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Stock market today: Asian shares mostly lower on looming worry over US banks, China growth

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:11:34 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly lower Friday on looming worries over U.S. banks and lagging demand from China, the region’s major driver of growth. “Asian equities struggled for direction after weak inflation data in China pointed to weakening demand,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management. Recent data reflect very low inflation and weak credit extensions in China, which all indicate slowing growth as the initial jump from the nation dropping pandemic-related restrictions fades, he said.Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.9% to finish at 29,388.30 as companies like Nissan Motor Co. gained after reporting relatively favorable earnings. But SoftBank Group Corp. slumped after reporting its second year in a row of losses.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up nearly 0.1% to 7,256.70. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.7% to 2,473.48. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.5% to 19,641.04, while the Shanghai Composite dove nearly 1.0% to 3,2...

Israeli airstrikes on Gaza continue as hopes for a cease-fire grow

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:11:34 GMT

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes against Palestinian militant targets in the Gaza Strip continued for a third day Friday. The Palestinian death toll rose to 30, authorities said, as foreign mediators pressed ahead with efforts to reach a ceasefire. After the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group fired longer-range rockets toward Israel Thursday — sending shrapnel slicing through apartments that killed one person — the Israeli military said its warplanes struck Islamic Jihad rocket launchers. Gaza residents reported explosions in farms near the southern city of Rafah. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Despite those sporadic Israeli strikes, the situation early Friday was relatively calm. Islamic Jihad held its rocket fire overnight, raising hopes that Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations would be able to broker a ceasefire.The cross-border exchanges this week have pitted Israel against Islamic Jihad, the second-largest militant group in Gaza after the te...

Pakistan on edge as court is asked to decide whether ex-PM Imran Khan goes free or is rearrested

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:11:34 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was to return to court on Friday to hear whether he will be shielded from renewed arrest or taken back into custody — a decision that put Pakistan’s government and legions of Khan supporters on edge after days of violent confrontations.The popular 70-year-old opposition leader will appear before the same court from which he had been dragged and arrested on Tuesday. The arrest had triggered nationwide protests in which his supporters attacked military installations, burned vehicles, and ambulances and looted general stores in various parts of the country. The violence drew condemnation from the government.Friday’s court session is part of complex legal maneuvers.On Thursday, Pakistan’s Supreme Court had declared that Khan’s arrest was unlawful, but then asked the Islamabad High Court — a lower court — to reconsider its initial decision to uphold the arrest. The Supreme Court said it would respect Friday’s ruling by the Isla...

Australia trade minister seeks to mend ties on visit to China

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:11:34 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Australia’s Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell appears to be making progress in restoring a nearly decade-long rift in relations with China during a visit to Beijing.Farrell was holding meetings and visiting businesses on Friday in a sign that relations were getting back on track. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaking in Sydney on Friday said the sides needed to “develop understanding and dialogue and I’ve said we’ll co-operate with China where we can, we’ll disagree where we must and we’ll engage in a national interest.” China is Australia’s biggest trading partner, with two-way exchanges totaling $287 billion in 2022. China recently resumed imports of coal, cotton and copper from Australia, and Farrell has said on his visit he would push for a review of tariffs on Australian barley. China blocked such exports in retaliation for moves targeting Beijing’s alleged interference in Australian elections and political life and social organizations in the ...

Scenes from the US-Mexico border amid expiration of Title 42

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:11:34 GMT

From the Rio Grande Valley in Texas to San Diego and Tijuana, many migrants gathered along some sections of the U.S.-Mexico border were left questioning when or whether they would cross into the United States to seek asylum once pandemic-related restrictions known as Title 42 ended.Some migrants who had traveled from Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and Central America feared that it could be harder for them to stay on U.S. soil with the restrictions lifted.Here are some of the stories from along the 1,950-mile (3,140-kilometer) international boundary:___ Aylin Guevara, 45, hurried her steps as she walked through the scorching desert of Ciudad Juarez toward the border.She was accompanied by her two children, ages 16 and 5, and her husband. The family fled their coastal city in Colombia after receiving death threats and hoped to seek refuge in the U.S.After spending the previous night in a hotel, they were eager to get to the border — “to get in and go with the help of God and baby...

Nuggets’ schedule for Western Conference Finals released

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:11:34 GMT

For the second time in four seasons, the Denver Nuggets are headed to the Western Conference finals.The Nuggets punched their ticket with a blowout 125-100 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night at Footprint Center. Next up: Either the sixth-seeded Golden State Warriors or seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers.Those two teams face off Friday night in Game 6 of their series in Los Angeles, with the Lakers one win away from clinching. If the Warriors win on Friday, Game 7 awaits Sunday in the Bay Area. Whatever happens, the series winner will be in Ball Arena on Tuesday night for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.Here’s a look at the full series schedule:GameLocationDateTimeTVGame 1TBD at DenverTuesday, May 166:30 p.m. ESPNGame 2TBD at DenverThursday, May 186:30 p.m.ESPNGame 3Denver at TBDSaturday, May 206:30 p.m.ABCGame 4Denver at TBDMonday, May 226:30 p.m.ESPN*Game 5TBD at DenverWednesday, May 246:30 p.m.ESPN*Game 6Denver at TBDFriday, May 266:30 p.m.ESPN*Game 7TBD ...

Russia stages Victory Day concert for Estonian Russians

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:11:34 GMT

After Estonia banned Soviet Victory Day celebrations, several hundred people in the Russian-speaking town of Narva watched celebrations across the river which separates it from Russia.A large stage and a screen was set up near the river in Russia, 200 meters (219 yards) away from the river promenade where people gathered with binoculars and flowers and clapped to the music.Thousands would gather in Narva each year on May 9, when Russia celebrates Soviet Victory Day to mark the end of World War Two in Europe, but the events were banned after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, and Soviet war monuments were removed from the town.Governments in Estonia, like the other Baltic states of Latvia and Lithuania, see the Soviet victory in 1945 as a renewal of the brutal occupation of their lands, which were annexed into Soviet Union in 1940. Now members of NATO and the European Union, they are among the staunchest supporters of Ukraine and critics of Russia.Organised public gatherings were bann...

AFP video journalist killed in eastern Ukraine

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:11:34 GMT

Arman Soldin was a 32-year old video journalist working for Agence France Presse in Ukraine. He was killed by Grad rockets on Tuesday near Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine. AFP confirmed this on Twitter citing AFP co-workers who were present at the time.AFP said that the attack took place in the town's outskirts, close to Bakhmut. Bakhmut has been the epicenter of fighting in eastern Ukraine over the past few months.Soldin was with his four colleagues who were all uninjured. They were with Ukrainian troops during the attack, AFP tweeted.AFP reported that "all of our thoughts are with his family and friends".

Sex? Sexual intercourse? Neither? Teens weigh in on evolving definitions — and habits

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:11:34 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Situationships. “Sneaky links.” The “talking stage,” the flirtatious getting-to-know-you phase — typically done via text — that can lead to a hookup.High school students are having less sexual intercourse. That’s what the studies say. But that doesn’t mean they’re having less sex.The language of young love and lust, and the actions behind it, are evolving. And the shift is not being adequately captured in national studies, experts say.For years, studies have shown a decline in the rates of American high school students having sex. That trend continued, not surprisingly, in the first years of the pandemic, according to a recent survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study found that 30% of teens in 2021 said they had ever had sex, down from 38% in 2019 and a huge drop from three decades ago, when more than half of teens reported having sex.The Associated Press took the findings to teenagers and experts around the country to ask for their in...

Hundreds of thousands to be evacuated as Bangladesh and Myanmar brace for severe cyclone threat

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:11:34 GMT

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Authorities in Bangladesh and Myanmar prepared to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people Friday, warning them to stay away from coastal areas as a severe cyclonic storm called Mocha churned in the Bay of Bengal.The storm is expected to roar in on Sunday with a wind speed of up to 160 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour), gusting to 175 kph (110 mph) between Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh and Kyaukpyu in Myanmar, India’s Meteorological Department said.Bangladesh is a delta nation of more than 160 million people and is prone to natural disasters such as floods and cyclones. Evacuation of nearly 500,000 people is expected to start Saturday with 576 cyclone shelters ready to provide refuge to those moved from their homes along a vast coast, said Bangladesh government administrator Muhammad Shaheen Imran. “This is the first cyclone system in the north Indian Ocean this year,” said Rajendra Kumar Jenamani, a senior scientist at the Indian Meteorological Dep...