ROZANCI, Serbia (AP) — Forget whiskey or cognac. For Serbs, nothing beats homemade sljivovica, a plum brandy they hope will win U.N. recognition soon as an example of an important cultural tradition. Sljivovica (pronounced SHLI’-vuh-vitsah) has been handcrafted — and consumed — in Serbia for centuries, a custom carried from generation to generation that experts…
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The long border between Finland and Russia runs through thick forests and is marked only by wooden posts with low fences meant to stop stray cattle. Soon, a stronger, higher fence will be erected on parts of the frontier. Earlier this month, Polish soldiers began laying coils of razor wire on…
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate eased to 3.8% in the August-October quarter, improving for the sixth consecutive period as economic activities revive in an easing COVID situation, the government said on Thursday. In the July-September period, the unemployment rate stood at 3.9%. “As long as the epidemic remains under control…
(Reuters) – The founder of collapsed crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, said he regretted his decision to file for bankruptcy and, in an interview published by Vox, criticized regulators. Bankman-Fried said later on Twitter that the basis of the interview, an exchange of messages on the same platform, was not supposed to be public. The…
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A multi-story building under construction collapsed on a neighboring home in the outskirts of Kenyan capital Nairobi, killing two people on Thursday, authorities said. Three other people have been rescued alive from the family home that was next to the collapsed building located in the Ruaka suburb. The early morning collapse…
BEIJING (AP) — Asian stocks were mixed Friday after Wall Street declined following indications the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates higher than expected to cool inflation. Shanghai declined while Tokyo and Hong Kong advanced. Oil prices gained. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index lost 0.3% on Thursday after a Fed official indicated the U.S….
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian airstrikes targeted Ukraine’s energy facilities again Thursday as the first snow of the season fell in Kyiv, a harbinger of the hardship to come if Moscow’s missiles continue to take out power and gas plants as winter descends. Separately, the United Nations announced the extension of a deal to ensure…
ZURICH (Reuters) – Siemens posted a better than expected fourth quarter profit at its industrial business on Thursday and said strong demand continued for its factory hardware and software. The German engineering and technology group said industrial profit rose 38% to 3.16 billion euros ($3.28 billion) in the three months to the end of September,…
By Tom Westbrook and Kevin Buckland SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar rebounded on Thursday as strong U.S. retail data cast doubt on the recent narrative that inflation is in retreat and U.S. interest rates need not rise too much further. The risk-sensitive Aussie tumbled as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng led a tech-driven slide in Asian…
TOKYO (Reuters) -A Japanese automobile lobbying group “firmly opposes” a plan for mileage tax on electric vehicles (EVs), an official of the group said on Thursday, adding that it would slow electrification efforts. “We are firmly opposed to the hasty introduction of measures such as a mileage tax without public discussion,” said Seiichi Nagatsuka, vice…
