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Asian stocks rise as anxiety over banks starts to fade

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stocks rose Wednesday as anxiety about the global financial system began to fade following three high-profile bank failures.Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. Shanghai followed Wall Street lower. Oil prices gained.Fears global banks might be cracking under the strain of interest rate hikes to cool inflation temporarily pushed aside unease about slowing economic growth. Some calm has returned after regulators announced measures to shore up the system.“Clearly, investors have not completely lost their anxiety,” said Robert Carnell and Min Joo Kang of ING in a report.The Shanghai Composite Index lost less than 0.1% to 3,243.06 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 0.8% to 27,728.70. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 1.9% to 20,165.60 after Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group announced plans to split into six units in an effort to become more agile and unlock value for investors. It said they would include e-commerce, entertainment and logistics.The Kospi in Se...

Vietnam economy slows on rising costs, weaker exports

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

Vietnam’s economy slowed sharply in the first quarter of this year, with growth coming in at a much weaker than expected 3.3%, as its exporters were hit by rising costs and weaker demand, the General Statistics Office reported Wednesday. The slowdown in the January-March quarter from 5.9% year-on-year growth in the last quarter of 2022 was nearly as severe as that during the beginning of the pandemic and the second lowest for the first quarter in 12 years, it said. Vietnam has been one of the most dynamic economies in Asia in recent years, buoyed by strong foreign investment in manufacturing of electronics and other light industries. But efforts to slow economies to fight stubbornly high inflation are denting demand for consumer goods and other products. The vital manufacturing and construction sectors grew just 0.4% from a year earlier amid a severe downturn in the property sector.“The primary risk facing Vietnam’s growth is the worsening real estate sector crunch that ...

Harris out to reframe US views on Africa, foster partnership

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — If U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has a favorite number on her trip to Africa, it’s undoubtedly 19. That’s the median age on this continent, and she repeats the fact at every opportunity. For Harris, it’s not a piece of trivia but the driving force behind the United States’ reenergized outreach to Africa. Washington is racing to build partnerships on the oldest inhabited continent with the youngest population, a test that could reshape the economy here and, by extension, the rest of the world. As part of that effort, Harris plans to unveil more than $1 billion in public and private funding for women’s economic empowerment on Wednesday, according to her office. The money is expected to come from a mix of nonprofit foundations, private companies and the federal government, and it’s intended to expand access to digital services, provide job training and support entrepreneurs. The American vice president is scheduled to make the...

Kazakhstan’s new parliament could usher in green energy, rare earth investments

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

Ecology and Natural Resources Minister Zulfiya Suleimenova spoke about Kazakhstan's energy transitionKazakhstan held internationally monitored elections for the Mazhilis, the lower chamber of the Kazakh Parliament, on March 19, following major constitutional reforms, which most observers have said is an important step towards the democratization of the Central Asian nation’s political culture.Following deadly riots that rocked the political establishment in January 2022, Kazakhstan has responded by implementing key reforms, including amending its constitution and introducing registration rules for political parties and electoral legislation. The threshold to enter the Mazhilis has also been reduced to 5 percent, with a 30 percent quota in place for women, young people and those with special needs. These numbers go beyond the party lists, but also for the distribution of mandates, to ensure wider representation in parliament of all groups in Kazakhstan.Observers from the Organization...

Six parties elected to parliament, according to final results of Central Election Commission in Kazakhstan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

Six parties were elected to the Mazhilis, the lower chamber of the Kazakh parliament, on March 19, out of seven parties that participated in the election, according to the final results announced by the Central Election Commission (CEC) at a March 27 meeting, Staff Report in Editor’s Picks, Election 2023, Nation.These six parties received enough votes to pass the required five percent threshold to gain seats in Parliament. Amanat party won a majority with 53.9 percent or 3,431,510 votes, Auyl People’s Patriotic Democratic Party received 10.9 percent or 693,938 votes, Respublica party – 8.59 percent or 547,154 votes, Aq Jol Democratic Party – 8.41 percent or 535,139 votes, People’s Party of Kazakhstan – 6.8 percent or 432,920 votes, and National Social Democratic Party – 5.2 percent or 331,058 votes.Baytaq received only 2.3 percent. Nearly 3.9 percent, or 248,291 voters, chose the ‘against all’ option on the ballot.Based on these results, the Amanat party will have 40 seats in t...

SFPD negotiating with person armed with knife in Tenderloin

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The San Francisco Police Department responded to a subject armed with a knife Tuesday night in the Tenderloin District. Police responded to the 300 block of Mason Street at approximately 9:05 p.m. SFPD said the subject refused to put the knife down and appeared to be "in distress."SFPD's Crisis Negotiation Team responded to the scene and was working to resolve the situation "as peaceful as possible" as of 11 p.m. Anyone with information is asked to contact the SFPD at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and start the message with SFPD.This is a developing story. Check back with KRON4 Wednesday morning for updates.

Israeli PM, Biden exchange frosty words over legal overhaul

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rebuffed President Joe Biden’s suggestion that the premier “walks away” from a contentious plan to overhaul the legal system, saying the country makes its own decisions. The exchange was a rare bout of public disagreement between the two close allies and signals building friction between Israel and the U.S. over Netanyahu’s judicial changes, which he postponed after massive protests. Asked by reporters late Tuesday what he hopes the premier does with the legislation, Biden replied, “I hope he walks away from it.” The president added that Netanyahu’s government “cannot continue down this road” and urged compromise on the plan roiling Israel. The president also stepped around U.S. Ambassador Thomas Nides’ suggestion that Netanyahu would soon be invited to the White House, saying, “No, not in the near term.”Netanyahu replied that Israel is sovereign and “makes its decisions by the will...

Zelensky invita a Xi a Ucrania y advierte de que la caída de Bakhmut podría provocar la invasión de Rusia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

(CNN) — En una entrevista con Associated Press (AP) publicada este martes, el presidente de Ucrania, Volodymyr Zelensky, invitó formalmente al líder chino Xi Jinping a visitar Ucrania, al tiempo que le advirtió de que la caída de Bakhmut podría espolear el apoyo internacional a la invasión rusa.En declaraciones a AP a bordo de un tren en algún lugar de Ucrania, Zelensky hizo un llamamiento a Xi –que sigue siendo uno de los aliados económicos y políticos más estrechos del presidente Vladimir Putin– para que venga a Kyiv y entable un diálogo directo con él.“Estamos dispuestos a verle aquí. Quiero hablar con él. Tuve contacto con él antes de la guerra. Pero durante todo este año, más de un año, no he tenido”, dijo Zelensky.OPINIÓN | Por qué Xi podría estar dispuesto a hablar por fin con ZelenskyDurante la visita de Estado de Xi a Moscú a principios de este mes, un funcionario ucraniano declaró a CNN que se estaban “manteniendo conversaciones” con China par...

Reimer shines in shutout, Sharks blank Jets 3-0 to stop skid

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — James Reimer earned his third shutout of the season and the San Jose Sharks snapped a nine-game losing streak Tuesday night with a 3-0 victory over Winnipeg, handing the Jets a costly defeat as they try to secure a playoff spot.“When you get a shutout, it’s nice,” Reimer said. “Usually, whenever you get a shutout, you get all the bounces and tonight was one of those.”Reimer stopped 41 shots, including a diving paddle save with 3:40 left in the second period. Noah Gregor, Kevin Labanc and Martin Kaut scored for the struggling Sharks, who had dropped 14 of 15.The only victory in that stretch also came against the Jets, a 3-2 win at Winnipeg in overtime March 6.“It’s as solid of a win as we’ve had in a while, and we haven’t had a win in a while. So it was a good win,” San Jose coach David Quinn said. “Obviously, Reims played great. But they were opportunistic, and it was a gutty performance in a lot of ways against a team that’s fighting ...

Acusan a empleada de casino en Colorado de realizar un atraco de US$ 500.000

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

(CNN) — Una empleada de un casino de Black Hawk, Colorado, fue acusada después de que un vídeo de vigilancia la mostrara cogiendo US$ 500.000 de la cámara acorazada y marchándose con ellos, según una declaración jurada de arresto, pero ella afirma que estaba “siguiendo órdenes” que creía que venían de los jefes del casino.Sabrina Ann Eddy fue acusada de robo de una cosa valorada en US$ 100.000 o más pero que no alcanzó un millón de dólares, según la declaración jurada.Un investigador de la División de Juego de Colorado escribió en una declaración jurada de causa probable que fue llamado al Casino Monarch por el personal de seguridad el 12 de marzo y le mostraron un vídeo de vigilancia de Eddy de esa misma noche, cuando la mujer de 44 años había estado trabajando como cajera en la jaula del casino, una zona donde se maneja el dinero en un casino.Poco antes de la 1 de la madrugada, Eddy metió la mano en la cámara acorazada y empezó a coger ladrillos de dinero por val...