Author: Press Room

China’s leaders are doubling down on winter tourism, “debut markets” and the silver economy to drive consumption and boost growth. Analysts say each area is promising but yet challenging.

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the worldChristopher Ruddy, a rightwing media mogul and longtime friend of Donald Trump, has become a multibillionaire after Newsmax shares continued to surge following its public listing debut on Monday — an unlikely outcome for a lossmaking cable television channel.Shares in Ruddy’s Newsmax closed 179 per cent higher at $233 on Tuesday. That took the stock’s gains since their NYSE launch to more than 2,200 per cent, in an echo of the “meme stock mania” that gripped US equities markets in…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the worldUS authorities will seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione in relation to the murder of Brian Thompson, chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest healthcare provider.Pam Bondi, US attorney-general, on Tuesday directed federal prosecutors to pursue capital punishment for the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate, who was charged with murder and stalking in the death of Thompson, who was shot outside a midtown New York City hotel on December 4. The move is a dramatic escalation in a high-profile case…

The California state legislature failed to pass two separate bills aimed at protecting girls sports from trans inclusion on Tuesday. During debate for one of the bills, a Democratic state lawmaker compared the proposals to practices employed by Nazi Germany in the holocaust.California assembly member Rick Chavez Zbur made the comparison while arguing against the first bill, AB 89. “This is really reminiscent to me of what happened in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. We are moving towards autocracy in this country. In Nazi Germany, transgender people were persecuted, barred from public life,” Zbur said.Zbur was then interrupted by mediators who…

The trainer paced the grounds of a mountain enclave in southwestern Syria, shouting at dozens of new recruits as they drilled sprints between barricades made from old car tires.“You have to practice as if it’s real,” screamed the instructor, Fadi Azam. “Want me to start shooting at you instead to make it real?” he said, lifting his rifle and firing a few rounds away from the group, the paw-paw-paw of gunfire echoing across the valley on a brisk morning in late January.“You are lions, lions!” Mr. Azam yelled at the recruits, some of the tens of thousands of fighters from…

In a state where campaign season can feel year-round, voters in Wisconsin returned to the polls once again on Tuesday, casting their ballots in a nearly $100 million race for control of the State Supreme Court.As dozens of voters streamed in and out of a Lutheran church in Mount Pleasant, Wis., they said that far more than the candidates’ names were on the ballot. There was a closely watched local referendum to pump more money into Racine County’s public schools, one of many similar questions posed to voters in communities across the state. There was a measure to enshrine a…

During the height of the 2024 presidential campaign, Elon Musk promised Pennsylvanians a $100 reward for signing a petition in support of free speech and gun ownership rights. The billionaire also offered $47 to anyone who recruited a signatory to the petition — and increased the payment to $100 as Election Day drew near.Now, a canvasser for Mr. Musk’s America PAC who gathered signatures in Pennsylvania is suing the executive, saying Mr. Musk failed to pay him for $20,000 worth of signatures. The worker, who filed suit Tuesday as a John Doe for privacy reasons, accused Mr. Musk of breach…

The Conservative Party has dropped a candidate from its roster of nominees in Quebec, the second person the party has ousted on the same day. Stefan Marquis, who was running for the Tories in the Quebec riding of Laurier – Sainte-Marie, said in a post on X he had received a call Tuesday morning from one of the party’s operations managers in the province and was told that he would no longer be the Conservatives’ candidate.“I was told without further note that ‘certain’ individuals within the party had consulted my recent posts on Twitter-X and deemed these sufficient reason to…

Bukayo Saka has marked his first appearance in more than three months by scoring as a substitute in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Fulham that trimmed the gap to Premier League leader Liverpool to nine points.The England winger entered in the 66th minute to a huge ovation after his long absence because of a hamstring injury and, within seven minutes, was taking the acclaim of Gunners fans again after nodding home the second goal at Emirates Stadium.Mikel Merino scored the 37th-minute opener for second-placed Arsenal, who requires an unlikely collapse by Liverpool if they are to capture a first league title…

WASHINGTON: The United States said Tuesday (Apr 1) it has approved a sale of US$5.58 billion in F-16 fighter-jets to the Philippines, as Washington backs its ally in rising tensions over China. The State Department said it was green-lighting the sale that includes 20 F-16 jets and related equipment to the Philippines, a treaty-bound ally of the United States. The sale will “improve the security of a strategic partner that continues to be an important force for political stability, peace and economic progress in Southeast Asia,” a State Department statement said. The sale will boost “the Philippine Air Force’s ability to…