China wins WTO dispute with Australia over steel products

China wins WTO dispute with Australia over steel products

SYDNEY (AP) — China has won a nearly three-year-long dispute with Australia at the World Trade Organization over tariffs on steel products that began during a low point of bilateral relations between the countries, and Australia’s trade minister said Wednesday his government accepted the ruling. Beijing took its complaint to the WTO in June 2021 … Read more

France and Brazil announce $1.1 billion investment plan for the Amazon

France and Brazil announce $1.1 billion investment plan for the Amazon

SAO PAULO (AP) — The Brazilian and the French presidents on Tuesday announced a plan to invest 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in the Amazon, including parts of the rainforest in neighboring French Guiana. The two countries’ governments said in a joint statement the money will be spread over the next four years to protect … Read more

The British Museum is suing a former curator over the alleged theft of almost 2,000 items

The British Museum is suing a former curator over the alleged theft of almost 2,000 items

LONDON (AP) — The British Museum went to court Tuesday against a former curator alleged to have stolen hundreds of artifacts from its collections and offered them for sale online. The museum is suing Peter Higgs, who was fired in July 2023 after more than 1,800 items were discovered to be missing. Lawyers for the … Read more

Kenya starts to hand over to relatives the bodies of 429 members of a doomsday cult

Kenya starts to hand over to relatives the bodies of 429 members of a doomsday cult

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s government on Tuesday began handing over to relatives the bodies of 429 members of a doomsday cult at the center of a legal case that has shocked the country. Exhumed bodies from a vast rural area in coastal Kenya have shown signs of starvation and strangulation. Cult leader Paul Mackenzie … Read more

Stock market today: Asian shares trading mixed after Wall Street’s momentum cools

Stock market today: Asian shares trading mixed after Wall Street’s momentum cools

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed in muted trading Tuesday, as buying in some markets was soon erased by profit-taking. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225, where computer chip-related issues had interested investors early, reversed course to slip nearly 0.2% in morning trading to 40,336.31. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1% to 7,801.20. South Korea’s Kospi added … Read more

India celebrates Holi, the Hindu festival of color, marking the reawakening of spring

India celebrates Holi, the Hindu festival of color, marking the reawakening of spring

NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of Indians celebrated Monday the Hindu Holi festival, dancing to festive music, exchanging food and drink and smearing each other with red, green, blue and pink powder, turning the air into a joyful kaleidoscope of color. Widely known as the Hindu festival of colors, Holi marks the arrival of the … Read more

Philippines lodges its ‘strongest protest’ against China over a water cannon assault in disputed sea

Philippines lodges its ‘strongest protest’ against China over a water cannon assault in disputed sea

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines lodged its “strongest protest” against Beijing on Monday and summoned a senior Chinese diplomat over a water cannon assault by the Chinese coast guard that injured Filipino navy crew members and heavily damaged their boat in the disputed South China Sea, officials said. In response, China warned that relations … Read more

South Korea protests: Senior doctors to submit resignations in support of strikes

South Korea protests: Senior doctors to submit resignations in support of strikes

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Senior doctors at major hospitals in South Korea began submitting their resignations en masse Monday in support of medical interns and residents who have been on a strike for five weeks over the government’s push to sharply increase medical school admissions. The senior doctors’ action won’t likely cause an immediate … Read more

Kate and William ‘extremely moved’ by support since the Princess of Wales’ cancer revelation

Kate and William ‘extremely moved’ by support since the Princess of Wales’ cancer revelation

LONDON (AP) — Kate, the Princess of Wales, and her husband, Prince William, are said to be “extremely moved” by the public’s warmth and support following her shocking cancer announcement as tributes continued to pour in Sunday from around the world. After weeks of frenzied speculation on social media about her health and well-being, Kate … Read more

Nigeria school abduction: Nearly 300 children freed after two weeks in captivity

Nigeria school abduction: Nearly 300 children freed after two weeks in captivity

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nearly 300 kidnapped Nigerian schoolchildren have been released, local officials said Sunday, more than two weeks after the children were seized from their school in the northwestern state of Kaduna and marched into the forests. At least 1,400 students have been kidnapped from Nigerian schools since 2014, when Boko Haram militants … Read more