China-led cross-border digital currency platform mBridge has processed more than $55 billion in transactions as efforts to build payment rails that operate outside traditional dollar-based systems find momentum. Project mBridge, a multi-central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform, has now settled over 4,000 cross-border transactions with a cumulative value of roughly $55.5 billion, according to data … Read more
Who knew Quidditch could get so steamy? This week on “Saturday Night Live,” host Finn Wolfhard played boy wizard Harry Potter in a parody that mashed up the upcoming “Harry Potter” HBO series and the buzzy gay hockey romance “Heated Rivalry.” Harry and Ben Marshall’s Ron Weasley innocently bumped into … Read more
Minimalist, elegant, powerful: ’90s heels were just that girl—collective—and they’re so back for 2026. When we think about the heel trends and shoe designs of the formidable, stylish decade, most of us will go straight to that classic kitten heel. But there’s so many more options to choose from, in various silhouettes and vibes, ultra-minimalist … Read more
In Haft-Hoz Square, the shoppers and commuters that typically fill this bustling commercial hub of eastern Tehran have been replaced by black-clad riot police. At least one masked sniper is visible, perched on top of one of the armoured vehicles that now dot the square. At the centre of the scene is the charred shell … Read more
In its return from a holiday break, Saturday Night Live revisited one of the breakout sketches of the fall, “Boys Podcast,” in which 12-year-old Braylor (Chloe Fineman) and his friends host “Snack Homiez,” a podcast about snacks. The skit, which went viral, originated in the episode hosted by Sabrina Carpenter, who played one of the … Read more
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Eurozone economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Latvia’s central bank governor Mārtiņš Kazāks has urged European policymakers not to be “naive” over the fact that the bloc is already “at war” with Russia. Kazāks, a member of the European Central Bank’s governing … Read more
In Saturday Night Live‘s spoof of Heated Rivalry, the secret love affair is not between hockey rivals Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, but Harry Potter (host Finn Wolfhard) and Ron Weasley (Ben Marshall). The late-night sketch show jumped at the chance to parody the show, which has dominated the zeitgeist amid its exponential growth, with … Read more
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Chinese business & finance myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. China’s flagship overseas infrastructure finance programme the Belt and Road Initiative increased by three-quarters to a record $213.5bn in 2025 as Beijing sought to take advantage of wavering US influence around the world … Read more
NBC We all watched Finn Wolfhard grow up on “Stranger Things,” but he’d like you to know: He’s a man now. Wolfhard hosted “Saturday Night Live” this week, and in his monologue, he acknowledged that his hit Netflix series, which just wrapped up a five-season run, started back when he … Read more
The massive staking inflows are strengthening ETH’s supply-demand dynamic, potentially setting the stage for upward price momentum this year. The Ethereum staking validator exit queue has dropped to zero — signaling a dramatic fall in selling pressure and strengthening confidence in Ether (ETH) as a yield-bearing asset. Data from Ethereum Validator Queue shows the exit … Read more