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Pakistan’s Imran Khan presses legal fight, gets protection from arrest in multiple terrorism cases

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:32:19 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday pressed his legal battle before a court in the capital, Islamabad, which granted him protection from arrest until early next month in several cases where he faces terrorism charges for inciting violence. The development comes as the authorities have been cracking down on the supporters of Khan, now Pakistan’s top opposition leader. Thousands staged violence protests, and attacked public property and military installations following Khan’s arrest earlier this month. The violence subsided only days later, after Khan was released on the orders of the country’s Supreme Court. Ten people were killed in clashes with the police.Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April last year, has campaigned against the government of his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, claiming his ouster was illegal and demanding early elections. Since then, the 70-year-old former cricket ...

Business group: Companies in China want ‘clarity’ after security rule changes, raids on consultants

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:32:19 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Foreign companies in China are uncertain about what they are allowed to do following police raids on consulting firms and want “greater clarity” about how newly expanded national security and other rules will be enforced, a foreign business group said Tuesday.The British Chamber of Commerce in China said a survey of its members found they are more optimistic following December’s lifting of anti-virus controls that blocked most travel into and out of China. It said they want to invest but are waiting for steps to “restore the trust and certainty” in China amid tension with Europe and Washington and official plans to promote economic self-reliance.“If there is greater clarity and greater certainty, then we believe that companies will commit more to China,” said the chamber chairman, Julian MacCormac, at a news conference. Some 70% of companies “are really waiting to see” how conditions develop before taking action.President Xi Jinping’s government says forei...

Asian stocks fall after more US debt talks fail to break impasse

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:32:19 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets were mixed Tuesday after more talks in Washington on government debt ended with no deal to avoid a potentially jarring default.Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong sank. Oil prices rose.Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index edged up less than 0.1% on Monday as Congress and the White House negotiated over Republican demands to cut social programs in exchange for agreeing to raise the amount the government can borrow.“The resumption of debt ceiling negotiations spurred some hopes despite distinct risks of brinksmanship and blame-shifting,” Tan Boon Heng of Mizuho Bank said in a report.The Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.4% to 3,251.72 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo shed 0.4% to 30,957.77. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong retreated 1.3% to 19,419.55.The Kospi in Seoul advanced 0.4% to 2,567.55 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 was less than 0.1% lower at 61,963.68.India’s Sensex opened up 0.4% at 62,207.50. New Zealand and Bangkok declined while Sing...

Russia still fending off alleged Ukrainian incursion, reports more drone attacks

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:32:19 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Russian military and security forces were continuing on Tuesday to fend off an alleged incursion by Ukrainian saboteurs first reported the day before in a Russian border region, according to a Russian official. Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine, said the military and security forces continued to sweep the area around the town of Graivoron, where the alleged attack on Monday took place. Gladkov urged residents of the area who evacuated on Monday to stay put and not come back to their homes just yet. “We will let you know immediately … when it is safe,” Gladkov said. “Security agencies are carrying out all the necessary actions. We’re waiting for the counterterrorism operation to be over.”Kyiv has denied the allegations, blaming Russian guerrilla groups supporting Ukraine. Neither version of the events could be independently verified. While it is not the first time Russia has alleged an incursion by Ukra...

South Korean experts visit Fukushima nuclear plant before treated water is released to sea

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:32:19 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A South Korean team of government experts has begun a two-day tour at the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant Tuesday to have a firsthand look of a controversial Japanese plan to release into sea treated by slightly radioactive wastewater.Officials from the Japanese government and the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, were to escort the 21-member delegation to see several facilities related to treatment, safety checks, transport and dilution of the water, Japanese officials said Tuesday. The plan has faced fierce protests from local fishing communities concerned about safety and reputational damage. Neighboring countries, including South Korea, China and the Pacific Island nations, have also raised safety concerns. The treated water discharge plan was particularly a sensitive issue between Tokyo and Seoul, which are now working to repair long-strained bilateral ties to address bigger challenges such as security threats of China and North K...

How Turkey’s president maintains popularity despite economic turmoil

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:32:19 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has remained in power for 20 years by repeatedly surmounting political crises: mass protests, corruption allegations, an attempted military coup and a huge influx of refugees fleeing Syria’s civil war.Now the Turkish people and economy are being pummeled by sky-high inflation, and many are still recovering from a devastating earthquake in February made worse by the government’s slow response. Yet Erdogan — a populist with increasingly authoritarian instincts — enters a runoff election Sunday as the strong favorite against opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu after falling just shy of victory in the first round of voting. So, even with a weak hand, what explains his longevity and wide appeal?Erdogan, 69, has cultivated deep loyalty from conservative and religious supporters by elevating Islamic values in a country that has been defined by secularism for nearly a century. He has tightened his grip on power by dep...

Street traders offer a better bargain than stores as Zimbabwe’s currency crumbles

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:32:19 GMT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Festus Nyoni picked out a few items in a supermarket in Zimbabwe’s capital, looked at the prices and knew she was in the wrong place.She abandoned her shopping cart and headed for a nearby street jammed with traders offering bargains in U.S. dollars. From the trunk of a car, she picked toiletries, rice and soups. For her two children, a young street vendor dodged traffic to offer her a box of candy.“I can’t keep up with those Zim dollar prices in the supermarket — it’s insane,” Nyoni said, referring to the local currency. “For the price of one in the supermarket, I am getting two soaps in the street.”A yearslong currency crisis that forced the 2009 adoption of the U.S. dollar — one of the world’s most reliable assets — is changing shopper preferences in this southern African nation of 15 million. Many people are shunning brick-and-mortar stores, where prices must be charged in local currency and rise frequently. On the street, costs are more stable beca...

LeBron James lauds Nikola Jokic’s basketball IQ after Nuggets sweep Lakers: “He sees plays before they happen”

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:32:19 GMT

LOS ANGELES — Add LeBron James to the list of generational players to praise Nikola Jokic in defeat this postseason.James credited Jokic’s series after the Nuggets completed a Western Conference Finals sweep of the Lakers on Monday, and the 38-year-old implored people to appreciate Jokic’s game beyond merely the statistics.“I know how great he is. I know how great Jokic is,” James said. “There are certain guys in this league that play the game a certain way, a certain way that I like to play the game as well, and he’s one of them where you are always off balance when you are guarding a player like that because of his ability to score, rebound, shoot. He sees plays before they happen. There’s not many guys in our league like that.”Jokic was named MVP of the Western Conference Finals after averaging 27.8 points, 14.5 rebounds and 11.8 assists. He ended the series with his eighth triple-double of the playoffs, breaking Wilt Chamberl...

Moscow to hold Russia-China security talks, RIA reports

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:32:19 GMT

The head of Russia’s Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, who is responsible for the police, legal affairs, and intelligence in China, was due to meet with Chen Wenqing on Monday (22 May), reported the Russian RIA news agency. Chen Wenqing is a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo, which oversees the Chinese Communist Party’s Police, Legal Affairs, and Intelligence.It was reported by RIA that this would be Patrushev’s first meeting Chen Wenqing. Chen Wenqing, China's highest security position, was appointed party Secretary to the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission in October. This is China's most important security position, which oversees the police, judges and spy agencies.Patrushev is a former head of the FSB's internal security service and widely regarded as being one of the most hawkish inner circle members of Russian president Vladimir Putin.Russia and China are redoubling their efforts to strengthen economic, political, and military ties, since Moscow ...

Deepening Energy Cooperation with Azerbaijan - Europe’s Reliable Partner for Energy Security.

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:32:19 GMT

In the past 12 months, the EU’s energy partnership with Azerbaijan has become one of Europe’s topmost essential strategic relationships. An agreement reached last year recognised Azerbaijan’s crucial role as a reliable energy partner. Its gas exports to the EU will double and it has long been a major supplier of oil. In the future, clean electricity from Azerbaijan, produced using solar and wind generation will also become an important part of Europe’s energy mix. Essential to this is the Southern Gas Corridor supply line from Azerbaijan to Europe. Elnur Soltanov, Deputy Energy Minister of Azerbaijan and other guests discussed the challenges and opportunities ahead.Other guests were:Stoyan Novokov is an EU transport and logistics expert. He served as Deputy Minister for Transport and Communication in the Bulgarian Government and who knows, he may yet return to high office in Sofia.Doctor Maurizio Geri is an EU Marie Curie fellow and a former NATO analyst, with a special interest in ...