BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher on Wednesday as talks on ending Russia’s war on Ukraine appeared to make progress. Shanghai, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced, while Tokyo declined. Oil prices advanced less than $1 per barrel. That followed Russia’s announcement it would scale back military operations near Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv,…
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A grassroots civic initiative in Hungary, concerned over the integrity of an upcoming general election, has recruited more than 20,000 ballot counters to observe the high-stakes contest in which nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban will seek a fourth consecutive term. The effort to place at least two volunteer ballot counters in…
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s government presented a range of economic measures on Tuesday such as halving the tax on gasoline to help cushion the impact of high inflation and win votes at elections due by May. Inflation fueled by the Ukraine war, the pandemic’s disruption to supply chains and widespread flooding disasters across central…
FedEx Corp. said Monday that Fred Smith will step down on June 1 as CEO of the package-delivery company that he founded and be succeeded by the company’s president and chief operating officer. Raj Subramaniam will serve as both CEO and president and Smith will become executive chairman, the package-delivery company said. Smith, 77, started…
LONDON (AP) — Tennis great Boris Becker, who is on trial in London accused of failing to hand over his assets after he was declared bankrupt, has told a jury about his struggles with money including payments for an “expensive divorce” and debts when he lost large chunks of his income after retirement. Becker, 54,…
Russia’s leading independent newspaper suspended operations Monday after pressure from Russian authorities, a move that comes less than six months after its editor won the Nobel Peace Prize for his paper’s courageous reporting under difficult circumstances. The paper, Novaya Gazeta, said it will remain closed for the duration of what the newspaper referred to in…
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Danish brewery group Carlsberg said Monday it is pulling out of Russia, hours after its competitor, Dutch brewing giant Heineken, did the same, citing Moscow’s ongoing war against Ukraine. In a statement, the Copenhagen-based group said it had taken “the difficult and immediate decision to seek a full disposal of our…
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart will no longer sell cigarettes in some of its stores though tobacco sales can be a significant revenue generator. Wall Street Journal was the first to report the development Monday. It noted some stores in California, Florida, Arkansas and New Mexico were on the list, citing anonymous sources and store…
BERLIN (AP) — Germany recorded about 25% more electricity generated from renewable sources in the first three months of the year compared with the same period last year thanks to unusually windy and sunny weather, industry officials said Monday. Preliminary calculations by the energy lobby group BDEW and the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen…
Amnesty International is accusing Russia of committing war crimes in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. The human rights organization will soon release an in-depth report on the devastation caused by Russia’s assault on the city on the Sea of Azov, Amnesty’s Secretary-General Agnes Callamard said in a press conference in Johannesburg. “The siege of…
