World

Blinken meets Erdogan as forces backed by US, Turkey clash in Syria

ANKARA (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Turkey on Thursday for talks focused on a critical aspect of establishing stability in Syria: clashes in the north of the country between U.S.-backed Kurdish forces and Turkey-backed rebels.

World

Fewer U.S. grandparents taking care of grandchildren: survey

NEW YORK, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Fewer U.S. grandparents were living with and taking care of grandchildren, and there was a decline in young children going to preschool and more people stayed put in their homes in the first part of the 2020s compared with the last part of the 2010s, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released on Thursday.

World

Canada's maple syrup production nearly doubles in 2024

OTTAWA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Canada's maple producers harvested 19.9 million gallons of maple syrup in 2024, up 91.3 percent compared with 2023, Statistics Canada said Thursday.

World

U.S. dollar ticks up

NEW YORK, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar advanced in late trading on Thursday.

World

First decline in global health spending since 2000: WHO

GENEVA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Global health spending fell to 9.8 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022, or 9.9 percent of the global gross domestic product, marking the first real-term decline since 2000, according to the 2024 Global Health Expenditure Report by the World Health Organization (WHO).

World

Weekly storage of natural gas in U.S. decreases: EIA

HOUSTON, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Working gas storage in the contiguous United States was 3,747 billion cubic feet in the week ending Dec. 6, a net decrease of 190 billion cubic feet from the previous week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Thursday in a report.

World

Study links body's circadian system to inflammatory bowel diseases

JERUSALEM, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- A new Israeli study has revealed the influence of the circadian system on the development of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) such as Crohn's and ulcerative colitis, paving the way for innovative therapeutic approaches for gastrointestinal tract diseases.

World

94 BiH citizens stranded in Syria: ambassador

SARAJEVO, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- There are 94 Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) citizens, including women and children, currently stranded in Syria in various camps, BiH's no-resident ambassador to Syria Slavko Matanovic said on Thursday.

World

Venezuela authorities release 103 people arrested after election

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan authorities said on Thursday that they have this week released 103 people arrested amid protests following last July's presidential election, in which incumbent President Nicolas Maduro claimed a contested victory.

World

Roundup: ECB cuts key interest rates by 25bp

FRANKFURT, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The European Central Bank (ECB) reduced its key interest rates by 25 basis points on Thursday at a rate-setting meeting, marking the fourth rate cut this year.

World

Roundup: German economy likely to remain weak in 2025, institutes warn

BERLIN, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Germany's long-awaited economic recovery appears to be slipping further out of reach, with key economic institutes cutting their forecasts for the coming years.

World

France's Macron to name new prime minister on Friday, Elysee says

PARIS XX (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron has postponed the nomination of a new prime minister until Friday morning, his office said on Thursday.

World

Russia in contact with Syrian rebels, hopes to keep military bases, Interfax reports

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has established direct contacts with the political committee of Syria's Islamist rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Interfax news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov as saying on Thursday.

World

Amid ashes of Assad family's mausoleum, Syrian rebels vow to erase their legacy

QARDAHA, Syria (Reuters) - Now covered in ashes and empty bullet casings, the grand mausoleum of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's family stood in the eyes of rebels as a symbol of the injustice Syrians endured under their long rule.

World

Belarusian president approves defense plan for 2026-2030

MINSK, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday approved the country's defense plan for 2026-2030.

World

Int'l conference held in London to explore role of AI in shaping future of higher education

LONDON, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- An international conference on online education and massive open online courses (MOOC) opened in London on Thursday, drawing hundreds of educational professionals from across the globe to discuss the transformative potential of online learning and artificial intelligence (AI) in shaping the future of higher education.

World

Judge killed in violence-plagued Mexican city a day after president's visit

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A senior judge was assassinated in the Mexican resort city of Acapulco on Wednesday a day after the country's president convened security officials there to address a wave of violence.

World

Belarus sets up 5,325 polling stations for presidential elections

MINSK, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The formation of polling stations for the presidential elections in Belarus has been completed, the Central Election Commission said on Thursday.

World

Canadian province Alberta creates patrol unit to police US border

(Reuters) -The Western Canadian province of Alberta will spend C$29 million ($20.46 million) to create a new sheriff-led patrol unit to police its 298-kilometer (185-mile) border with the U.S. state of Montana, the premier said on Thursday.

World

DR Congo reports nearly 54,000 suspected mpox cases this year

KINSHASA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reported 53,860 suspected cases of mpox, including 1,225 deaths, since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Public Health announced Thursday.