Blinken kicks off meetings in Beijing on high-stakes mission to cool soaring US-China tensions

JUN 18, 2023 @ 1845 GMT | U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, shakes hands with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, right, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (Pool Photo via AP)

BEIJING, China (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday kicked off two days of high-stakes diplomatic talks in Beijing aimed at trying to cool exploding U.S.-China tensions that have set many around the world on edge.

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Heat wave triggers big storms, power outages in US Southeast, raises wildfire concerns in Southwest

JUN 18, 2023 @ 1700 GMT | U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, carries an item from debris in a trailer park that was damaged by a tornado in Perryton, Texas, Saturday, June 17, 2023. (AP Photo)

TEXAS, United States (AP) — Triple-digit temperatures prompted more heat advisories across much of the southern U.S. on Sunday, triggered severe thunderstorms that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people from Oklahoma to Mississippi and produced gusty winds that raised wildfire threats in Arizona and New Mexico.

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Nearly 100 die as India struggles with a sweltering heat wave in 2 most populous states

JUN 18, 2023 @ 2030 GMT | A nomadic woman walks eating a fruit on a hot summer afternoon in Lalitpur district in northern Uttar Pradesh state, India, Sunday, June 18, 2023. Swaths of two of India’s most populous states are under a grip of sever heat leaving dozens of people dead in several days as authorities issue a warning to residents over 60 and others with ailments to stay indoors during the daytime. (AP Photo)

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — At least 96 people died in two of India’s most populous states over the last several days, officials said Sunday, with swaths of the country reeling from a sweltering heat wave.

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Putin meets with African leaders in Russia to discuss Ukraine peace plan, but no visible progress

JUN 17, 2023 @ 1800 GMT | In this handout photo provided by Photo host Agency RIA Novosti, Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa pose for a photo during a meeting with a delegation of African leaders and senior officials in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, June 17, 2023. Seven African leaders — presidents of Comoros, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia, as well as Egypt’s prime minister and top envoys from the Republic of Congo and Uganda — traveled to Russia on Saturday a day after visiting Ukraine on a mission to try to help end the hostilities. (RIA Novosti via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday met with a group of leaders of African countries who traveled to Russia on a self-styled “peace mission” the day after they went to Ukraine, but the meeting ended with no visible progress.

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UN steps up criticism of IMF and World Bank, the other pillars of the post-World War II global order

JUN 17, 2023 @ 1800 GMT | FILE – U.N Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to reporters in the Treaty Room before a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department, April 27, 2023, in Washington. From the ashes of World War II, three institutions were created as linchpins of a new global order. Now, in an unusual move the top official in one, Guterres, is pressing for major changes in the other two. Guterres says the International Monetary Fund has benefited rich countries instead of poor ones. And he describes the IMF and World Bank’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic as a “glaring failure” that left dozens of countries deeply indebted. (AP File)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — From the ashes of World War II, three institutions were created as linchpins of a new global order. Now, in an unusual move, the top official in one — the secretary-general of the United Nations — is pressing for major changes in the other two.

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Nikki Haley’s husband begins Africa deployment as she campaigns for 2024 GOP nomination

JUN 17, 2023 @ 1800 GMT | FILE – Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, right, waves as she and her husband, Michael Haley, left, are introduced at the second inaugural of Gov. Henry McMaster, Jan. 11, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. Nikki Haley’s husband will soon begin a yearlong deployment with the South Carolina Army National Guard to Africa, a mission that will encompass most of the remainder of his wife’s campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. (AP File)

CHARLESTON, United States (AP) — Nikki Haley’s husband deployed Saturday for a yearlong stint in Africa with the South Carolina Army National Guard, a mission that will encompass most of the remainder of her campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

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Saudi foreign minister in Iran as part of restoration of diplomatic ties after a 7-year rift

JUN 17, 2023 @ 1700 GMT | Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, right, and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan shake hands prior to their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, June 17, 2023. Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat has arrived in the Iranian capital,Tehran, the latest step in the restoration of diplomatic ties between the two Mideast rivals, Iranian state media reported. (AP Photo)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat arrived in Iran’s capital on Saturday, the latest step in the restoration of diplomatic ties between the two Mideast rivals, Iranian state media reported.

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At least 41 killed in rebel attack on Ugandan school near Congo border

JUN 17, 2023 @ 2030 GMT | In this image made from video, security forces drive past a crowd of people gathered outside the Lhubiriha Secondary School following an attack on the school near the border with Congo, in Mpondwe, Uganda, Saturday, June 17, 2023. Ugandan authorities recovered the bodies of dozens of people including students who were burned, shot or hacked to death after suspected rebels attacked the school, the local mayor said Saturday. (AP Photo)

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Suspected rebels attacked a school in a remote area of Uganda near the Congo border, killing at least 41 people in a nighttime raid before fleeing across the porous frontier, authorities said. Thirty-eight students in their dormitories were among the victims.

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Putin touts Russian economy as Western investors steer clear of St. Petersburg event

JUN 16, 2023 @ 1645 GMT | In this handout photo provided by Photo host Agency RIA Novosti, Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 16, 2023. (RIA Novosti Via AP)

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — President Vladimir Putin on Friday touted Russia’s prospects at the country’s main international economic forum despite heavy international sanctions imposed because of the war in Ukraine.

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European Central Bank hikes rates again to battle inflation after US Fed hits pause

JUN 15, 2023 @ 1500 GMT | Relatives of a bridal couple let balloons fly from a bridge near the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, June 14, 2023. The governing council of the ECB will meet on Thursday. (AP Photo)

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank pressed ahead with another interest rate hike Thursday, aiming to crush inflation that is driving up the cost of groceries, utility bills and summer vacations even after the U.S. Federal Reserve took a break from its own string of increases.

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