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BANGKOK (AP) — Shares fell Monday in Asia after Wall Street benchmarks closed out their worst week since early December. U.S. futures edged higher while oil prices fell. Reports on inflation, the jobs market and retail spending have come in hotter than expected, leading analysts to raise forecasts for how high the Federal Reserve will have to take interest rates to slow the U.S. economy and cool inflation. Higher rates […]

JOSHIMATH, India (AP) — Inside a shrine overlooking snow-capped mountains, Hindu priests heaped spoonfuls of puffed rice and ghee into a crackling fire. They closed their eyes and chanted, hoping their prayers would somehow turn back time and save their holy — and sinking — town. For months, the roughly 20,000 residents in Joshimath, burrowed in the Himalayas and revered by Hindu and Sikh pilgrims, have watched the earth slowly […]

HONG KONG (AP) — Macao, the world’s biggest gambling hub, has eased its requirements for people to wear masks after mandating them for most of the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting Monday, people no longer have to wear masks when outdoors, the statement by authorities in the Chinese territory said. They’ll still be required in places like elderly care homes and hospitals and on public transit, but indoor venues such as casinos […]

NEW YORK (AP) — Republican presidential contenders typically fight for prime speaking slots at the Conservative Political Action Conference. But as conservative activists gather in suburban Washington this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be courting donors more than a thousand miles away in Texas and California. The apparent CPAC snub is nothing new for DeSantis, who has emerged in the early phase of the 2024 presidential election as a […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — A majority of the nation’s business economists expect a U.S. recession to begin later this year than they had previously forecast, after a series of reports have pointed to a surprisingly resilient economy despite steadily higher interest rates. Fifty-eight percent of 48 economists who responded to a survey by the National Association for Business Economics envision a recession sometime this year, the same proportion who said so […]

BEIJING (AP) — At least five workers were killed in a roof collapse at a mine in southwestern China, as hope appeared to be fading for 47 miners trapped under tons of rubble after a mining disaster last week in northern China. Deadly mine disasters occur regularly in China, although authorities have reduced their toll greatly by emphasizing safety and closing smaller operations that lacked necessary equipment. In the mine […]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Damian Lillard set franchise and career highs with 71 points — tied for the most in the NBA this season — and 13 3-pointers and the Portland Trail Blazers snapped a two-game skid with a 131-114 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night. Lillard tied Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell for the most points in a game this season after Mitchell also scored 71 in a win […]

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine coast guard said Monday it has joined a search for a Taiwanese-flagged fishing vessel carrying six people, which was last spotted more than a week ago off Palau in the western Pacific. U.S. Coast Guard aircraft have helped carry out a search, along with other Taiwanese fishing vessels, for Sheng Feng No. 128, which was last seen Feb. 17 with one Taiwanese and five […]

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — After spending a week held hostage by an armed group demanding a ransom in Papua New Guinea’s remote Highlands region, an archaeologist is expected to return to Australia soon. On Monday, police and soldiers were hunting the group of around 20 gunmen who on Sunday released New Zealand citizen Bryce Barker, a professor at Australia’s University of Southern Queensland, and Papua New Guinea nationals Jemina Haro […]