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China’s Xi will skip G20 summit in India during a period of soured bilateral relations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping is apparently skipping this week’s Group of 20 summit in India as bilateral relations remain icy. Instead, Premier Li Qiang will represent China at the Sept. 9-10 gathering, the Foreign Ministry said Monday in a one sentence notice on its website. Relations between China and India have grown frosty over their disputed border, and three years ago the tensions resulted in a clash in the Ladakh region that killed 20 Indian and four soldiers. It turned into a long-running standoff in the rugged mountainous area, where each side has stationed tens of thousands of military personnel backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets.Frictions have also risen over trade and India’s growing strategic ties with China’s main rival the United States. Both India and China have expelled the other’s journalists. India recently overtook China as the world’s most populous nation and the two are rivals in technology, space exploration and ...

Sudan’s top general arrives in South Sudan for talks with its president on the war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s top military general has arrived in South Sudan on Monday for talks with its president on his second trip abroad since the war in his country started earlier this year.Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, chairman of the ruling Sovereign Council, landed at the airport in South Sudan’s capital and was received by South Sudanese President Salva Kiir. Both leaders inspected an honor guard then headed for talks that would focus on the conflict in Sudan, according to the council.In April, simmering tensions between the military, led by Burhan, and the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, exploded into open fighting in the capital and elsewhere.The fighting has reduced Khartoum to an urban battlefield, with neither side managing to gain control of the city. The military command, where Burhan has purportedly been stationed since April, has been one of the epicenters of the conflict.In the western Darfur region — the scene of a gen...

Clashes erupt in Sweden’s third largest city after another Quran burning and at least 3 are detained

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Clashes erupted in an immigrant neighborhood in Sweden’s third largest city after an anti-Muslim protester set fire to the Quran, police said Monday. Police in Malmo said they were pelted with rocks and dozens of cars were set on fire, including in an underground garage, describing the events that started Sunday and lasted overnight as “a violent riot.”The clashes started after an anti-Islam activist Salwan Momika on Sunday burned a copy of the Quran and an angry mob tried to stop him while police, some of them helmeted, detained several people. At least three people have been detained, police said.Early Monday, an angry crowd of mainly young people also set fire to tires and debris and some were seen throwing electric scooters, bicycles and barriers in Malmo’s Rosengard neighborhood, which has seen similar clashes in the past. There were several banners relating to the Quran burning. “I understand that a public gathering like this arouses strong emotions, but...

The Turkish president is to meet Putin with the aim of reviving the Ukraine grain export deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

The presidents of Russia and Turkey meet on Monday, with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeking to persuade Russia to revive an agreement that allowed Ukraine to export grain and other commodities from three Black Sea ports despite the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin in July refused to extend the agreement, which was brokered by Turkey and the United Nations a year earlier. Russia complained that a parallel deal promising to remove obstacles to Russian exports of food and fertilizer hadn’t been honored. It said restrictions on shipping and insurance hampered its agricultural trade, even though it has shipped record amounts of wheat since last year.The leaders are to meet in the Black Sea city of Sochi, where the Russian president has a residence, and a lot is riding on the talks for the world food supply. The meeting takes place against a backdrop of more than 18 months of war and Ukraine’s recent counteroffensive.In the latest development, Ukrainian President Volod...

Stock market today: World shares surge after Wall St gains on signs the US jobs market is cooling

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

Stocks were higher in Europe and Asia on Monday following a report that signaled the US jobs market, while still healthy, shows some signs of cooling, raising hopes for an easing of interest rate hikes. Germany’s DAX advanced 0.7% to 15,949.69 and the CAC 40 in Paris picked up 0.8% to 7,354.96. In London, the FTSE 100 was up 0.8% at 7,522.38.The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2%. U.S. markets will be closed for the Labor Day holiday. “It appears that global markets are primed to be smitten with the idea of a ‘Nirvana’ Fed tightening outcome, entailing the ‘immaculate dis-inflation’ that does not cause employment pain,” Tan Boon Heng of Mizuho Bank said in a commentary. Apart from the favorable jobs data, fresh stimulus from China’s financial regulators for the beleaguered property sector also supported buying. They have cut down-payment requirements for first and second-time home buyers and lowered rates on existing mortgages, noted ...

Mob attacks on Christian churches and homes in Pakistan set off by false implication, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Last month’s mob attacks on churches and homes of Christians in eastern Pakistan erupted after three Christians threw the pages of Islam’s holy book outside the house of two others to falsely implicate them in a blasphemy case due to a personal dispute, police said Monday.The three detained suspects confessed to conspiring and throwing Quran pages outside Raja Amir’s house, three police officials said. Amir and his brother had been arrested after they were accused by Muslims of desecrating the Quran.The suspected mastermind was Pervez Kodu, who thought Amir had an affair with his wife and knew Muslims would target Amir if Kodu had thrown the pages outside his house to give the impression Amir had desecrated the holy book, three police officials said.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media on the record. They said the three men now face charges of causing violence and falsely implicating Amir...

Saskatchewan First Nation to quietly mark anniversary of mass stabbing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

JAMES SMITH CREE NATION — Members of a Saskatchewan First Nation will quietly gather today to mark the one-year anniversary of a mass stabbing. Some of the families affected by the tragedy are to return to James Smith Cree Nation, northeast of Saskatoon, for the first time.Chaos descended on the First Nation a year ago when 32-year-old Myles Sanderson moved from one home to another, busting down doors and attacking people. Eleven people were killed and 17 were injured on the First Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon.A church service and a small gathering in the First Nation’s treatment lodge is expected to take place this afternoon.The First Nation held a powwow and vigil earlier this weekend, offering members a chance to grieve and heal. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 2023.The Canadian Press

Canada set to become strategic partner with ASEAN bloc, symbolizing trade progress

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s status within the Indo-Pacific region is set to get a boost as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations prepares to make Ottawa its latest strategic partner when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits Indonesia.The move by the organization is a symbolic gesture that recognizes Canada’s expanded presence in the region and reflects the progress being made on a Canada-ASEAN free-trade agreement. The partnership will be ratified when Trudeau visits Jakarta on Tuesday and Wednesday alongside Trade Minister Mary Ng.Trudeau will meet with Indonesian President Joko Widodo during his visit to discuss fighting climate change, food security and advancing economic ties — part of which includes energy production and trade.The launch of the ASEAN-Canada strategic partnership will take place on Wednesday, with Trudeau also expected to deliver remarks. “The ASEAN believes engagement with Canada is much deeper than it perhaps used to be,” Wayne Farmer, presi...

Daily horoscope for September 4, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Moon is in Taurus.Happy Birthday for Monday, Sept. 4, 2023:You are a master planner. You do everything with care, thought and precision. You’re in charge. This year is slower paced. It’s OK to rest. It’s time to rejuvenate your energies and your outlook. Focus on business and personal relationships, particularly those that require extra kindness and help.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★Today you will hit the pavement running, because this week you can work hard and accomplish much. There’s lots of wonderful “Earth energy” in your Money House and your House of Employment, and they support each other, which is good news for you. Get busy! Tonight: Socialize!TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★★Today the Moon is in your sign along with lucky Jupiter, getting support from the Sun and Mercury retrograde in your fellow Earth sign. It’s a great day to tackle work related to the...

EU-Moldova 'Roam like at Home' is now closer to reality

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

The Commission has adopted today a proposal to incorporate roaming into the EU-Moldova Association Agreement. Once all necessary steps have been completed, Moldovan visitors to the EU will be able to use their mobile phones under the same price conditions as if they were in Moldova, while travellers from the EU will benefit from the same rights when visiting Moldova. Bringing Moldova into the EU “roam like at home” area is one of the key actions of the EU-Moldova Priority Action Plan, agreed in June 2023.This plan is a roadmap for the full implementation of the EU-Moldova Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) and Moldova's further integration into the EU Single Market. The proposal will now be considered by the Council of the European Union. Following the Council's agreement, a Joint Decision will need to be taken by the EU-Moldova Association Committee in Trade Configuration to amend the Association Agreement Annex in order to incorporate the most recent EU legislation on ...