Month: September 2024

Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers will become the first government minister from Australia in that key economic role to visit China in seven years. It’s the latest sign that strained bilateral relations are mending. Chalmers flies to Beijing on Thursday for a two-day visit. The last Australian treasurer to China

Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel is preparing for a possible ground operation in Lebanon, its army chief said Wednesday as Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets across the border and a missile aimed at Tel Aviv that was the militant group’s deepest strike yet. Addressing troops on the northern border, Chief of Staff

Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Fresh off a four-nation tour of Asia, where he saw record-setting crowds and vibrant church communities, Pope Francis travels to Belgium this week as the once-staunchly Catholic country again confronts its appalling legacy of clergy sex abuse and institutional cover-up. He will receive a sobering welcome: Abuse survivors have

The Israeli military is preparing for a possible ground operation in Lebanon, the Israeli army chief said Wednesday as Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets into Israel, including a longer-range projectile that set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and across central Israel. It was the group’s farthest strike yet. Israel said it intercepted the

Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The Marxist lawmaker who won Sri Lanka’s presidency faces a key challenge in how to balance ties with his country’s two most crucial partners, India and China, as he seeks to draw foreign investment and pull the economy out of the doldrums. Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the weekend

Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Two Philippine officials say that American and Filipino security officials have agreed to keep a U.S. mid-range missile system in the northern Philippines indefinitely to boost deterrance despite China’s expressions of alarm. The U.S. Army transported the Typhon missile system, a land-based weapon that can fire the Standard Missile-6

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates say four soldiers were killed and nine others injured in an accident. The UAE’s state-run WAM news agency carried a military statement Wednesday that offered no other immediate details. It said that what happened Tuesday night was “an accident … while they were carrying out

Associated Press PREK TAKEO, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia has broken ground to build a China-funded canal to eventually link its capital Phnom Penh to the Gulf of Thailand. The hope is that the $1.7 billion canal stretching about 110 miles will cut transport costs and reduce dependence on Vietnamese ports. Cambodia’s plans to build the

Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — An enormous Hurricane Helene swamped parts of Mexico on Wednesday as it churned on a path forecasters said would take it to Florida as a potentially catastrophic storm with a surge that could swallow entire homes, a chilling warning that sent residents scrambling for higher ground, closed schools, and

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress on Wednesday passed a temporary measure that keeps government agencies funded into December, avoiding a shutdown for now while punting final spending decisions until after the Nov. 5 election. The Senate approved the measure by a vote of 78-18 shortly after the House easily approved it. The bill generally

AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks edged back from their records Wednesday as financial markets around the world took a pause following big recent moves. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% a day after setting an all-time high for the 41st time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 293 points, or