TOKYO — Asia-Pacific business executives urged emerging economies in the region to issue climate bonds indexed to a basket of currencies, which would reduce the risk from foreign exchange fluctuation in raising funds for clean energy transition. The group of business executives comprising ABAC, which is APEC's Business Advisory Council, also proposed on Sunday launching a pilot program to develop a voluntary carbon market (VCM) for the Asia-Pacific region. "What we're trying to establish is an interoperable... Читать дальше...
CHICO, California — Fire crews battling California's largest wildfire this year have corralled a third of the blaze aided in part by cooler weather, but a return of triple-digit temperatures could allow it to grow, fire officials said Sunday. Cooler temperatures and increased humidity gave firefighters "a great opportunity to make some good advances" on the fire in the Sierra Nevada foothills, said Chris Vestal, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The Park... Читать дальше...
Geneva — Switzerland's Locarno Film Festival opens on Wednesday with Shah Rukh Khan, Jane Campion, Alfonso Cuaron and Irene Jacob set to be honored with special awards. Founded in 1946, Locarno is one of the world's longest-running annual film festivals and focuses on auteur cinema. Held on the shores of Lake Maggiore, in the Italian-speaking Ticino region of southern Switzerland, films are screened in Locarno's central square, a feature of Swiss national life depicted on the country's 20-franc banknotes. Читать дальше...
Nearly 100 people have been killed in clashes with police in Bangladesh. The protesters are calling for Sheikh Hasina's resignation. Hasina says the protesters are engaged in “sabotage” while the military imposes an indefinite curfew. The United States, Western partners and Jordan are telling their citizens to leave Lebanon. This as Washington deploys additional military to the Middle East in posturing the White House describes as defensive amid fears of an Iranian military strike on Israel. It comes... Читать дальше...
Celaya, Mexico — A Mexican crime reporter who was under police protection because of an attempt on his life was shot and killed Sunday, local officials said. Alejandro Martinez Noguez, who ran a popular news outlet on Facebook, was killed while riding in a car with his bodyguards in the central state of Guanajuato after a reporting assignment, the security department of the city of Celaya said. "Civilian attackers in a pickup truck opened fire with long guns at a car assigned to the reporter... Читать дальше...
VILLENEUVE-D'ASCQ, France — Ezinne Kalu scored 21 points and Nigeria made Olympic history by becoming the first African team, male or female, to reach the Olympic quarterfinals in basketball when it beat Canada 79-70 on Sunday. The Nigerians (2-1) came in having only one win — back in the 2004 Athens Games — and now they're staying around the Olympics longer than they ever have before. Their quarterfinal opponent is the United States, which is going for an eighth consecutive gold medal. The... Читать дальше...
PARIS — The Olympic mixed relay triathlon competition will be held as scheduled at 8 a.m. in Paris on Monday, organizers said in a statement after testing the water quality of the River Seine. Training sessions for the swimming leg of the triathlon were canceled due to poor water quality in the Seine and the men's event was put back to last Wednesday, taking place on the same day as the women's. Organizers confirmed late on Sunday that the relay would take place, despite canceling Sunday's training. Читать дальше...
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Commerce Department is expected to propose barring Chinese software in autonomous and connected vehicles in the coming weeks, according to sources briefed on the matter. The Biden administration plans to issue a proposed rule that would bar Chinese software in vehicles in the United States with Level 3 automation and above, which would have the effect of also banning testing on U.S. roads of autonomous vehicles produced by Chinese companies. The administration, in a previously unreported decision... Читать дальше...
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A missile attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck a Liberian-flagged container ship traveling through the Gulf of Aden, authorities said Sunday, the first assault by the group since Israeli airstrikes targeted them. The rebels separately said they shot down another U.S. spy drone Sunday, later publishing imagery of the aircraft's wreckage on the side of the mountain. The Houthis offered no explanation for the two-week pause in their attacks on shipping through the Red Sea corridor... Читать дальше...
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi concluded a rare visit to Iran on Sunday with a plea for an end to the escalation of violence and for the region to be able to live in "peace, security and stability." Safadi's visit to Iran follows continued diplomatic contacts by the United States and its partners including France, Britain, Italy and Egypt to prevent further regional escalation following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. In a meeting with Safadi... Читать дальше...
Caracas, Venezuela — Voices across the globe expressed concern Sunday over the growing number of arrests in Venezuela following last weekend’s disputed elections. Pope Francis said Venezuela is “living a critical situation” in his traditional Sunday remarks at the Vatican, adding, “I appeal to all parties to seek the truth, to avoid all kinds of violence.” The remarks came hours after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced Saturday that the government has arrested 2,000 opponents. At a rally in the Venezuelan capital Caracas... Читать дальше...
Goma, DRC — Rebels from the M23 movement captured a border town in eastern DR Congo without a fight Sunday, local sources said, the same day a cease-fire between DR Congo and neighboring Rwanda was meant to come into force. Ishasha, on the border with Uganda, was the latest town to fall to the majority-ethnic Tutsi movement backed by Rwanda. M23 has seized large swathes of territory in the Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province since it launched an offensive at the end of 2021. Читать дальше...
Washington — Ordinary Americans are “getting whacked” by too many laws and regulations, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch says in a new book that underscores his skepticism of federal agencies and the power they wield. “Too little law and we’re not safe, and our liberties aren’t protected," Gorsuch told The Associated Press in an interview in his Supreme Court office. "But too much law and you actually impair those same things.” “Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law” is being published Tuesday by Harper... Читать дальше...
Abortion is restricted in Kenya, but in Kilifi County on the southern coast many women and girls with unplanned pregnancies say they have no choice but to undergo dangerous abortions without the intervention of a nurse or doctor. Local activists say the practice is contributing to high maternal mortality in the region. Halima Gongo reports.
A community of breastfeeding women in Uganda is helping mothers who are struggling not to just feed their newborn babies, but to keep them alive. Halima Athumani and Mukasa Francis report from Uganda’s capital Kampala.
Nanterre, France — The final night of swimming at the Paris Olympic stirred a wide range of emotions for an American team that no longer rules the world. A world record from Bobby Finke. Elation. A historic loss that reignited gripes about Chinese doping. Stunning. Finally, another world record for the women's 4x100-meter medley relay team to edge out rival Australia for the top spot in the gold-medal table. Whew! “Just an awesome way to cap off the meet,” said Lilly King of the winning relay team... Читать дальше...
Saint-Denis, France — Noah Lyles won the Olympic 100 meters by .005 seconds Sunday, waiting some 30 seconds after the finish of an excruciatingly close sprint to find out he'd beaten Kishane Thompson of Jamaica. The word “Photo” popped up on the scoreboard after Lyles and Thompson dashed to the line. Lyles paced the track with his hands draped over his head. Finally, the numbers came up. Lyles won in 9.784 seconds to edge out the Jamaican by five-thousandths of a tick of the clock. America's... Читать дальше...