AP National Business

By LIUDAS DAPKUS Associated Press Writer VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuanian cybersecurity authorities are urging the country’s governmental agencies to abandon the use of Chinese smartphone brands. Lithuania’s National Cyber Security Center said it found four major cybersecurity risks for devices made by Huawei and Xiaomi. The center said in a report the center released

By COLLEEN BARRY AP Fashion Writer MILAN (AP) — Nigeria-born designer Joy Meribe opened Milan Fashion Week on Wednesday with her debut runway collection, a concrete success for a movement to promote diversity in Italian fashion just a year after launching.  The Italian National Fashion Chamber tapped Meribe to open six days of womenswear previews

By MARK TAKAHASHI Edmunds The fully redesigned 2022 Honda Civic will be of interest for many small-sedan shoppers. The Civic has been one of the most popular cars in America for decades. The most noteworthy change is the Civic’s more conventional styling. You might find it boring, or maybe it’ll be a relief from the

By ANDREW WILKS Associated Press ISTANBUL (AP) — The Turkish Defense Ministry says one of its warships issued a warning to a Greek research vessel to prevent it entering what Turkey considers its territorial waters. The showdown came a year after tensions in the eastern Mediterranean threatened to escalate into open conflict between the neighbors

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s new energy ministry says it is raising the price of fuel by 16% percent. The Wednesday price hike is the second in five days, part of a gradual lifting of subsidies in the crisis-struck country. The new hike brings the price of fuel, in short supply, closer to the black market

By ERIN HURD of NerdWallet Vacation home rentals are increasingly popular among travelers, especially during the pandemic. The problem for many savvy travelers is that it’s hard to use rewards points to cover the rental cost. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. You may be able to use cash rewards earned from a credit card

By ZENEL ZHINIPOTOKU and LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Ethnic Serbs blocked the Kosovo-Serbia border for a third straight day Wednesday to protest a decision by Kosovo authorities to start removing Serbian license plates from cars entering the country. Small groups of Serbs spent the night in tents and have blocked the

By DAVID RISING Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — A U.S.-based cybersecurity company says it has uncovered evidence that an Indian media conglomerate, a police department and the agency responsible for the country’s national identification database have been hacked, likely by a state-sponsored Chinese group. The Insikt Group, the threat research division of Massachusetts-based Recorded Future,

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE and BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writers BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Apple’s and Google’s cooperation with the Russian government’s efforts to suppress an app opposed to the ruling regime is escalating concerns about whether Big Tech’s pursuit of ever-higher profits has trampled their commitment to protecting civil rights. The debate is being spurred

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer Asian shares are mostly higher after the Federal Reserve signaled it may begin easing its extraordinary support measures for the economy later this year. Shares rose in Hong Kong, Shanghai Australia and Taiwan but fell in South Korea and Malaysia. Tokyo was closed for a holiday. The U.S. central

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese real estate developer that is struggling to avoid defaulting on billions of dollars of debt says it will make an interest payment due this week to bondholders in China. It gave no sign of plans to pay on a separate bond abroad. Meanwhile, the

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Racism, climate change and the world’s worsening divisions will take center stage at the U.N. meeting of world leaders, a day after Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the world was “on the edge of an abyss.” For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began,

By LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Calling fellow Democrats to the White House, President Joe Biden is pushing in person for them to hasten work on his “build back better” agenda. Biden and congressional Democrats are laboring to bridge party divisions that threaten his big proposals. In hours of back-to-back

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer The Asian Development Bank has lowered its outlook for economic growth in developing Asia to reflect renewed coronavirus outbreaks as variants spread, prompting governments to restore or keep in place their pandemic precautions. It expects 7.1% growth in 2021, falling to 5.4% in 2022. The earlier forecast was for

By The Associated Press Facebook’s semi-independent oversight board says it will review the company’s “XCheck,” or cross check system following an investigation by The Wall Street Journal into the use of an internal system that has exempted high-profile users from some or all of its rules. The board said Tuesday that it expects to have

NEW YORK (AP) — A second woman has accused billionaire Leon Black of rape in claims lawyers are seeking to add to a defamation lawsuit filed against him in the spring. The woman is identified only as Jane Doe. She added her claims late Monday to a lawsuit in New York state court that seeks

By CALEB JONES Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii officials are facing pressure to increase COVID-19 testing for travelers. The islands are weathering a record surge, and federal guidelines are being changed to require negative virus tests from both vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers to the U.S. State leaders have resisted the implementation of a two-test

By JOSEPH PISANI AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — FedEx is getting hurt by the tight job market. The package delivery company said Tuesday that its costs are up $450 million in the most recent quarter, as it paid higher wages as it got harder to find new workers and demand for shipping increased.

The Associated Press A U.S. government committee that reviews foreign investment in telecom is probing videoconferencing company Zoom’s $14.7 billion deal for cloud call center company Five9 for national security risks due to “foreign participation.” The Justice Department declined to answer questions Tuesday. Zoom, which is based in California but has significant operations in China,

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The electric company subsidiary that provides electricity to New Orleans is responding to calls for an investigation of power losses during Hurricane Ida with options that include having the city assume control of municipal electrical service. That’s one of four options Entergy New Orleans outlined Tuesday