Breaking News, Business, Financial and Economic News, World News from EconoTimes

Become a contributor

Bookmark Econotimes

Fri, Mar 27, 2026 11:18 PM All times are UTC

Follow Series

©Econometrics LLC . All Rights Reserved.

William Lawrence

Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, American University
William Lawrence is a professor of political science and international affairs at American University’s School of International Service. He has served as a senior diplomat at the U.S. embassies in Morocco and Libya. He lived and worked for 7 years in Morocco and Libya and has travelled dozens of times to both when not living there. He also served as International Crisis Group’s North Africa director and as Control Risks’ North Africa Director. He was previously a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco and is currently working with current and former Peace Corps Volunteers to raise funds for earthquake relief. In Peace Corps, he served two years in a small Atlas Mountain town and one year teaching at a university in Marrakech. He previously taught at Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, George Washington, Tufts, and two Moroccan universities (the one in Marrakech and one in Rabat). He co-authored After the Uprisings: Political Transition in Tunisia, Libya, and Yemen, and has published analysis on Morocco and Libya in Foreign Policy and with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Middle East Institute, Oxford University, and Afropop Worldwide. His research focuses on global challenges, youth protest, informal economy, Islamic law and social change, U.S. policy towards Muslim communities, and political and popular culture. He also co-produced six MENA-related films and fourteen albums of North African music, mostly in Morocco and Libya or featuring Moroccans and Libyans.

Morocco's earthquake and Libya's floods highlight obstacles to relief efforts, from botched disaster diplomacy to destroyed infrastructure

Sep 21, 2023 00:02 am UTC| Nature

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Morocco on Sept. 8, 2023, causing widespread damage in mountain villages. Three days later, an unusually severe Mediterranean storm caused two poorly maintained Libyan dams to...

Economy

India Slashes Fuel Taxes: A Ten-Rupee Relief Amid Global Energy Turmoil

Effective March 26, 2026, the Indian government made a decisive fiscal action by significantly lowering the Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) on motor fuels. This change in policy lowers the tax on gasoline from INR 13...

France's 2025 Budget Deficit Shrinks More Than Expected, Easing Fiscal Pressure

France made stronger-than-expected progress on its public finances in 2025, with the national budget deficit falling to 5.1% of GDP a notable improvement from 5.8% recorded in 2024 and well ahead of the governments own...

Oil Prices Slip as Trump Extends Iran Ceasefire Deadline Amid Ongoing War Fears

Global oil prices were on course for a weekly loss on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump granted Iran a 10-day extension before threatening to strike its energy infrastructure, offering markets a brief reprieve ...

Asian Stocks Rebound as Trump Delays Iran Strike Deadline

Asian equity markets staged a partial recovery on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed a planned military strike on Iranian energy infrastructure, extending the deadline by over ten days while signaling...

Google's TurboQuant Sends South Korean Chip Stocks Tumbling Amid AI Memory Demand Fears

South Korean equities took a sharp hit Friday as mounting concerns over reduced artificial intelligence memory demand dragged the KOSPI index to its lowest point in more than two weeks. The benchmark fell nearly 3% to...

Politics

Lavrov Claims U.S. Seeks Control Over Damaged Nord Stream Pipelines

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the United States of pursuing dominance over the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, which were severely damaged by underwater explosions in September 2022. The...

Chinese Universities with PLA Ties Found Purchasing Restricted U.S. AI Chips Through Super Micro Servers

Procurement records reveal that four Chinese universities, two of which have direct ties to the Peoples Liberation Army, acquired Super Micro Computer servers loaded with restricted Nvidia AI chips over the past year. The...

U.S. Praises Kurdistan's Role in Oil Markets Amid Iran War Fallout

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a significant diplomatic call Thursday with Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, signaling Washingtons commitment to regional energy stability as conflict...

Russia Accused of Helping Iran Target U.S. Forces, European Powers Tell G7

European nations have formally accused Russia of providing military intelligence and drone technology to Iran to help target American forces in the Middle East, raising the issue directly with U.S. Secretary of State Marco...

Trump Signs Executive Order to Pay TSA Workers Amid Airport Security Crisis

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will sign an executive order directing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to ensure Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees receive their pay,...

Science

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Technology

Federal Judge Blocks Pentagon's Blacklisting of AI Company Anthropic

A federal judge has temporarily prevented the Pentagon from enforcing its designation of Anthropic as a national security supply-chain risk, dealing an early blow to the Trump administration in a growing dispute over...

SMIC Allegedly Supplies Chipmaking Tools to Iran's Military, U.S. Officials Warn

Chinas top semiconductor manufacturer, SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation), has reportedly been transferring chipmaking equipment to Irans military industrial complex, according to two senior Trump...

Google's TurboQuant Algorithm Sends Memory Chip Stocks Tumbling

Major memory chipmakers took a significant hit on Thursday after Google researchers introduced a groundbreaking compression algorithm that threatens to reduce artificial intelligence demand for memory chips. Samsung...

Reflection AI Eyes $25 Billion Valuation in Massive $2.5 Billion Funding Round

Nvidia-backed artificial intelligence startup Reflection AI is in advanced discussions to secure $2.5 billion in fresh funding, with negotiations pointing to a staggering pre-money valuation of $25 billion, according to a...

Nanya Technology Shares Surge 10% After $2.5 Billion Private Placement from Sandisk and Cisco

Shares of Taiwan-based memory chip manufacturer Nanya Technology soared to their daily limit of 10% on Thursday morning following the companys announcement of a major $2.5 billion private placement deal backed by prominent...