Today: September 25, 2024
Today: September 25, 2024

World

World

Former teen performers accuse an agent of sexual assault. They're hoping it's Japan's Me Too moment

Kazuya Nakamura says he was 15 when one of the most powerful men in Japanese entertainment history forced him to have sex while he was part of a troupe of backup dancers managed by the legendary talent agent. At least a dozen other men have come forward this year to say they were sexually assaulted as teenagers by boy band impresario Johnny Kitagawa, who died in 2019, beginning with three who spoke anonymously to the BBC for a documentary broadcast in March. The story has all the elements of a major Me Too reckoning, but in Japan,

July 13, 2023
Former teen performers accuse an agent of sexual assault. They're hoping it's Japan's Me Too moment
World

China exports slumped 12.4% in June from a year earlier as global demand weakened

China’s exports tumbled 12.4% in June from a year earlier as demand weakened after central banks raised interest rates to curb inflation even as Chinese leaders struggled to keep a post-COVID recovery from faltering. Customs data released Thursday showed imports slid 6.8% to $214.7 billion. Exports edged up slightly from the month before, totaling $285.3 billion. The trade surplus was $70.2 billion, rising from $65.8 billion in May. Trade weakness adds to downward pressure on the world’s second-largest economy. Global consumer demand has weakened after the Federal Reserve and central banks in Europe and Asia raised

July 13, 2023
China exports slumped 12.4% in June from a year earlier as global demand weakened
World

Most populous US states and city ask for census corrections over misplaced ship and missed students

A misplaced naval ship in California. Overlooked college students in New York City. Missed inmates in Texas. These are some of the reasons why the two most populous states and the largest city in the U.S. filed last-minute requests for corrections to their 2020 census figures right before the deadline at the end of last month. California, Texas and New York City were joined by a dozen and a half other stragglers, including Illinois and New Orleans, that made down-to-the-deadline appeals over the numbers that help determine political power and the annual distribution of $2.8 trillion in federal funding. In

July 13, 2023
Most populous US states and city ask for census corrections over misplaced ship and missed students
World

Influencer arrested over TikTok video satirizing wealthy Emiratis in Dubai shows limits on freedoms

An online influencer has been arrested in Dubai over a satirical TikTok video in which he portrays a brash Emirati on a spending spree inside a luxury car showroom. The comedic sketch, in which he tosses stacks of bills at bewildered employees and offers to buy the most expensive car — a $600,000 Ferrari SF90 — poked fun at the lavish lifestyles on display in the city, known for its gleaming skyscrapers and over-the-top tourism attractions. Dubai is more socially lenient than much of the Middle East, with a relaxed dress code, bars and

July 13, 2023
Influencer arrested over TikTok video satirizing wealthy Emiratis in Dubai shows limits on freedoms
World

Homeless World Cup makes US debut in California and scores victories beyond the field for players

Lisa Wrightsman was a former college soccer player whose life was derailed by drug addiction before she eventually made her way back to the sport through a tournament for players from around the globe who have experienced homelessness. Wrightsman qualified for the Homeless World Cup in Brazil. It was a competition that would forever change her life. When she returned to Sacramento, friends at the sober living facility where Wrightsman lived told her they wanted “to feel the way you look right now.” “I actually started to feel value,” she said. “The whole tournament kind of

July 13, 2023
Homeless World Cup makes US debut in California and scores victories beyond the field for players
World

Tourists are packing European hotspots. And Americans don't mind the higher prices and crowds

Tourists are waiting more than two hours to visit the Acropolis in Athens. Taxi lines at Rome’s main train station are running just as long. And so many visitors are concentrating around St. Mark’s Square in Venice that crowds get backed up crossing bridges — even on weekdays. After three years of pandemic limitations, tourism is expected to exceed 2019 records in some of Europe’s most popular destinations this summer, from Barcelona and Rome, Athens and Venice to the scenic islands of Santorini in Greece, Capri in Italy and Mallorca in Spain. While European tourists edged

July 13, 2023
Tourists are packing European hotspots. And Americans don't mind the higher prices and crowds
World

Stock market today: Asian shares jump on Wall Street's return to its highest level in over a year

Asian shares rose Thursday, boosted by Wall Street’s return to its highest level in more than a year after a report showed U.S. consumer inflation cooled a bit more than expected last month. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.5% in afternoon trading to 32,425.69. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 2.6% to 19,357.96, while the Shanghai Composite gained 1.3% to 3,236.86, even as China reported a slump in trade in June. Chinese exports tumbled 12.4% in June from a year earlier as demand weakened after central banks raised interest rates to curb inflation even as Chinese leaders struggled

July 13, 2023
Stock market today: Asian shares jump on Wall Street's return to its highest level in over a year
World

UN expert group calls for release of Cambodian-American human rights activist after investigation

A United Nations expert group is calling for the immediate release of a Cambodian-American human rights activist, saying an investigation it conducted has concluded she was being “arbitrarily detained in violation of international law.” The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said in a judgment late Wednesday that while attorney Theary Seng had been convicted of conspiracy to commit treason and other charges last year, she was in reality being punished for “making two posts on Facebook critical of Hun Sen,” Cambodia’s autocratic prime minister. The judgment comes a little more than a week

July 13, 2023
UN expert group calls for release of Cambodian-American human rights activist after investigation
World

Egypt, Ethiopian leaders discuss Blue Nile dam ahead of Cairo summit on deadly Sudan conflict

Egypt’s president and Ethiopia’s prime minister have met to discuss bilateral relations, including construction of a giant dam on the Blue Nile, ahead of a summit in Cairo to discuss potential resolutions to the deadly 12-week conflict in Sudan. Their rare meeting at Cairo’s Al-Ittihadiya Palace Wednesday preceded a summit that President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi is hosting on Sudan. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is set to attend Thursday’s high-stakes meeting, along with leaders from South Sudan, Chad, Eritrea, Central African Republic and Libya. “The two leaders discussed on key bilateral & regional issues of interest to

July 13, 2023
Egypt, Ethiopian leaders discuss Blue Nile dam ahead of Cairo summit on deadly Sudan conflict
World

Climate activists block runways at 2 German airports, causing numerous flight cancelations

Climate activists blocked a runway at Hamburg airport early Thursday, causing numerous flights to be canceled on the first day of the school vacation in the north German city. The group Last Generation said several of its members entered the grounds of Hamburg airport around 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) and glued themselves to the runway. “It can’t yet be predicted when operations can resume,” the airport operators said. “According to current information about a dozen flights have had to be canceled. Further cancelations and diversions aren’t ruled out.” Members of the group also cut through a security

July 13, 2023
Climate activists block runways at 2 German airports, causing numerous flight cancelations
World

Mass grave with at least 87 bodies found in Sudan's volatile Darfur region, United Nations says

The bodies of dozens of people allegedly killed by Sudanese paramilitary forces and an allied militia have been uncovered in a mass grave in West Darfur, the United Nations said Thursday. According to “credible information” obtained by the U.N. Human Rights Office, at least 87 people — some of them from the ethnic African Masalit tribe — were killed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and an affiliated Arab militia. Their bodies were dumped in a one-meter (around three-foot) grave just outside the West Darfur city of Geneina, the agency said. Sudan has been rocked by violence

July 13, 2023
Mass grave with at least 87 bodies found in Sudan's volatile Darfur region, United Nations says
World

China and ASEAN agree to try to conclude nonaggression pact on sea feud in 3 years

China and Southeast Asian nations agreed Thursday to try and conclude within three years a long-delayed nonaggression pact aimed at preventing the frequent territorial spats in the busy South China Sea from turning into a major armed conflict. China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed Thursday during a meeting between the 10-nation bloc’s foreign ministers and China’s top diplomat Wang Yi in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta to guidelines to complete their code of conduct negotiations before fall 2026, a Southeast Asian diplomat involved in the meetings told The Associated Press. The diplomat spoke

July 13, 2023
China and ASEAN agree to try to conclude nonaggression pact on sea feud in 3 years
World

Record monsoon rains have killed more than 100 people in northern India this week

Schools and colleges were closed after record monsoon rains led to massive waterlogging, road caves-in, collapsed homes and gridlocked traffic in large parts of northern India this week, killing more than 100 people, officials said Thursday. At least 88 people died and more than 100 were injured in the worst hit-mountainous Himachal Pradesh state where cars, buses, bridges and houses were swept away by swirling flood waters, a state government statement said. The region is nearly 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of New Delhi. Twelve people have died of rain-related incidents since Wednesday in Uttar Pradesh

July 13, 2023
Record monsoon rains have killed more than 100 people in northern India this week
World

Venezuela government's ban on longtime foe draws attention to the opposition's presidential primary

Maria Corina Machado has been a longtime foe of Venezuela’s government, and not exactly a unifying figure for its critics. But the government’s move to ban her from public office has helped rally the fractured opposition and focus much-needed attention on their effort to hold an independent presidential primary. The ban was issued just days after she entered the race, and Machado says it shows that the government knows that it could face defeat. “If anyone had doubts about the strategic importance, the value, of the primaries, … the actions of the regime have made this

July 13, 2023
Venezuela government's ban on longtime foe draws attention to the opposition's presidential primary
World

Tens of thousands of doctors in England start 'longest' strike in health system's history

Britain’s state-funded health care service is facing what is being described as its longest-ever strike as tens of thousands of doctors in England commenced a five-day walkout over pay on Thursday. So-called junior doctors, those who are at the early stages of their careers in the years after medical school, started their strike at 7 a.m., with many of them making their case for a 35% pay rise in picket lines outside hospitals across England. The British Medical Association, the doctors’ union, has asked for a 35% pay rise to bring junior doctors’ pay back to 2008

July 13, 2023
Tens of thousands of doctors in England start 'longest' strike in health system's history
World

Kevin Spacey testifies in his own defense in his sexual assault trial at a London court

Kevin Spacey testified Thursday in his sexual assault trial, swearing in a clear and loud voice to tell the “full truth and nothing but the truth” in what could be the most consequential speaking part of his life. Spacey began by discussing how he got involved in the theater, joking that his mother would say he began acting the moment he emerged from the womb. The testimony provided some light history on his life before delving into the serious matter before the court. Four men have accused the two-time Oscar winner of sexually assaulting them between 2001

July 13, 2023
Kevin Spacey testifies in his own defense in his sexual assault trial at a London court
World

Google rolls out AI chatbot Bard to Europe and Brazil and adds more languages

Google said Thursday that it’s rolling out its AI-powered chatbot Bard across Europe and in Brazil, expanding its availability to hundreds of millions more users. The company also said it’s adding more features to Bard as it scrambles to keep up with rival Microsoft — which uses OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT service in its Bing search engine — in the race to develop pivotal artificial intelligence for commercial use. Google launched Bard in February, but its planned rollout last month in the European Union was delayed as regulators checked whether the service complied with the 27-nation bloc’s strict

July 13, 2023
Google rolls out AI chatbot Bard to Europe and Brazil and adds more languages
World

Top general's dismissal reveals new crack in Russian military leadership

A Russian general in charge of forces fighting in southern Ukraine has been relieved of his duties after speaking out about the problems faced by his troops in a move that reflected new fissures in the Russian military command following a brief rebellion by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. Maj. Gen. Ivan Popov, the commander of the 58th Army fighting in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, which is a focal point in the Ukrainian counteroffensive, said in an audio statement to his troops released late Wednesday that he was dismissed after a meeting with the top military brass. Popov

July 13, 2023
Top general's dismissal reveals new crack in Russian military leadership
World

Germany presents long-awaited strategy on China, stresses economic security

The German government on Thursday presented a long-awaited strategy for relations with China that points to a “systemic rivalry” with the Asian power and a need to reduce risks of economic dependency, but highlights Berlin’s desire to work with Beijing on challenges such as climate change and maintain trade ties. The 64-page document approved by Chancellor OIaf Scholz’s Cabinet builds on Germany’s first national security strategy, issued a month ago. Scholz’s three-party coalition had pledged when it took office in late 2021 to draw up a “comprehensive China strategy.” Germany has Europe’s biggest economy and is the

July 13, 2023
Germany presents long-awaited strategy on China, stresses economic security
World

PepsiCo raises 2023 profit expectations as price hikes offset falling sales volume

Higher prices lifted PepsiCo’s revenue in the second quarter but dented consumer demand, and the company said Thursday that price increases could start to moderate in the second half of this year. Snack food volumes fell 3% in the April-June period, while beverage volumes dropped 1%. Yet net pricing rose 15%, the sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit price increases from PepsiCo. The Purchase, New York, company reported better-than-expected revenue and raised its full-year earnings forecasts. Pepsi’s revenue rose 10% to $22.3 billion, topping Wall Street’s projections for $21.7 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet. PepsiCo shares were flat in

July 13, 2023
PepsiCo raises 2023 profit expectations as price hikes offset falling sales volume
World

Delta puts up record quarterly numbers as travel surges despite expectations of a spending pullback

Delta Air Lines reported unprecedented quarterly profit and revenue Thursday and raised its expectations for a year after travelers took to the skies in huge numbers, defying some forecasts of a pullback in spending. Revenue soared almost 13% to $15.58 billion, a surprising jump even for a carrier that has outperformed consistently. Shares rose almost 5% before the opening bell, on a trajectory to set a new 52-week high, and pulled major carriers higher with it. “Robust demand is continuing into the September quarter where we expect total revenue to be similar to the June quarter, up 11 percent to

July 13, 2023
Delta puts up record quarterly numbers as travel surges despite expectations of a spending pullback
World

European court says suspension of Polish judge criticizing government was against EU law

Europe’s top court ruled on Thursday that suspension in Poland of a judge who had criticized the government is against the EU’s law and he should be returned to the bench with full pay. The decision was the latest in a string of European Union decisions ordering Poland’s right-wing government to roll back changes to the judiciary that the EU says are in violation of the rule of law. Judge Igor Tuleya was suspended in 2020 and had his pay reduced by a judicial disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court, a body created and controlled by

July 13, 2023
European court says suspension of Polish judge criticizing government was against EU law
World

Powerball jackpot climbs to $875 million for Saturday after no winner in latest drawing

The Powerball jackpot soared to an estimated $875 million after no winning ticket was sold for the latest drawing. No ticket for Wednesday’s $750 million jackpot matched the white balls 23, 35, 45, 66, 67 and red Powerball 20. The new jackpot for Saturday’s drawing is the third highest in the history of the game. Ticket buyers have a chance at either $875 million paid out in yearly increments or a $441.9 million one-time lump sum before taxes. The game’s abysmal odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to build big prizes that draw

July 13, 2023
Powerball jackpot climbs to $875 million for Saturday after no winner in latest drawing
World

Brawl erupts in Kosovo's parliament during prime minister's speech on defusing tensions with Serbs

A brawl erupted in the Kosovo parliament on Thursday after an opposition lawmaker threw water on Prime Minister Albin Kurti while he was speaking about government measures to defuse tensions with ethnic Serbs in the country’s north. Kosovo opposition parties have criticized Kurti’s policies in the north that have strained relations with key Western allies. The United States and the European Union have pressured Kurti to help calm the situation after violence broke out in May after police-backed ethnic Albanian mayors took office following an election that the ethnic Serb majority in the area had widely

July 13, 2023
Brawl erupts in Kosovo's parliament during prime minister's speech on defusing tensions with Serbs
World

Italy rail strike strands commuters and tourists in sweltering weather at height of tourism season

Commuters and tourists alike were stranded by a major train strike across Italy on a sweltering Thursday, with cancellations affecting even high-speed lines that are usually guaranteed during Italy’s frequent work stoppages. Transport Minister Matteo Salvini signed a decree ordering the two-day strike be cut in half, but even that truncated stoppage forced the cancellation of service up and down the peninsula on a weekday, at the height of Italy’s booming high tourist season. At Milan’s main rail station, for example, eight of 20 scheduled Trenitalia trains scheduled between 10:30-11:30 a.m. were canceled. State-run Trenitalia warned of

July 13, 2023
Italy rail strike strands commuters and tourists in sweltering weather at height of tourism season

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