Business

More drops in Big Tech pull stocks lower; Bitcoin drops 19%

Stocks were broadly lower in early trading Wednesday as the market's downturn entered into a third day. Meanwhile the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies dropped sharply.

Asia Pacific

Israel accuses Chinese state TV of ‘blatant antisemitism’

BEIJING — Israel’s Embassy in China is protesting what it describes as “blatant antisemitism” on a program run by the overseas channel of state broadcaster CCTV discussing the ongoing violence in Gaza and elsewhere.

Europe

Putin, Xi initiate projects in show of warming ties

BEIJING — Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin joined Wednesday in a videoconference to initiate a series of nuclear energy projects, an event intended to display warming ties between two nations that have paired-up as the chief geopolitical rivals to the United States.

Business

Netflix series criticized online in China over Taiwan flag

BEIJING — Chinese nationalism on the internet has a new target: The popular Thai drama “Girl from Nowhere" distributed by Netflix.

Business

Sri Lankan court: China-built port board needs public assent

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s top court has ruled that some provisions of legislation to set up a powerful economic commission in a Chinese-built port city violate the constitution and require approval by a public referendum to become law.

Europe

The Latest: France seeks UN Security Council resolution

UNITED NATIONS -- China’s U.N. ambassador says France is seeking a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian militants who control Gaza.

Sports

House Speaker Pelosi backs 2022 Olympics diplomatic boycott

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Tuesday for a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics, citing human rights abuses by China's government.

Europe

The Latest: Conn. plans ‘signing bonus’ to boost job seeking

HARTFORD, Conn. — As some states set plans to a pandemic $300 weekly supplemental unemployment benefit as a way to encourage people to find work, Connecticut is offering a much different incentive — a $1,000 signing bonus for taking a job.

Asia Pacific

China urges US to play constructive role in Gaza diplomacy

BEIJING — China on Monday renewed calls for the U.S. to play a constructive role in ending the conflict in Gaza and stop blocking efforts at the United Nations to demand an end to the bloodshed.

General News

The Latest: Israeli jets stage heavy airstrikes in Gaza City

GAZA CITY — Israeli warplanes have unleashed a series of heavy airstrikes at several locations of Gaza City.

Israel

The Latest: China calls for UN council action, slams US

The Latest on the continuing violence between Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers amid the latest escalation in the Middle East:

New York

The Latest: Florida’s amusement parks loosen mask wearing

ORLANDO, Fla. — Visitors to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios-Orlando were allowed Saturday to remove their masks when outdoors, except when on attractions, in line or riding transportation.

Asia Pacific

Back-to-back tornadoes kill 12 in China; over 300 injured

BEIJING — Back-to-back tornadoes killed 12 people in central and eastern China and left more than 300 others injured, authorities said Saturday.

Asia Pacific

China cancels Everest climbs over fears of virus from Nepal

BEIJING — China has canceled attempts to climb Mount Everest from its side of the world's highest peak because of fears of importing COVID-19 cases from neighboring Nepal, state media reported.

Business

US vows to stand by ally Australia against China

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration vowed Thursday to stand by Australia in its worsening trade and other disputes with China.

Asia Pacific

Alibaba records first quarterly operating loss since IPO

HONG KONG — Alibaba had its first quarterly operating loss since it went public in 2014 after Beijing slapped a record $2.8 billion fine on the nation's largest e-commerce company for abusing its market position.

Business

China says Xiaomi removal from U.S. blacklist “beneficial”

HONG KONG — China’s commerce ministry on Thursday welcomed the removal of Xiaomi Corp. from a U.S. government blacklist, a day after the U.S. reversed a ban on U.S. investments in the smartphone maker that was imposed under former President Donald Trump...

World News

Death of student in China triggers questions, protests

TAIPEI, Taiwan — It was a call no parent wants to receive. On Mother's Day, around 9 p.m., a woman in Chengdu in southwestern China was told that her son, who she had dropped off at school just hours ago, had died...

Religion

US hits China and others for repressing religious freedom

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Wednesday took aim at China and a number of other countries for repressing religious freedom as it forges ahead with its aim of restoring human rights as a primary focus of American foreign policy...

Europe

The Latest: Louisiana kids can start vaccinations Thursday

NEW ORLEANS — Children as young as 12 can expect to start getting Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine Thursday in Louisiana.

Europe

UK foreign secretary calls for cooperation on cybersecurity

LONDON — U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Wednesday urged global cooperation to combat cyberattacks by “hostile state actors" and criminal gangs.

Business

UN raises global economic forecast to 5.4% growth in 2021

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations on Tuesday responded to the rebounding Chinese and U.S. economies by revising its global economic forecast upward to 5.4% growth for 2021, but it warned that surging COVID-19 cases and inadequate availability of vaccines in many countries threaten a broad-based recovery...

Asia Pacific

Drop in Xinjiang birthrate largest in recent history: report

BEIJING — Xinjiang in far western China had the sharpest known decline in birthrates between 2017 and 2019 of any territory in recent history, according to a new analysis by an Australian think tank...

Business

Asian stocks mixed after Wall St falls on inflation fears

BEIJING — Asian stock markets retreated Wednesday as investors looked ahead to U.S. data they worry will show inflation is picking up.

Europe

The Latest: Ore. bill extends deadline for late-rent payment

SALEM, Ore. — Oregon lawmakers have passed a bill to give tenants who are struggling with financial hardships due to the pandemic more time to pay past-due rent.

Europe

The Latest: Israeli aircraft strike another building in Gaza

JERUSALEM — The Latest on confrontations between Israelis and Palestinians, sparked by weeks of tensions in contested Jerusalem and as Israel has signaled it's widening its military campaign: ...

Business

Meituan’s stock price plunges after CEO posts Chinese poem

SINGAPORE — Shares in Meituan, China’s largest food delivery platform, have tumbled after its CEO posted —and then deleted — an ancient poem in a move widely seen as possible criticism of the Chinese government...

Business

Australia plans big defense and security investments

CANBERRA, Australia — The Australian government released a big-spending economic plan for the next fiscal year on Tuesday that includes hefty investments in defense and national security as relations with China worsen...

Asia Pacific

China adds few babies, loses workers as its 1.4B people age

BEIJING — The number of working-age people in China fell over the past decade as its aging population barely grew, a census showed Tuesday, complicating Chinese leaders' efforts to create a more prosperous and influential nation...

Technology

2 plead guilty in case highlighting China’s online control

BEIJING — Two amateur computer coders pleaded guilty Tuesday to “stirring up trouble and picking quarrels" in a case that highlighted a growing Chinese government crackdown on online activity....

Business

Army of fake fans online boosts China’s global messaging

BRUSSELS — China’s ruling Communist Party has opened a new front in its long, ambitious war to shape global public opinion: Western social media.

Lifestyle

Chinese safari park concealed leopards’ escape for 2 weeks

BEIJING — Authorities in eastern China used drones and hunting dogs to search for the last of three leopards that escaped from a safari park, which faced strong public criticism for concealing the breakout for more than two weeks...

Business

1.4B but no more? China’s population growth closer to zero

BEIJING — China’s population growth is falling closer to zero, government data showed Tuesday, adding to strains on an aging society with a shrinking workforce as fewer couples have children.

United Nations

The Latest: N Korea again claims no coronavirus infections

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea has told the World Health Organization that it has tested 25,986 people for the coronavirus through April but still has yet to find a single infection.

Technology

2 on trial as China enforces online control amid pandemic

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Two amateur computer coders taken by police from their Beijing homes last year were standing trial Tuesday in a case that illustrates the Chinese government's growing online censorship and heightened sensitivity to any deviation from the official narrative on its COVID-19 response...

Lifestyle

Bob Dylan artwork to go on display in the U.S. this year

The largest collection of Bob Dylan’s artwork ever seen will go on display later this year in the U.S.