All architecture student Amirhossein Azizi wanted for his 19th birthday was the latest iPhone — and for Iran's cash-strapped theocracy, it was just the gift they needed as well.

Just buying a top-of-the-line iPhone 16 Pro Max in Iran's capital cost him on the day 1.6 billion rials ($1,880). An additional 450 million rials ($530) is required for import fees and registration on government-managed mobile phone networks.

Nearly 3 1/2 decades after leaving the Soviet Union, the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania this weekend will flip a switch to end electricity-grid connections to neighboring Russia and Belarus — and turn to their European Union allies.

The severing of electricity ties to oil- and gas-rich Russia is steeped in geopolitical and symbolic significance. Work toward it sped up after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine three years ago, battering Moscow's EU relations.

As soon as the sun glints over miles of border fence dividing the United States and Mexico, the engines of cargo trucks packed with auto and computer parts roar to life along border bridges and bleary-eyed workers file into factories to assemble a multitude of products geared toward the U.S. market.

For more than half a century, this daily rhythm has helped fuel the heartbeat of a transnational machine that generated more than $800 billion in trade between the U.S. and Mexico in 2024 alone.

Iran's rial currency plunged Wednesday to record low of 850,000 to $1 after U.S. President Donald Trump's order to restart 'maximum pressure' campaign.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Trump's reimposition of a policy of "maximum pressure" against Iran will end in "failure" as it did during his first term.

Dozens of senior officials put on leave. Thousands of contractors laid off. A freeze put on billions of dollars in humanitarian assistance to other countries.

Over the last two weeks, President Donald Trump's administration has made significant changes to the U.S. agency charged with delivering humanitarian assistance overseas that has left aid organizations agonizing over whether they can continue with programs such as nutritional assistance for malnourished infants and children.

The European Union and Moldova on Tuesday agreed on an energy security plan aimed at weaning the country off its dependence on Russian supplies and integrating it into the 27-nation bloc's network.

The EU's executive branch, the European Commission, said that Moldova would receive 250 million euros ($258 million) this year — 40% of it by mid-April — after Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom cut supplies on Jan. 1.

As Canadians absorb U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war and his threats to make Canada the 51st state, one thing has become abundantly clear: One of the world's most durable and amicable alliances — born of geography, heritage and centuries of common interests — is broken.

Canadians are feeling an undeniable sense of betrayal after Trump declared a trade war against America's northern neighbor and longtime ally. Trump keeps threatening Canada's sovereignty and and vowing to put sweeping 25% tariffs on Canadian products, though Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday afternoon the tariffs will be postponed by at least 30 days after he promised more cooperation on the border.

China countered President Donald Trump's across-the-board tariffs on Chinese products with tariffs on select U.S. imports Tuesday, as well as announcing an antitrust investigation into Google and other trade measures.

U.S. tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico were also set to go into effect Tuesday before Trump agreed to a 30-day pause as the two countries acted to appease his concerns about border security and drug trafficking. Trump planned to talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the next few days.

PepsiCo's revenue fell slightly in the fourth quarter as North American consumers continued to pull back on purchases of Frito-Lay snacks and drinks.

The Purchase, New York, company reported revenue of $27.78 billion for the October-December period Tuesday. That was short of Wall Street's forecast of $27.89 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

The conviction of a former American Nissan executive for allegedly helping fugitive former Chairman Carlos Ghosn hide income was upheld by a Japanese appeals court Tuesday, which also rejected prosecutors' bid to overturn his acquittals on other counts.

Greg Kelly, a lawyer and former executive vice president at Nissan Motor Corp, was convicted in 2022 of charges related to only one of eight years during which prosecutors said he under-reported Ghosn's income. Kelly, who received a 6-month sentence suspended for three years and was allowed to return to Tennessee, did not attend the hearing.