BEIJING (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad has arrived in China on his first visit to the country since the start of Syria’s 12-year conflict. Assad arrived Thursday in the eastern city of Hangzhou, where the Asian Games are being held. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to hold a banquet and participate in other
Continue ReadingBy ROBERT BADENDIECK Associated Press ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s central bank has raised its key interest rate by 5 percentage points to 30%. It’s another large but expected hike that signals a continued push toward more traditional economic policies under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The central bank says inflation was “above expectations” in July and
Continue ReadingBy MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Cisco is buying the cybersecurity firm Splunk in a $28 billion deal as it bolsters its defenses against potential security threats that may be heightened by the widening use of artificial intelligence. The Silicon Valley networking tech giant will pay $157 per Splunk Inc. share. “Our combined capabilities will
Continue ReadingBy JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A prosecutor says that a 13-year-old boy from the suburbs of Stockholm who was found dead earlier this month, is the latest victim of a deadly gang war in Sweden. Prosecutor Lisa dos Santos said Thursday that Milo, who was only identified by his first
Continue ReadingLONDON (AP) — England women’s players appear to have reached an agreement with the country’s soccer federation regarding a dispute over bonuses and commercial structures. England captain Millie Bright says at a news conference that the players “feel really confident moving forward about the structure we now have in place” with the Football Association. Exact
Continue ReadingBy ELAINE KURTENBACH and MATT OTT AP Business Writers 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,
Continue ReadingBy The Associated Press Representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Azerbaijan government have held a first round of talks on the future of the breakaway region that Azerbaijan now says it fully controls following a military offensive this week. President Ilham Aliyev’s office said the talks on the ethnic Armenian region had ended and that discussions
Continue ReadingLONDON (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 appeared at London’s Central Criminal Court on Thursdav by video link from a high-security prison to deny the charge. Prosecutors say Khalife, who’s 21
Continue ReadingBy Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN Paris (CNN) — King Charles III became the first British monarch to make a speech from France’s senate chamber on Thursday, praising the “indispensable relationship” between the UK and its neighbor which he said was “as firm as it has ever been.” Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, are on a
Continue ReadingBy VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister says his country is no longer sending arms to Ukraine. The comment appeared to put Poland’s status as a major source of military equipment for Kyiv in doubt as a trade dispute between the neighboring states escalates. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki created some
Continue ReadingBy Priscilla Alvarez, Ed Lavandera and Ashley Killough, CNN (CNN) — The Defense Department is ramping up resources at the US-Mexico border as officials describe a surge in border crossings in places including Eagle Pass, Texas, where the mayor has declared a state of emergency. Some 800 new active-duty personnel are being sent to the
Continue ReadingBy PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England has paused nearly two years of interest rate increases after a surprising fall in U.K. inflation eased concerns about the pace of price rises. In a development Thursday that few predicted just two days ago, the central bank kept its main interest rate
Continue ReadingBy KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In a surprise outcome, South Korea’s opposition-controlled parliament has voted to pass a motion submitted by the government that allows the potential arrest of the country’s leading opposition figure, Lee Jae-myung, who faces a widening investigation over corruption allegations. Lawmakers voted in favor of lifting
Continue ReadingBy JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — When England soccer player Leah Williamson addressed the United Nations in New York this week she spoke of her recent visit to the world’s biggest Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. She spoke of the power of sport and soccer in particular to change lives after
Continue ReadingBy MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s election oversight body has announced that it will hold the next parliamentary elections in the last week of January, delaying the vote which was to be held in November under the constitution. However, the announcement by the Election Commission of Pakistan has ended uncertainty about the
Continue ReadingBy SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A prominent leader of Cambodia’s political opposition has been convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison for issuing worthless checks four years ago. His party has called the case politically motivated. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court issued its verdict Thursday against Thach Setha, a
Continue ReadingTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian court has given two death sentences to a Tajik man convicted of carrying out a gun attack that killed two people at a major Shiite shrine in the southern city of Shiraz. The judiciary website Mizan Online says the Iranian Revolutionary Court in Fars province gave Rahmatollah Norouzof two
Continue ReadingBy VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister says his country is no longer sending arms to Ukraine. The comment appeared to 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 created some confusion about
Continue ReadingBy PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England has paused nearly two years of interest rate increases after a surprising fall in U.K. inflation eased concerns about the pace of price rises. In a development Thursday that few predicted just two days ago, the central bank kept its main interest rate
Continue ReadingBy Hanna Ziady, CNN London (CNN) — The Bank of England paused its historic rate hiking campaign for the first time in nearly two years Thursday after inflation fell unexpectedly in August. The decision keeps the main borrowing cost for commercial banks in the United Kingdom at 5.25% — still the highest level since February
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