India's central bank has proposed that BRICS countries link their official digital currencies to make cross-border trade and tourism payments easier, two sources said, which could reduce reliance on the US dollar as geopolitical tensions rise.

Initial figures showed platforms were taking meaningful action to remove underage users, Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.

The climb-down by Musk, who initially laughed off the trend, highlights the difficulty of policing AI tools that make it cheap and easy to create explicit content. It is the latest clash between Europe and Musk, following rows over election interference, content moderation and free speech.

Foreign investors sold a net roughly $6.4 billion worth of Indonesian government bonds in 2025, adding to the pressure on the currency.

The rupiah slid to Rp 16,985 per US dollar on Tuesday ahead of a policy decision by the central bank this week, where analysts expect the BI to stand pat on rates. The currency is down nearly 2 percent in January after dropping 3.5 percent in 2025.

Indonesia is set to host its first-ever plasma fractionation plant in Karawang, West Java, which is poised to become the largest such facility in Southeast Asia. This milestone marks a major step toward operational readiness, strengthening national healthcare resilience.

Alphabet's Google asked a judge on Friday to postpone making the company share data with rivals while it challenges a ruling that the company holds an illegal monopoly in online search, according to court papers.

Chinese authorities have told domestic companies to stop using cybersecurity software made by more than a dozen firms from the US and Israel due to national security concerns, three people briefed on the matter said.

Stock markets slid in Asia on Monday after US President Donald Trump threatened to slap extra tariffs on eight European nations until the US was allowed to buy Greenland, pushing the dollar down against the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc.

Asian stocks rose on Wednesday, buoyed by Japanese shares, as investors braced for a snap election in Japan that could lead to more fiscal stimulus, while worries about central bank independence and benign US inflation data whipsawed currencies.

A surge in Japanese shares led Asia higher on Tuesday amid investor bullishness over all things AI, while the cloud of uncertainty over Federal Reserve independence favored gold even as it weighed on the dollar.

Asian equities posted gains Monday while the dollar dipped as investors digested news that the US Justice Department subpoenaed the Federal Reserve, raising fears over US central bank independence.