By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — When Pope Francis travels to Mongolia this week, he will in some ways be completing a mission begun by the 13th-century Pope Innocent IV, who dispatched emissaries east to ascertain the intentions of the rapidly expanding Mongol Empire and beseech its leaders to halt the bloodshed
Continue ReadingBy JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — At least 11 people are suspected to be involved with a loan scam that allegedly drove a man to kill his wife and two young boys before trying to take his own life in their family home, Thai police said Wednesday. Sanit Dokmai has been charged with
Continue ReadingBy DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer The Russian currency has stabilized after dipping below 100 rubles to the U.S. dollar — but that doesn’t mean the pressure is off Russia’s economy. Western sanctions have cut into oil earnings, while government spending is heating up the economy, threatening to increase inflation. Russia’s central bank can strongly
Continue ReadingCNN By Laura He, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — Country Garden is raising funds to avoid default, as the troubled real estate giant battles a liquidity crisis which some fear could spread to China’s wider economy and even spill over abroad. The Foshan, Guandong-based company said Wednesday that it plans to issue 350 million shares
Continue ReadingBy Laura He and Mark Thompson, CNN Hong Kong/London (CNN) — Country Garden warned Wednesday that it could default on its vast debts as it reported a loss of 51.5 billion yuan ($7 billion) for the first six months of the year. The company, which was China’s largest residential developer last year, said it had
Continue ReadingBy JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets were mostly lower Thursday after Japanese factory activity and Chinese service industry growth weakened. Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul declined. Tokyo gained. Oil prices edged lower. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.4% on Wednesday after the U.S. government cut its estimate
Continue ReadingBEIJING (AP) — British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly says he has raised concerns over China’s human rights record during a visit to Beijing on Wednesday. He also stressed the importance of maintaining a “pragmatic” working relationship with China and reopening channels of communication. The trip is the first by a U.K. foreign secretary to China
Continue ReadingBy YVES LAURENT GOMA and SAM MEDNICK Associated Press LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) — Mutinous soldiers in Gabon proclaimed their republican guard chief as the country’s leader Wednesday after placing the just-reelected President Ali Bongo Ondimba under house arrest, alleging betrayal and massive embezzlement during his long-time rule over the oil-rich Central African nation. The coup
Continue ReadingCNN By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Flights across Florida continue to be disrupted Wednesday as Hurricane Idalia churns through the state. Several airports are currently closed, including Tampa, St. Pete-Clearwater and Tallahassee, according to the Federal Aviation Authority. Tampa’s airport is reopening to inbound flights at 4 pm ET and full reopen
Continue ReadingBy ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Malaysia has joined India in protesting a new Chinese map that lays claim to India’s territory and Malaysia’s maritime areas near the Borneo island ahead of next week’s Group of 20 summit in New Delhi. Malaysia’s foreign ministry on Wednesday rejected China’s “unilateral claims” and added
Continue ReadingGonzalo Jimenez (CNN) — Amnistía Internacional exigió al gobierno venezolano que libere a todas las personas que fueron “detenidas arbitrariamente por razones políticas” bajo “la persistente política de represión del gobierno de Nicolás Maduro”, dijo el organismo de control de derechos humanos en un informe este martes. “La evidencia muestra que la política de represión
Continue ReadingBy TAIWO ADEBAYO Associated Press OMO FOREST RESERVE, Nigeria (AP) — Roaring chainsaws sent trees crashing to the ground, and bare-chested men hacked away at the branches beside a muddy road. Others heaved logs onto a truck, where they were tied in place with wire. The work was similar on the other side of the
Continue ReadingBy CURT ANDERSON Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s Big Bend is one of the last truly natural places in the state. It’s not Disney World. It’s not South Beach. This is where people go to hunt alligators, fish for tarpon and search for scallops in the shallow waters. On Wednesday, it became the
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A new wildfire southeast of Wasco in north-central Oregon raced across more than 2,300 acres on both sides of the John Day River on Tuesday, prompting closure of a state highway and nearby Cottonwood Canyon State Park, but crews stopped the blaze and officials said both reopened Wednesday.
Continue ReadingBy Jessie Yeung, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — Ten years ago, China’s capital was often covered in dense yellow and gray smog, so thick it shrouded nearly everything from view. People locked their windows, donned face masks and cranked air purifiers on high to escape what became known as Beijing’s “air-pocalypse.” The air quality was
Continue ReadingBy Christina Maxouris, Holly Yan and Nouran Salahieh, CNN (CNN) — Idalia weakened to a tropical storm Wednesday evening as it dumped heavy rain, unleashed strong winds and knocked out power in parts of southern Georgia and the Carolinas, just hours after pummeling Florida’s west coast and inundating communities there with floodwater. As the storm
Continue ReadingBy JOEY CAPPELLETI Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is outlining her policy priorities for the second half of the year. In a speech Wednesday the Democrat called for paid family and medical leave, a 100% clean energy standard, and the codification of federal health care protections. The Michigan Legislature is
Continue ReadingBy Jake Kwon, Jessie Yeung, Alex Stambaugh, Niamh Kennedy, Stephanie Halasz and Sana Noor Haq, CNN (CNN) — Military officers in Gabon have declared they were seizing power from President Ali Bongo Ondimba in a stunning coup, threatening the family’s half-century rule over the central African nation. Men in army uniform appeared on national television
Continue ReadingBy TERRY SPENCER Associated Press PERRY, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Idalia tore into Florida at the speed of a fast-moving train Wednesday, splitting trees in half, ripping roofs off hotels and turning small cars into boats before sweeping into Georgia and South Carolina as a still-powerful storm that flooded roadways and sent residents running for
Continue ReadingBy HUIZHONG WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Typhoon Saola has strengthened overnight as it continues its path across the Pacific and heads for China’s southern coast. The typhoon is moving northwest with sustained winds of 118 mph and gusts of up to 145 mph, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau. Saola is now
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