Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Former publisher Jimmy Lai has denied that he asked a colleague to draft a list of potential sanction targets in testimony at his landmark national security trial in Hong Kong. The 77-year-old founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily pro-democracy newspaper was testifying for a second day Thursday at his
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — One of Asia’s richest men, controversial Indian tycoon Gautam Adani, is again in the spotlight. His companies’ stocks plunged up to 20% on Thursday after he was indicted by U.S. prosecutors on charges he duped investors in a massive solar energy project in India by concealing that it was
Continue ReadingAP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Just a few weeks ago, the path ahead for the Federal Reserve looked straightforward: With inflation cooling and the job market slowing, the Fed appeared on track to steadily cut interest rates. In September, its officials predicted that they would reduce their benchmark rate four times next year, on
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — A woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Pete Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave. That’s according to a detailed investigative report made public late Wednesday. Hegseth is a former
Continue ReadingBy Jessie Yeung and Kocha Olarn, CNN Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) — A Thai court has handed down the death penalty to a woman accused of fatally poisoning at least a dozen people, the first ruling in a high-profile serial murder case that has gripped the nation. Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn killed her friend last year by spiking
Continue ReadingAssociated Press FORESTVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A major storm moving through Northern California on Thursday dropped heavy snow and record rain, flooding some areas, after killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands in the Pacific Northwest. Forecasters warned the risk of flash flooding and rockslides would continue, and scores of flights
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea and Russia reached a new agreement for expanding economic cooperation at talks in Pyongyang this week. North Korean state media reported the agreement was signed Wednesday between its senior trade officials and a Russian delegation led by Alexandr Kozlov, the country’s minister of natural resources and
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — A new draft text released early Thursday which will form the basis of any deal reached at United Nations climate talks on money for developing countries to transition to clean energy and adapt to climate change left out a crucial sticking point: how much wealthy nations will pay. Negotiators
Continue ReadingAssociated Press VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — Southeast Asian defense chiefs are meeting with China, the United States and other partner nations in Laos for security talks, which come as Beijing’s increasingly assertive stance in its claim to most of the South China Sea is leading to more confrontations. The closed-door talks put U.S. Secretary of
Continue ReadingAssociated Press A man who was charged with murdering his father’s fiancee when he was just 11 years old is suing four state troopers. Trial in Jordan Brown’s lawsuit against the former Pennsylvania State Police troopers is scheduled to get underway in Pittsburgh early next month. Brown spent seven years in juvenile custody for the
Continue ReadingAssociated Press A Boston auctioneer is taking bidders out to the ballpark with an auction of a team executive’s Red Sox memorabilia — including four World Series trophies. Items belonging to former Red Sox President and CEO Larry Lucchino will be auctioned starting Saturday with proceeds going to his family foundation, which funds charities throughout
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama man convicted in the 1994 killing of a female hitchhiker cursed at the prison warden and made obscene gestures before being put to death in the nation’s third execution using nitrogen gas. Fifty-year-old Carey Dale Grayson was pronounced dead shortly after 6:30 p.m. Thursday at a south
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — The deadly collapse of a concrete roof at a rail station in Serbia has raised tensions across the Balkan county. It has fueled widespread anger toward the government and protests after the failure claimed 15 lives in the northern city of Novi Sad. The station was recently renovated as
Continue ReadingAP Media Writer Two television networks with “NBC” in their names — MSNBC and CNBC — will no longer have any corporate connection to NBC News once a spinoff formally takes effect in about a year. Comcast is cutting loose several of its cable companies into a separate company in order to improve its bottom
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — In the sprawling pavilion section of the United Nations climate talks, where countries, nonprofits and tech companies use big, flashy signs to get the attention of the thousands of people walking through, small aqua and purple beverage cans sit conspicuously on a counter at the Singapore display. Those who
Continue ReadingAssociated Press FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Rice borders on the sacred in Sierra Leone, which has one of the world’s highest consumption rates. But as prices soar, consumers are giving up on other food to buy it. The U.N. says that’s why most of the country’s population is suffering from food insecurity. Experts blame
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The brooding waltz was carefully composed on a sheet of music roughly the size of an index card. The brief, moody number also bore an intriguing name, written at the top in cursive: “Chopin.” A previously unknown work of music penned by the European master Frederic Chopin appears to
Continue ReadingAssociated Press GRINDAVIK, Iceland (AP) — A volcano in southwestern Iceland that has roared back to life after eight centuries of silence has erupted for the seventh time since December, sending molten lava flowing towards the Blue Lagoon spa, a major tourist attraction. The eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula started with little warning at 11:14
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As Donald Trump prepares to return to power, his victory is likely to embolden those who think they can get his ear. That raises the prospect that his second administration could face many of the same perils as his first, which was sidetracked by foreign lobbying scandals. That will test
Continue ReadingBy Esha Mitra, Aishwarya S Iyer and Helen Regan, CNN New Delhi (CNN) — Inside Delhi’s first ever clinic dedicated to pollution-related illnesses, Deepak Rajak struggles to catch his breath. The 64-year-old’s asthma has worsened in recent days, and his daughter rushed him to the clinic, anxious about his rapidly deteriorating health. Sitting in the
Continue Reading