'1600 Pandas World Tour' Promotes Conservation in Malaysia

Associated Press
Stock market today: Asian shares trade higher after Wall St rally takes S&P 500 near record
Stocks in Asia traded higher Friday after a rally on Wall Street that pulled the S&P 500 back within 1% of its record. Benchmarks rose in Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney and China, where investors were focused on the release of April inflation figures. In Japan, the Finance Ministry reported a record current account surplus for the fiscal year through March, as strong auto exports whittled down its trade deficit and the nation racked up solid returns on overseas investments.
AFP
In Benin, tensions soar over cost of living
In the heart of Cotonou’s large Dantokpa market, Diane Makpenon's family corn shop is less busy than usual these days."Going to the market has become torture.
AFP
Iceland's 'Mammoth' raises potential for carbon capture
With Mammoth's 72 industrial fans, Swiss start-up Climeworks intends to suck 36,000 tonnes of CO2 from the air annually to bury underground, vying to prove the technology has a place in the fight against global warming.For the world to achieve "carbon neutrality" by 2050, "we should be removing something like six to 16 billion tonnes of CO2 per year from the air", said Jan Wurzbacher, co-founder and co-chief of Climeworks at the inauguration of the first 12 container fans at Mammoth.
Reuters
French minister vows better protection of military sexual abuse victims -Le Monde
French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu is putting in place a special task force to better protect victims and punish perpetrators of sexual violence in the army, he announced in an op-ed published by newspaper Le Monde. The task force, which is asked to review disciplinary proceedings and "come up with concrete recommendations to guide commanders", will be headed by the Inspector General of the Armed Forces and the Gendarmerie. The initiative aims to address the issue of sexual harassment and abuse within the military, an institution traditionally marked by silence around such issues which has come under increasing pressure after female soldiers this year started to call out sexual violence in local media.
AFP
From USSR to NATO, Albania showcases military past
A museum offering an unprecedented dive into Albania's dramatic military history has opened its doors, telling the story of how the once-reclusive country broke with its 40-year Communist past."It is a public space which tells the political history of the country through the history of the Albanian army," said museum director Arben Skenderi.
AFP
UK foreign minister David Cameron: life after Brexit
His legacy forever defined by Brexit, Britain's former prime minister David Cameron is hurriedly restoring his reputation -- and that of UK diplomacy -- as a globe-trotting foreign secretary.But with a new foreign secretary likely after the election, it is not yet clear what new legacy Cameron will leave behind.
Associated Press
Iranians vote in parliamentary runoff election after hard-liners dominate initial balloting
Iranians voted Friday in a runoff election for the remaining seats in the country's parliament after hard-line politicians dominated March balloting. People in 22 constituencies across the country will elect 45 representatives from a pool of 90 candidates, 15 of whom are considered moderate. In the capital, Tehran, 16 representatives will be chosen from 32 candidates, all hard-liners.
Associated Press
Japanese game maker Sega Sammy sells resort to US fund
Sega Sammy is selling its resort complex Seagaia to Fortress Investment Group of the U.S., the Japanese entertainment company said Friday. Tokyo-based Sega Sammy Holdings, the company behind the “Sonic the Hedgehog” video games, said it will sell all its shares in Phoenix Resort Co., which operates Seagaia in Miyazaki, southwestern Japan. The move, approved by the Sega Sammy board of directors, will result in a gain of about 8.5 billion yen ($55 million) in extraordinary income for the fiscal year through March 2025.
Reuters
Philippines calls for expelling of Chinese diplomats as South China Sea row escalates
MANILA (Reuters) -The Philippines' national security adviser called on Friday for Chinese diplomats to be expelled over an alleged leak of a phone conversation with a Filipino admiral, in a significant escalation of a bitter row over the South China Sea. China's embassy in Manila had orchestrated "repeated acts of engaging and dissemination of disinformation, misinformation and malinformation", with the objective of sowing discord, division and disunity, Eduardo Ano said in a statement. China's embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the call to expel diplomats.
Reuters
Blinken report expected to say Israel is not breaking weapons terms, Axios reports
The report, citing three officials, added that the State Department was reviewing the use of weapons by Israel and six other countries engaged in different armed conflicts. On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the Biden administration was set to miss a Wednesday deadline to report to Congress on whether Israel is violating international humanitarian law in Gaza.
Associated Press
Countries struggle to draft 'pandemic treaty' to avoid mistakes made during COVID
After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. A ninth and final round of talks involving governments, advocacy groups and others to finalize a “pandemic treaty” is scheduled to end Friday. The accord's aim: guidelines for how the WHO's 194 member countries might stop future pandemics and better share scarce resources.
Associated Press
'Where's Ronald Greene's justice?': 5 years on, feds still silent on Black motorist's deadly arrest
Mona Hardin has been waiting five long years for any resolution to the federal investigation into her son’s deadly arrest by Louisiana State Police troopers, an anguish only compounded by the fact that nearly every other major civil rights case during that time has passed her by. It took just months for Tyre Nichols ’ beating death last year to result in federal charges against five Memphis police officers.
NBC News
Two political operatives struck plea deals in Rep. Henry Cuellar's bribery case
Mina Colin Strother and Florencio “Lencho” Rendon agreed to cooperate in the Justice Department's case against the Texas Democrat, according to unsealed documents.
NBC News
Trump gets Barron's age wrong when asked about his youngest son's convention role
Former President Donald Trump misstated the age of his youngest son in an interview, saying that Barron Trump was 17 years old — even though he turned 18 in March.
Reuters
Analysis-Why German politicians are facing growing violence
The black-clad attackers beat up Matthias Ecke so badly as he put up posters in Dresden that he needed surgery. Just three of the assaults that German politicians have suffered over the past week as campaigns get underway for European Parliament and district council elections. Assaults causing physical injury have surged - 22 on politicians so far in 2024, compared with 27 for all of 2023, the Federal Criminal Police Office said this week.
Reuters
Analysis-Dollar’s stubborn strength dents US companies’ earnings cheer
A host of U.S. companies are faced with a problem they had not expected to confront this year: a rising dollar. Many market participants believed the dollar would fall on the back of interest rate cuts that both investors and the Federal Reserve had penciled in for 2024. A strong U.S. currency makes it more expensive for multinational companies to convert foreign profits into dollars, while also hurting the competitiveness of exporters' products.
Reuters
Pandemic treaty talks to the wire, likely to miss first deadline, sources say
Talks to draw up a global pact to help fight future pandemics are likely to miss an initial deadline on Friday, three sources close to the process said. Negotiators from the World Health Organization’s 194 member states were hoping to have a final draft agreement by the end of Friday, with a view toward adopting the legally-binding text at the World Health Assembly later this month.
CNN
Two former associates of Rep. Henry Cuellar agree to plea deal related to bribery case
Rep. Henry Cuellar’s former campaign manager and another political operative have agreed to plead guilty to federal crimes and are cooperating with the Justice Department’s prosecution of the Texas Democrat, according to court documents unsealed Wednesday.
Associated Press
Ex-Venezuelan diplomat 'never' considered being president but will launch campaign this month
A few weeks ago, Edmundo González Urrutia was just another grandfather visiting his daughter and grandchildren, who live abroad, enjoying two months of family time in retirement. President is not a title González ever sought. “Never,” he emphatically told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday at his apartment in his country’s capital, Caracas.
NBC News
Mom of captured U.S. soldier Gordon Black says girlfriend 'lured' him to Russia
The worried mother of a U.S. soldier in Russian custody said Wednesday that her son “was lured” there by a Russian woman he had been seeing in South Korea for over a year and that he’s being held on trumped-up charges of stealing roughly $100 from her. Melody Jones said she thinks her son, Staff Sgt.

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