Soyuz capsule with 2 Russians and 1 American from the International Space Station returns to Earth

MOSCOW (AP) — A Soyuz capsule carrying two Russians and one American from the International Space Station landed Monday in Kazakhstan, ending a record-breaking stay for the Russian pair. The capsule landed on the Kazakh steppe about 3 1/2 hours after undocking from the ISS in an apparently trouble-free descent. In the last stage of the landing, it descended under a red-and-white parachute at about 7.2 meters per second (16 mph), with small rockets fired in the final seconds to cushion the

World NewsSept. 23, 2024

WTO to examine China complaint over US electric vehicle subsidies

The World Trade Organization agreed Monday to establish an expert panel to examine US subsidies for electric vehicles after Beijing accused Washington of unfair competition. The United States slammed China's complaint, insisting the country was seeking "to distract from its own non-market policies and practices that undermine a fair, competitive, and mutually beneficial trading system." The world's second-largest economy initially brought the case to the WTO in March, chargin

World BusinessSept. 23, 2024

Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill 100 people. That would make it the deadliest day since October

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said it struck hundreds of targets Monday in Lebanon in one of the most intense barrages in nearly a year of fighting against the Hezbollah militant group, and military officials said they planned to widen the offensive. The Lebanese Health Ministry said 100 people were killed and more than 400 wounded in what would be the deadliest day in Lebanon since the conflict started in October. Before the escalation beginning with the wave of pager explosions l

World NewsSept. 23, 2024

Sri Lanka votes in first poll since economic collapse

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka was voting for its next president Saturday in an effective referendum on an unpopular International Monetary Fund austerity plan enacted after the island nation's unprecedented financial crisis. President Ranil Wickremesinghe is fighting an uphill battle for a fresh mandate to continue belt-tightening measures that stabilized the economy and ended months of food, fuel, and medicine shortages. His two years in office restored calm to the streets after civil unrest

World NewsSept. 21, 2024

California governor signs law to protect children from social media addiction

California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday. California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to block their kids from getting social media posts suggested by a platform’s algorithm. Utah has passed laws in recent years aimed at limiting children’s access to social media, but the

World NewsSept. 21, 2024

Rare Israeli airstrike in Beirut kills Hezbollah commander and more than a dozen others

Israel launched a rare airstrike that killed a senior Hezbollah military official in a densely populated southern Beirut neighborhood on Friday. It was the deadliest such strike on Lebanon’s capital in decades, with Lebanese authorities reporting at least 14 people killed and dozens more wounded in the attack. The Israeli military’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the strike on Beirut's southern Dahiya district killed Ibrahim Akil, a commander of Hezbollah&rsquo

World NewsSept. 21, 2024

EU pledges to loan Ukraine up to $39 billion to help rebuild its economy and power grid

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The European Union pledged on Friday to lend Ukraine up to 35 billion euros ($39 billion) as part of a loan package organized by the Group of Seven major industrial nations, as it seeks to help the country rebuild its economy and its war-shattered power grid. G7 leaders agreed in June to engineer a $50 billion loan to help Ukraine in its fight for survival. Interest earned on profits from Russia’s frozen central bank assets would be used as collateral, but progre

World NewsSept. 20, 2024

Global stock markets diverge after global rally

Global stock markets diverged and the dollar was mixed against main rivals Friday following an equities rally triggered by a jumbo US interest rate cut this week. In early afternoon deals, European stocks pared back hefty gains from the previous session, won after the Federal Reserve opted for a bumper 50-basis-point rate reduction and pledged further cuts as inflation cools. There had been fears the move could signal officials were worried about the economy and were behind the curve in easing p

World BusinessSept. 20, 2024

Ukrainian drones strike a large military depot in a Russian town northwest of Moscow

Ukrainian drones struck a large military depot in a town deep inside Russia overnight, causing a huge blaze and prompting the evacuation of some local residents, a Ukrainian official and Russian news reports said Wednesday. Meanwhile, a senior US diplomat said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recently announced -- but still confidential -- plan for winning the war “can work” and help end the conflict that is now in its third year. Ukraine claimed the strike destro

World NewsSept. 18, 2024

Myanmar flooding death toll jumps to 226

The death toll from massive flooding in Myanmar in the wake of Typhoon Yagi has doubled to 226, state media reported, as the UN warned as many as 630,000 people could need help. Yagi swept across northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar more than a week ago with powerful winds and an enormous amount of rain, triggering floods and landslides that have killed more than 500 people, according to official figures. State TV in junta-ruled Myanmar confirmed 226 fatalities late on Monday, with 77 pe

World NewsSept. 17, 2024

Boeing, union to resume talks as strike quiets Seattle plants

Negotiators from Boeing and the machinists union are scheduled to resume talks Tuesday after some 33,000 workers went on strike late last week. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 have been picketing 24 hours a day following the walkout early Friday morning, shuttering Seattle-area factories that assemble the 737 MAX and 777. "Now is the moment to rise -- show Boeing that our voices aren't just loud; they are unstoppable," the

World BusinessSept. 17, 2024

Meta bans Russian state media outlets for 'interference'

Meta late Monday said it is banning Russian state media outlets from its apps around the world due to "foreign interference activity." The ban comes after the United States accused RT and employees of the state-run agency of funneling $10 million through shell entities to covertly fund influence campaigns on social media channels including TikTok, Instagram, X, and YouTube, according to an unsealed indictment. "After careful consideration, we expanded our ongoing enforcement again

World NewsSept. 17, 2024

Malaysia reports new mpox case of clade 2 variant

Malaysia's health ministry reported on Tuesday one new case of the mpox virus infection of the clade 2 variety, a less severe variant of the disease, and said the patient had been isolated and was in a stable condition. The case was detected on Monday in a man who began showing symptoms of fever, sore throat, and cough on Sept. 11, with a rash appearing the following day, the health ministry said in a statement. Malaysia has detected 10 cases of mpox since July last year, all of which are

World NewsSept. 17, 2024

Indian police detain 100 Samsung workers, union leaders for protest march

Indian police have detained around 100 striking workers and union leaders protesting low wages at a Samsung Electronics plant in southern India, as they were planning a march on Monday without permission, police officials said. The detention marks an escalation of a strike by workers at a Samsung home appliance plant near Chennai city in the state of Tamil Nadu. Workers want higher wages and have boycotted work for seven days, disrupting production that contributes roughly a third of Samsung

World NewsSept. 16, 2024

What we know about the reported suspect behind apparent Trump assassination attempt

A gunman attempted to assassinate Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sunday at Trump's golf course in Palm Beach, Florida, authorities said. CNN, Fox News and The New York Times identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii, citing unidentified law enforcement officials. The FBI declined to comment and Reuters could not independently verify his identity. Here is what we know so far about the suspected gunman: The Secret Service said its agents were accompanying T

World NewsSept. 16, 2024

Japan's elderly population hits record high

The number of people in Japan aged 65 or older hit a record high of 36.25 million this year, government data shows, as the country contends with one of the world's fastest-ageing societies. The elderly now account for 29.3 percent of Japan's total population, also a new high, according to data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on Sunday. The ministry said the proportion of elderly residents put Japan at the top of the list of 200 countries and regions with

World NewsSept. 16, 2024

Trump safe after apparent assassination attempt

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was safe after a shooting occurred near his golf course in Florida on Sunday, in what investigators see as an apparent assassination attempt against the former president. The shooting took place shortly before 2 p.m. near Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, where Trump was golfing. In a fundraising email, Trump said that he was "safe and well," according to CNN. His campaign and the US Secret Service also confirmed that he wa

World NewsSept. 16, 2024

OpenAI's stunning $150 bln valuation hinges on upending corporate structure, sources say

OpenAI's new financing round is expected to come in the form of convertible notes, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter, who said its $150 billion valuation will be contingent on whether the ChatGPT-maker can upend its corporate structure and remove a profit cap for investors. The details of the conditions of the $6.5 billion funding, which have not been previously reported, show how far OpenAI, the most valuable AI startup in the world, has come from a research-based no

World NewsSept. 14, 2024

China retail sales, industrial production slow in August

BEIJING -- Chinese retail sales and industrial production growth slowed in August, official data showed Saturday, as leaders in Beijing seek paths to achieve growth targets despite consumers' reluctance to spend. More than a year and a half since abolishing strict Covid-19 measures that had dampened activity, the world's second-largest economy has yet to achieve a highly anticipated post-pandemic recovery. A prolonged debt crisis in China's vast property sector, continued deflatio

World NewsSept. 14, 2024