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Syrian President Bashar Assad is in China on his first visit since the beginning of war in Syria

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:23 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad arrived in China on Thursday on his first visit to the country since the start of Syria’s 12-year conflict, one in which Beijing has been one of his main backers.China’s Foreign Ministry said Assad would join other foreign leaders attending the opening ceremony of the Asian Games, an international sports event beginning Saturday in the eastern city of Hangzhou.China has been expanding its reach in the Middle East after mediating a deal in March between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and it continues to support Assad in the Syrian conflict, which has killed half a million people and left large parts of the nation in ruins.Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Assad’s visit would “further deepen political mutual trust and cooperation in various fields between the two countries and push bilateral relations to a new level.”Assad and Chinese President Xi Jinping were set to meet for “in-depth talks” on a range of issues, she said.Ass...

India suspends visa services for citizens of Canada and tells it to cut its diplomats

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:23 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India halted all visa services for citizens of Canada and told it to reduce its diplomatic staffing on Thursday as a rift widened between the countries after Canada’s leader said India may have been involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen.Ties between Ottawa and New Delhi, key strategic partners in security and trade, have plunged to their lowest point in years after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week said there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader on its soil. Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Canadian citizen who had been wanted by India for years, was gunned down in June outside the temple he led in Surrey, outside Vancouver. The bombshell allegation from Trudeau on Monday set off a diplomatic tit-for-tat as each country expelled a diplomat. India denied the claim and called it absurd. “Important notice from Indian Mission: Due to operational reasons, with effect from 21 Sept. Ind...

Talks are held on Nagorno-Karabakh’s fate as Azerbaijan claims full control of the breakaway region

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:23 GMT

Representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh and the Azerbaijan government met Thursday for talks on the future of the breakaway region that Azerbaijan now claims to fully control following a military offensive this week.Azerbaijan’s state news agency said the talks, being held in the city of Yevlakh, had ended but provided no details on their progress. Nagorno-Karabakh authorities and the news agency earlier said the discussions would focus on the ethnic Armenian region’s “reintegration” into Azerbaijan.The talks came after local Armenian self-defense forces in the southern Caucasus Mountains region agreed Wednesday to disarm and disband following a military operation launched by Azerbaijan in the decades-long separatist conflict. A Russian-mediated cease-fire ended the latest round of fighting in the region, which has run its own affairs since the early 1990s.Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev declared victory in a televised address to the nation, saying his country had restored its...

A British ex-soldier pleads not guilty to escaping from a London prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:23 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A former soldier who allegedly snuck out of a London prison by strapping himself under a food delivery truck has pleaded not guilty to escaping custody. Daniel Khalife, 21, appeared at London’s Central Criminal Court on Thursday by video link from the high-security Belmarsh Prison to deny the charge. Prosecutors say Khalife, who was awaiting trial on terrorism charges in southwest London’s Wandsworth Prison, escaped on Sept. 6 by using bedsheets to tie himself to the underside of a catering truck. That prompted helicopter searches in London and extra security checks at major transport hubs, particularly in and around the Port of Dover, the main boat crossing from England to France.Khalife was arrested on a canal towpath in west London on Sept. 9 after a four-day manhunt. Authorities said he was riding a bicycle when a plain-clothes counter-terrorism officer nabbed him. Khalife had been in custody pending trial on charges of violating Britain’s Official Secr...

Stock market today: Wall Street poised for more losses after Fed says rates may stay high in ’24

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:23 GMT

Markets on Wall Street are poised to open with losses on Thursday after the Federal Reserve said it may not cut interest rates next year by as much as it previously thought. On Wall Street, futures for the S&P 500 were down 0.8% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%. That follows losses Wednesday after the Fed held its main interest rate steady at its highest level in more than two decades, as expected. Officials also indicated they may raise the federal funds rate once more this year as they try to get inflation down to a 2% target. Perhaps more importantly for the market, Fed officials also suggested they may cut rates next year by only half a percentage point. Three months ago, they were penciling in a full percentage point of cuts in 2024. “Moving forward, traders will scrutinize every piece of data from the U.S., with a particular emphasis on inflationary indicators, to gauge the potential for prolonged high rates,” Anderson Alves of ...

Turkey’s central bank hikes interest rates again in further shift in economic policies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:23 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s central bank raised its key interest rate by 5 percentage points Thursday, another large but expected hike that signals a continued push toward more traditional economic policies under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.The bank hiked its policy rate to 30%, saying it has kept up the “monetary tightening process” to combat rampant inflation and control price instability. Its statement said inflation in July and August was “above expectations,” hitting 58.94% last month.It takes Turkey into a more typical economic approach after critics blamed a series of rate cuts set by Erdogan for making a cost-of-living crisis worse. Turkish households were left struggling to afford rent and basic goods as inflation surged.Erdogan has long argued that lowering interest rates helps fight inflation, a theory that runs contrary to traditional economic thinking. The Turkish central bank started cutting rates in late 2021 under pressure from Erdogan.Central banks around the ...

US applications for jobless benefits fall to lowest level in nearly 8 months

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:23 GMT

U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in eight months last week as the labor market continues to show strength in the face of elevated interest rates.U.S. applications for jobless claims fell by 20,000 to 201,000 for the week ending Sept. 16, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the lowest figure since the last week of January.Jobless claim applications are seen as representative of the number of layoffs in a given week.The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure, fell by 7,750 to 217,000.Overall, 1.66 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended Sept. 9, about 21,000 fewer than the previous week. Matt Ott, The Associated Press

A Swedish prosecutor says a 13-year-old who was shot in the head, is a victim of a bloody gang feud

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:23 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A 13-year-old boy from the suburbs of Stockholm who was found dead in woods near his home earlier this month, is the latest victim of a deadly gang war in Sweden, a prosecutor said Thursday.Milo, who was only identified by his first name, had been shot in the head in a chilling example of “gross and completely reckless gang violence,” prosecutor Lisa dos Santos said. He is believed to have been shot in Haninge, south of Stockholm. She declined to give further details due to the ongoing investigation.Swedish media, which have published photos of Milo with the permission of his family, said the body had been moved to the woods after the boy — who was not known to the police — was killed. He was reported missing on Sept. 8 and his body was found by a passer-by three days later.Criminal gangs have become a growing problem in Sweden in recent decades, with an increasing number of drive-by shootings, bombings and grenade attacks. Most of the violence is in...

Pay dispute between England women’s international players and FA appears to be resolved

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:23 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Players from the England women’s team appear to have reached an agreement with the country’s soccer federation regarding a dispute over bonuses and commercial structures.England captain Millie Bright said at a news conference on Thursday that the players “feel really confident moving forward about the structure we now have in place” with the Football Association. Exact details of the agreement have yet to be officially announced.In a statement released before the recent Women’s World Cup in Australia, the England squad expressed disappointment at the dispute having not been resolved before the tournament and said the players had decided to pause talks with the intention of revisiting them.Players from teams at the World Cup were due to receive individual payments directly from FIFA for the first time, ranging from $30,000 to $270,00 depending on what stage of the tournament they reached.England players didn’t receive any payments from the FA, reportedly because the gov...

Poland is done sending arms to Ukraine, Polish leader says as trade dispute escalates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:23 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister said his country is no longer sending arms to Ukraine, a comment that appeared aimed at pressuring Kyiv and put Poland’s status as a major source of military equipment in doubt as a trade dispute between the neighboring states escalates.Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in an interview late on Wednesday that Poland is no longer transferring weapons to Ukraine. He made the comment as his populist party faces pressure from a far-right party in a national election on Oct. 15. The far-right party, Confederation, says Poland is not getting the gratitude it deserves for arming Ukraine and accepting its refugees.“We are no longer transferring any weapons to Ukraine because now we will arm ourselves with the most modern weapons,” Morawiecki said in an interview on Polsat, a private television broadcaster. The prime minister then spoke of a military modernization plan underway, spurred by fears of Russian aggression in the ...