He piled on the praise for Korea’s affinity for golf, noting that “eight of the top 10 players were from Korea and the top four golfers – one, two, three, four – the top four were from Korea.”

But Trump will return to a very different picture on the Korean Peninsula.

There is rising alarm among the US and its allies about Kim and the threat posed by his regime, especially after the talks Trump held during his last presidency collapsed without agreement in a major snub to North Korea’s leader.

And in South Korea, Yoon’s conservative government – which took office in 2022 – has emerged as a strong US partner in ramping up deterrence against North Korea, meaning they’re unlikely to encourage Trump to meet with Kim without a clear path to Pyongyang’s denuclearization.

Meanwhile, North Korea’s relationship with Russia has blossomed. Pyongyang is believed to have sent thousands of troops and tons of munitions to Russia as Moscow wages war on Ukraine, in what Western leaders see as a major escalation.

Another potential headache for Yoon once Trump is in office is the future of the 28,500 US troops in South Korea.

Advocates argue that a significant US military presence in the Korean Peninsula is crucial to strengthening the alliance between the two countries. The troops serve as both a means to deter any potential attack from North Korea and to counter China’s aggression.

But Trump, who has long viewed Washington’s treaty obligations in more transactional terms, has repeatedly said he does not think South Korea is paying enough for those soldiers.

Before Trump’s victory, the two countries last month reached a tentative new five-year cost-sharing agreement for American forces based in South Korea, in a deal aimed at safeguarding the long-running alliance ahead of the US election.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has accused Israel of carrying out “collective genocide” in Gaza, in some of his strongest criticism of the country since the war began last year.

During a gathering of leaders of Islamic nations hosted by Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on Monday, the country’s de facto leader said: “The Kingdom reiterates its condemnation and absolute refusal of the collective genocide committed by Israel against the brotherly Palestinian people.”

The crown prince, widely known by his initials MBS, also defended Iran, in stark contrast to his comments in 2017 comparing the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Adolf Hitler.

MBS urged the international community to “compel Israel to respect Iran’s sovereignty and not to attack (Iranian) territories.”

Saudi Arabia has recently signaled more political involvement and policy shifts in support of the Palestinians.

Last year the kingdom was in the process of negotiating a historic normalization agreement with Israel but recently said that was “off the table” without Palestinian statehood, a demand rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Iran sent its First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref to the Riyadh conference, who in his speech mourned the deaths of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar. Saudi Arabia strongly opposes Iran-backed militias such as Hezbollah and Hamas.

Riyadh and Tehran repaired ties last year after decades of animosity over regional influence.

Those attending the high-level meeting included Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Bashar al-Assad of Syria, who were also at the meeting, remain embroiled in an ongoing conflict over Turkey’s military operations in northern Syria and its support for rebel groups.

The stated goal of Monday’s meeting was “unifying positions” and “exerting pressure” on the international community to take steps to end the “ongoing attacks and establish lasting peace,” in the region, Saudi’s governmental state agency said.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Over the last decade, Afrobeats has become a global phenomenon, bringing African music into the Western mainstream. There’s now an Afrobeats category at the MTV Video Music Awards, and performers like Burna Boy and Wizkid can sell out major venues in the US and Europe.

While many African artists have been able to ride the wave of the genre’s international popularity, some musicians are now pushing for global recognition beyond its confines.

In recent years, popular music coming out of Africa has widely been classified as Afrobeats in the global soundscape, despite encompassing styles such as hip-hop, R&B, amapiano, dancehall, highlife, and more.

King Promise, whose sound blends R&B, highlife, and hip-hop, began releasing music in 2017 and rose to international fame in 2023 with his TikTok viral dance track “Terminator.” But the 29-year-old singer and songwriter doesn’t want to be boxed into a single sound.

“Afrobeats kind of serves as the umbrella which all of our music comes together (under),” he says. But he adds that the label has a crossover feel “to make it sound appealing not to just to people back home but to the rest of the world as well.”

“I don’t think that’s the best thing,” he argues.

“I make music that I love,” he explained. “If I feel like making R&B today, I make it. If I feel like making highlife I can make it. If I feel like making Afrobeats I can make it. It’s really about my direction.”

The roots of the Afrobeats genre can be traced back to Nigeria and music icon Fela Kuti, who is widely considered the architect of the similarly named genre, Afrobeat. Popularized in the 1970s, Afrobeat merged American jazz and funk with traditional Yoruba music. More recently, Afrobeat morphed into Afrobeats a looser label and catch all for all African music that took inspiration from the original Afrobeat sound.

Although King Promise understands the label from a marketing perspective in Western countries, he and other artists believe it robs them of their authenticity.

At the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, South African Afropop and amapiano singer Tyla described her win for Best Afrobeats song “Water” as “bittersweet” in her acceptance speech.

“The global impact that ‘Water’ had on the world just proves that African music can be pop music too,” she said.

She added, “There’s a tendency to group all African artists under Afrobeats; it’s a thing, and even though Afrobeats has run things and has opened so many doors for us, African music is so diverse. It’s more than just Afrobeats.”

Nigerian superstars including Davido, Tems, Wizkid, and Burna Boy, have publicly distanced their music from the term Afrobeats.

Wizkid even took to social media in March to say that labeling his music Afrobeats was “ like saying every American artist makes rap.”

“It’s almost like artists are being stifled”

“Here you will get put into the same crowd (Afrobeats), so the more street type of song is in the same crowd with someone that sings Afrosoul.”

She added the Afrobeats label makes no distinction between genres or sounds, leading to audiences to expect everyone to sound the same.

“It’s almost like artists are being stifled,” Simi explained.

“You have to be a certain kind of artist before people respect you or give you the kind of accolades that you know you deserve.

“Someone like Adele is not having this kind of struggle.”

King Promise argues that although the Afrobeats sound has evolved over the years with the fusion of new sounds, the foundational element of the music remains the same: African tradition music. He says that will remain a mainstay in popular music.

“Just like we have hip-hop that stood the test of time, Afrobeats as a representation of our music as Africans on a global scale, it’s locking horns with the biggest, standing its ground, and it’s only getting better,” he said.

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