EUROPEAN UNION: Watchdogs from the European Union fined Apple and Meta hundreds of millions of euros yesterday as they stepped up enforcement of the EU’s digital competition rules.

The European Commission imposed a €500 million (£447m) fine on Apple for preventing app makers from pointing users to cheaper options outside its App Store.

The commission also fined Meta Platforms €200m (£171m) because it forced Facebook and Instagram users to choose between seeing ads or paying to avoid them.

PAKISTAN: Gunmen riding on a motorcycle shot and killed two security officials assigned to protect polio workers in restive south western Pakistan yesterday before fleeing the scene, police said.

The attack occurred in a residential area of Mastung, a district in Balochistan, according to Mohammad Arif, a local police official. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

DAVOS: The World Economic Forum, which runs an annual gathering of elites in Davos, Switzerland, said on Tuesday that its board had given its unanimous support for an independent investigation into allegations of misconduct by founder Klaus Schwab.

The WEF statement came after a report published in the Wall Street Journal cited a whistleblower letter alleging financial and ethical misconduct by Mr Schwab and his wife Hilde.

UNITED STATES: The United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a speech on Tuesday that the ongoing tariffs showdown against China is unsustainable and he expects a “de-escalation” in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

But in a private speech in Washington, Mr Bessent also cautioned that talks between the US and China had yet to formally start.