Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with leaders of the country’s political parties represented in the lower house of parliament via a video conference call at Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia February 17, 2021. Mikhail Klimentyev | Sputnik | Reuters WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden proposed a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a phone call Tuesday between the two leaders, the White House said. Biden proposed holding the summit “in the coming months,” said a readout of the call provided Tuesday by the administration. The call, at least the second between the two men since Biden...

More Americans will likely refuse to get Johnson & Johnson‘s Covid-19 vaccine after U.S. health regulators said six women developed a rare blood-clotting disorder that left one dead and another in critical condition, experts on public health and vaccines told CNBC on Tuesday. The Food and Drug Administration asked states early Tuesday to temporarily halt using J&J’s single-shot vaccine “out of an abundance of caution” after six women, ages 18 to 48, out of the roughly 6.9 million people who received the shot developed a blood-clotting disorder known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, or CVST. All of the women developed...

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi attends a nuclear deal review meeting in Tehran. Raheb Homavandi | Reuters WASHINGTON – Iran will begin enriching uranium at 60%, a significant step towards weapons-grade material, in response to the attack at a key nuclear site, the country’s top nuclear negotiator told state media on Tuesday. Iran’s deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said he informed the International Atomic Energy Agency, which oversees the monitoring and inspection of nuclear sites, of Tehran’s decision. An estimated 90% of enriched uranium is needed to develop a bomb. The move comes two days after Tehran said its...

Brian Armstrong, co-founder and chief executive officer of Coinbase Inc. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images Coinbase is poised to command an astronomical valuation when the digital currency exchange goes public on Wednesday. But ask 10 market experts how the company should be valued and you’ll likely get 10 answers. That’s because Coinbase’s current business — the one that produced a whopping $1.8 billion of estimated revenue in the first quarter and up to $800 million in net income — is built almost entirely on the performance of bitcoin and ethereum. Those cryptocurrencies have skyrocketed more than 800%...

1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, watch as CH-47 Chinook helicopters circle above during a dust storm at Forward Operating Base Kushamond, Afghanistan, July 17, during preparation for an air assault mission. U.S. Army photo WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September, missing a crucial May 1 deadline that was brokered by the Trump administration, a senior administration official said on Tuesday. Biden’s removal of U.S. forces will coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that triggered the nation’s entry into what...

The Food and Drug Administration asked states on Tuesday to temporarily halt using Johnson & Johnson‘s Covid-19 vaccine “out of an abundance of caution” after six women in the U.S. developed a rare blood-clotting disorder that left one woman dead and another in critical condition. “Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare,” the FDA said in a joint statement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously.” All six cases occurred in women...

This illustration picture shows a person waiting for an update of Epic Games’ Fortnite on their smartphone in Los Angeles on August 14, 2020. Chris Delmas | AFP | Getty Images Epic Games, developer of the popular video game Fortnite, on Tuesday said it raised $1 billion in a new round of funding that lifts the company’s valuation to $28.7 billion. The Cary, North Carolina-based firm said that $200 million of the fresh cash raised came from Sony, which had initially invested in the company last year. Other investors in the round included Appaloosa, Baillie Gifford and Fidelity. Epic’s latest...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures as she sits down for the weekly cabinet meeting on April 13, 2021 at the Chancellery in Berlin. JOHN MACDOUGALL | AFP | Getty Images LONDON — It was never going to be easy to find a successor to Angela Merkel, German chancellor for the last 16 years. But the race has just become even more complicated, with two rivals contesting the conservative ticket. The obvious conservative candidate in the upcoming German election would be Armin Laschet, head of the North Rhine-Westphalia state. He was elected leader of Merkel’s CDU party in January and claims...

Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing giant Grab announced Tuesday that it’s set to go public through a SPAC merger with Altimeter Growth Corp., in a deal that values the company at $39.6 billion — the largest blank-check merger to date. Grab says it intends to list on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol “GRAB” following the deal’s completion. SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies, are shell companies or blank-check companies set up for the purpose of raising capital to acquire private companies. A SPAC listing bypasses Wall Street’s traditional IPO process. As part of the mega-deal, SoftBank-backed Grab will receive about $4.5 billion...

A man walks past a hijacked bus burning on The Shankill Road as protests continue in Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 7, 2021. Jason Cairnduff | Reuters LONDON — Tensions have erupted in Northern Ireland once again, as U.K. and Irish leaders attempt to preserve a long-standing peace deal in the region. Violence has plagued the streets of Belfast for the past week and dozens of police officers have been injured amid attacks with petrol bombs, vehicles and rocks. The renewed unrest comes as Ireland and the U.K. marked the 23rd anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement — a historic truce...