COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The International Monetary Fund announced Thursday it has reached a preliminary agreement to provide Sri Lanka with $2.9 billion over four years to help it recover from its worst economic crisis. The arrangement will help restore financial and macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability as well as enable the country’s growth…
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday hailed economic and educational cooperation with Taiwan, marked by a $12 billion investment in his state by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. Ducey spoke during a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, in the latest of a series of visits by U.S. political leaders that have…
TOKYO (AP) — A small robot with a clip-like hand and enough smarts to know which drinks are popular is part of an effort to make convenience stores even more convenient. On a recent day in Tokyo, the robot named TX SCARA slid back and forth behind the refrigerated shelves in the back of a…
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors said Wednesday that a new electric vehicle battery plant built in Ohio has started producing cells, which could help customers get federal tax credits. The joint-venture plant near Warren, Ohio, is focused on training as it prepares to ramp up manufacturing. A spokeswoman for the venture said it is producing…
GENEVA (AP) — The number of new coronavirus cases and deaths reported globally continued to fall nearly everywhere in the world in what the World Health Organization described as a “welcome decline” at a media briefing on Wednesday. The U.N. health agency said there were 4.5 million new COVID-19 cases reported last week, a 16%…
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — The parent company of social media platform Snapchat said Wednesday that it is letting go of 20% of its staff as it reorganizes and tries to reduce costs in the face of declining ad sales. In a letter to staff posted on Snap Inc.’s website, CEO Evan Spiegel said sales…
PRAGUE (AP) — European Union countries agreed Wednesday to make it harder for Russian citizens to enter the 27-nation bloc, but they failed to find a consensus on imposing an outright tourist ban in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine. At talks in the Czech Republic, EU foreign ministers were desperate to put on a…
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea says it plans to challenge a World Bank tribunal’s order to pay $216.5 million plus interest to Texas-based Lone Star Funds following a decade-long dispute over the private equity firm’s sale of the Korea Exchange Bank. South Korean Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon said Wednesday that his government finds…
BERLIN (AP) — Russia’s Gazprom halted the flow of natural gas through a major pipeline from Russia to Europe early Wednesday, a stoppage that it announced in advance and has said will last three days. The Russian state-owned energy company announced the closure of Nord Stream 1 in mid-August, citing maintenance at a compressor station…
NEW YORK (AP) — Bed Bath & Beyond said Wednesday that it will shutter stores and lay off workers in a bid to turn around its beleaguered business. The home goods retailer based in Union, New Jersey, said it will close about 150 of its namesakes stores and slash its workforce by 20%. It estimated…
