By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Just like the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England is edging toward cutting interest rates — though not quite yet. The United Kingdom’s central bank kept its main interest rate at a near 16-year high of 5.25% on Thursday and indicated that borrowing costs have probably
Continue ReadingBy MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A dissident Russian rock band angered by Moscow’s war in Ukraine has arrived in Israel after being deported from Thailand under suspected pressure from the Kremlin. Speaking Thursday in the arrival hall of Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, guitarist and singer Aleksandr
Continue ReadingBy LORNE COOK and SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Leaders of the 27 European Union countries sealed a deal Thursday to provide Ukraine with 50 billion euros ($54 billion) in support for its war-ravaged economy after Hungary dropped weeks of threats to veto the measure. European Council President Charles Michel said the agreement
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By Chris Lau, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — Heavy snow and rain is forecast to hit central and eastern China in the coming days, threatening travel plans for hundreds of millions of Chinese workers heading home for the Lunar New Year. Also known as the Spring Festival, the Lunar New Year holiday traditionally sees the
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By Fredreka Schouten, David Wright, Steve Contorno and Alex Leeds Matthews, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden entered the election year with an early financial edge over Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, new filings show – a bright spot for an incumbent with low approval ratings who is girding for a bruising general election rematch with his
Continue ReadingBy CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A member of Taiwan’s pro-unification Nationalists has been elected speaker of the island’s legislature. The election of Han Kuo-Yu on Thursday is sort of consolation prize for China after the candidate of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party won Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13. The Nationalists,
Continue ReadingBy YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose Friday, helped by optimism about technology shares following a Wall Street rally led by big tech stocks. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.8% to 36,283.49. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.3% to 7,688.10. South Korea’s Kospi surged 2.2% to 2,596.79. Hong Kong’s Hang
Continue ReadingBy SIMINA MISTREANU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A new report says automakers including Tesla, General Motors, Volkswagen and Toyota are failing to ensure they are not using forced labor as part of their China supply chains. Human Rights Watch says it linked some of the world’s largest car manufacturers to aluminum allegedly produced
Continue ReadingBy JOHN ANTCZAK Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — The first of back-to-back atmospheric rivers is drenching California. Heavy rain and gusty winds began hitting the state’s north on Wednesday before moving south along the coast and snarling the Thursday morning commute in Los Angeles. The storm has flooded roads, toppled trees and caused traffic
Continue ReadingBERLIN (AP) — Most of Germany’s major airports canceled scores of flights after security workers launched a one-day strike to step up pressure in a pay disput. The ver.di union called on workers to strike at 11 airports on Thursday: Frankfurt, Berlin, Cologne, Duesseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Hannover, Dresden, Bremen and Erfurt. All departures for
Continue ReadingBy KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean judge has convicted a man of murder for an unprovoked car-and-stabbing rampage that killed two people and injured 12 others in a city near Seoul last year. Prosecutors had sought a death penalty for 23-year-old Choi Won-jong, but Judge Kang Hyun-koo of
Continue ReadingBy RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Farmers burned bales of hay, threw eggs and firecrackers at police — and wrested some promises of relief from European leaders on Thursday, the culmination of weeks of protests across the continent over excessive red tape and competition from cheap imports. Eager to reassure a key part
Continue ReadingBy MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo’s fish market has opened a long-awaited outer section with Japanese-style seafood restaurants and a spa for relaxation, as the wholesale venue that has struggled since relocating from the beloved Tsukiji market seeks to lure more visitors. Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai on Thursday opened a food court resembling
Continue ReadingMelissa Velásquez Loaiza (CNN) — Una región de la Luna que está en el centro de una nueva carrera espacial internacional porque puede contener hielo de agua podría ser menos acogedora de lo que se pensaba, encontró una nueva investigación. El interés en el polo sur lunar se disparó el año pasado, cuando la misión
Continue Reading By Simone McCarthy, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — Nearly three dozen countries are seeking entry into the China and Russia-backed BRICS economic group, member state South Africa said Wednesday, weeks after the body expanded its membership for the first time in more than a decade. Thirty-four countries have submitted an expression of interest in joining the
Continue ReadingBy ABDUL SATTAR Associated Press QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Officials say Pakistani security forces killed 22 insurgents in an operation this week against Baloch separatists after coming under attacks. Baloch separatists began the attacks before dawn Monday in retaliation for strikes by Pakistan on insurgent hideouts in Iran in January. Four security forces and two
Continue ReadingBy JOSHUA GOODMAN and JIM MUSTIAN Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — It was a plan the United States knew from the start would arguably violate international law. The Associated Press obtained a secret 2018 memo detailing a covert operation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that sent undercover operatives into Venezuela to surreptitiously record and
Continue Reading By Brad Lendon, CNN Seoul, South Korea (CNN) — A dozen United States and Japanese warships, including two US aircraft carriers, have been putting on a show of military might this week in the Philippine Sea east of Taiwan. Analysts say the joint exercises show the US Navy can respond to contingencies across a broad
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CNN By Brad Lendon, CNN Seoul, South Korea (CNN) — A dozen United States and Japanese warships, including two US aircraft carriers, have been putting on a show of military might this week in the Philippine Sea east of Taiwan. Analysts say the joint exercises show the US Navy can respond to contingencies across a
Continue ReadingBy JOSHUA GOODMAN and JIM MUSTIAN Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — A secret memo obtained by The Associated Press details a yearslong covert operation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that sent undercover operatives into Venezuela to surreptitiously record and build drug-trafficking cases against the country’s leadership – a plan the U.S. acknowledged from the
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