U.S. stocks softened on Tuesday, closing in negative territory as investors began the holiday-shortened week by taking profits in the wake of a sustained rally amid signs of weakening global demand.

Thousands of computer servers around the world have been targeted by a ransomware attack, the country's National Cybersecurity Agency said, warning organizations to protect their systems.

Tesla Inc's aggressive price cuts have ignited demand for its electric vehicles, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Wednesday, playing down concerns that a weak economy would throttle buyers' interest.

Spotify Technology SA said on Monday it plans to cut 6% of its workforce and would take a related charge of up to nearly $50 million, adding to the massive layoffs in the technology sector in preparation for a possible recession.

Pakistan's government said it was scrambling to restore power to millions of people on Monday after a breakdown in the grid triggered the worst electricity outage in months and highlighted the weak infrastructure of the heavily indebted nation.

The job cuts affect 6% of the Google parent's workforce, and follow thousands of layoffs at tech giants who are downsizing after a pandemic-led hiring spree left them flabby in a weak economy.

Senior U.S. officials are advising Ukraine to hold off on launching a major offensive against Russian forces until the latest supply of U.S. weaponry is in place and training has been provided, a senior Biden administration official said on Friday.

Fire swept through part of a shanty town in the South Korean capital, Seoul, on Friday, destroying 60 homes, many constructed from cardboard and wood, and forcing the evacuation of around 500 people.

Greta Thunberg called on the global energy industry and its financiers to end all fossil fuel investments on Thursday at a high-profile meeting in Davos with the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

China's population fell last year for the first time in six decades, a historic turn that is expected to mark the start of a long period of decline in its citizen numbers with profound implications for its economy and the world.

Microsoft is likely to receive an EU antitrust warning about its $69 billion bid for "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard , people familiar with the matter said, that could pose another challenge to completing the deal.

Italy's most wanted mafia boss, Matteo Messina Denaro, was arrested by armed police at a private hospital in Sicily on Monday, where the man who has been on the run since 1993 was being treated for cancer.

The drug aims to slow the advance of the neurodegenerative disease. Nearly all previous experimental drugs using the same approach have failed.

A judge set an Oct. 2 trial date.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday touted the need for greater cooperation between China and Germany amid "times of change and turmoil" in a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the first G7 leader to visit China since the pandemic began.