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Month: January 2024

France’s government announces new measures to calm farmers’ protests, as barricades squeeze Paris

By SYLVIE CORBET and OLEG CETINIC Associated Press JOSSIGNY, France (AP) — France’s new prime minister showered promises of help on angry farmers Tuesday, from emergency cash aid to controls on imported food, in hopes that cools a protest movement that has seen tractors shut down highways across France and inspired similar actions around Europe.

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Stock market today: Asia markets weaker ahead of Fed decision; China economic data disappoint

By ZIMO ZHONG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks mostly declined Wednesday as markets awaited a decision on interest rates by the Federal Reserve, while China reported manufacturing contracted in January for a fourth straight month. U.S. futures were mixed while oil prices fell back. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% to 35,975.50. South

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Japanese officials raid a Toyota group plant after the company admitted cheating on engine testing

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Japanese transport officials raided a Toyota-affiliated plant Tuesday after the company admitted to cheating on engine testing, as Toyota Motor Corp. reported it sold over 11 million vehicles in 2023 to retain its status as the world’s top car manufacturer. Hours after the probe began at

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Northern Ireland political party agrees to end 2-year boycott that caused the government to collapse

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Northern Ireland’s largest British unionist party has agreed to end a boycott that left the region’s people without a power-sharing administration for two years and rattled the foundations of the 25-year-old peace. The breakthrough could see the shuttered Belfast government restored within days. After a marathon late-night

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Philippines and Vietnam agree to expand cooperation in South China Sea, which Beijing also claims

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL and JIM GOMEZ Associated Press HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — The Philippines and Vietnam have signed agreements to avoid incidents in the South China Sea and broaden cooperation between their coast guards. The growing alliance will likely be frowned upon by China, which claims virtually the entire waters. The agreements, along with discussions

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Global anti-corruption efforts are faltering, partly due to a ‘decline in justice,’ survey finds

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — The latest annual Corruption Perceptions Index says efforts to fight public sector corruption are faltering and blames in part a “global decline in justice and the rule of law since 2016.” Transparency International compiles the index. It found 23 countries at their worst level since the global

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Trump stays on Illinois’ ballot as the election board says it lacks power to remove him over Jan. 6

By SOPHIA TAREEN and NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois’ election board on Tuesday kept former President Donald Trump on the state’s primary ballot, a week before the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on whether the Republican’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol disqualifies him from the presidency.

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China sees two ‘bowls of poison’ in Biden and Trump and ponders who is the lesser of two evils

By DIDI TANG and KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — As the U.S. presidential campaign moves closer to a Donald Trump-Joe Biden rematch, China is watching uneasily. First, there are concerns about the campaign itself, where candidates are likely to talk tough on China. That could threaten the fragile improvements in U.S.-China relations seen

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The RNC will meet privately after Trump allies pull resolution to call him the ‘presumptive nominee’

By THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press The Republican National Committee is meeting behind closed doors in Las Vegas this week, but top party officials will no longer consider a resolution proposed to declare former President Donald Trump the presumptive Republican nominee. The proposal was initially introduced by Maryland Committeeman David Bossie, Trump’s 2016 deputy campaign manager

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What happens to Olympic medals now that Russian skater Valieva has been sanctioned for doping?

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer The highest court in sports sanctioned Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva for doping violations at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. The ruling means U.S. skaters will receive gold medals after they finished second behind Valieva and her teammates in the team competition. The case rocked the Olympics when, about 24

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Could Ohio be the next state to use nitrogen gas in executions? A new method would end a 5-year halt

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s Republican attorney general put his weight behind a legislative effort Tuesday to bring nitrogen gas executions to the state, joining what could be a national movement in pro-death penalty states to expand capital punishment on the heels of Alabama’s first use of the method

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