Flash News

TREE NEWS reports: The IMF recommended that Kenya require crypto platforms to collect, verify and transmit sender and recipient identity information — including names, account details, addresses, ID numbers and wallet data — for regulated transfers, introducing the “Travel Rule.” In a technical assistance report dated Nov. 6, the IMF said Kenya has “significant gaps” in international information-sharing requirements for crypto transactions and urged that the obligations be added to its VASP regulations. Kenya’s Virtual Asset Service Providers Act took effect in November 2025, supervised by the central bank and Capital Markets Authority.

TREE NEWS update: Apple said on Nov. 9 that more than 100,000 apps worldwide have been adapted for its first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, two weeks after it went on sale. In China, adapted apps include QQ, Tencent Meeting, DeepSeek, Ernie Bot, Bilibili, JD.com, Taobao Shangou and Alipay, covering social, AI, content, e-commerce and digital payment categories.

TREE NEWS update: Huali Group said it or a wholly owned subsidiary plans to invest its own funds in O-Net Technologies Group Limited for a stake of no more than 25%, with the amount capped at about RMB 3.358 billion ($500 million), equal to 20.67% of the company’s owner’s equity at end-2025. The target will become a global business holding platform for optical communications products after restructuring, with O-Net Communications (Shenzhen) Group as global headquarters. The deal remains at the intent and planning stage, with no investment agreement formally signed.

TREE NEWS update: A new round of trilateral talks between Russia, the United States and Ukraine began on 10 December in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, to explore ways toward a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis. The face-to-face consultations resume after a nine-month hiatus, following the suspension of negotiations in February.

TREE NEWS update: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said two oil tankers caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz. No further details on the vessels, casualties or cause were given. The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most important oil chokepoint, and any disruption there affects global crude flows and energy prices.

TREE NEWS update: Qatar said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz lasting through the winter will drive up the cost of the crisis. The Gulf state’s statement ties the prolonged shutdown of the key shipping passage to higher economic costs. No further details or figures were provided.

TREE NEWS update: Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani made an unscheduled stop in Paris on June 10 to attend the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting, where he briefed counterparts from G7 countries and Saudi Arabia on recent talks. The visit followed his June 9 meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in the United States.

TREE NEWS update: Qatar said mediation efforts between Iran and the United States are still ongoing, with both sides responding positively to the process. No further details on the talks, their timeline or the issues under discussion were provided. The Gulf state has been acting as an intermediary between Washington and Tehran.

TREE NEWS update: China’s National Financial Regulatory Administration and Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions signed a cooperation agreement on a China-Canada financial regulatory dialogue on Nov. 8, 2026. NFRA head Ding Xiangqun and Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne co-chaired the meeting in Canada, with representatives from the People’s Bank of China, CSRC, Canada’s central bank and financial institutions attending. The two sides discussed the latest financial market developments and two-way opening of the financial sector.

TREE NEWS update: Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said diesel prices are not expected to decline soon. The remark points to persistent energy costs that could keep broader inflation pressures elevated, a factor the Fed weighs in setting interest rates.

TREE NEWS update: NEAR AI said a vulnerability in SGLang exposed user account details in a security breach, adding it found no indication that stored Private Chat conversations or uploaded files were accessed. The disclosure follows the identification of the flaw in the SGLang serving framework. The project did not specify how many accounts were affected or when the breach occurred.

TREE NEWS update: Senator Elizabeth Warren is set to take the Senate Banking Committee gavel in January and has placed the Trump family’s crypto firms on her oversight list, her team said. Prediction markets are also slated for scrutiny under her planned agenda.

TREE NEWS update: The US Supreme Court on July 9 overturned a lower court ruling, clearing the way for construction to resume on a border wall in Texas’s Big Bend region. The Department of Homeland Security calls the area a high-incident zone for illegal crossings. The federal government plans roughly 9.1-meter steel wall structures there; crews began bulldozing inside Big Bend National Park in August before work was halted amid strong opposition.

TREE NEWS update: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he expects his team to brief him on Tuesday on the status of talks held in Abu Dhabi. The briefing will cover the discussions that took place in the Emirati capital. No further details on the participants or outcome of the Abu Dhabi talks were provided.

TREE NEWS update: Gulf Cooperation Council members have approved establishing a forward headquarters in Kuwait for their unified military command and deploying “appropriate” forces to it, GCC Secretary-General Jasem Al-Budaiwi confirmed on November 10. Further details on the command and the planned deployment were not disclosed. GCC members are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.

TREE NEWS update: Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said the central bank needs to retract at least its three previous precautionary rate cuts, while ruling out raising rates by 150 or 200 basis points. Waller said he is not “super hawkish” and that the Fed does not want to damage the economy.

TREE NEWS reports: Bitcoin and US stock futures fell after Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller said he would vote to raise interest rates by 0.25% at the December FOMC meeting. Rate-hike bets rose to 96% following the remarks, with bitcoin price action eyeing $74K.

TREE NEWS update: European Central Bank Governing Council member Martins Kazaks said monetary policy still needs to maintain a somewhat hawkish posture, stressing that officials must remain vigilant and cautious. The remarks signal continued concern over inflation risks within the eurozone rate-setting body.

TREE NEWS reports: Trump Media reported a third-quarter profit driven by a $378.1 million digital-asset gain, even as operations lost $23.6 million, according to a 10-Q filing that books the crypto gain inside operating results. Revenue for the quarter came to $3.0 million. Excluding the digital-asset gain, the operating loss stands at $23.6 million.