BENGALURU, India (AP) — The Indian government will not consider any proposals for new coal plants for the next five years and focus on growing its renewables sector, according to an updated national electricity plan released Wednesday evening. The temporary pause in the growth of the dirty fuel was hailed by energy experts as a […]

BEIJING (AP) — China’s government criticized the United States’ plans to sign a trade treaty with Taiwan and called on Washington on Thursday to stop official contact with the self-ruled island democracy claimed by Beijing as part of its territory. The agreement due to be signed Thursday comes amid increased Chinese efforts to European politicians […]

TOKYO (AP) — Asian benchmarks were mostly higher Thursday after the United States House of Representatives approved a debt ceiling and budget cuts package, avoiding a default crisis. But the enthusiasm was muted by worries about the Chinese economy after disappointing recent data on a recovery in the world’s second largest economy, and a key […]

TOKYO (AP) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stressed the importance of communication during a stopover with talks Thursday in Tokyo, calling it unfortunate that his Chinese counterpart refused to meet him at an annual security conference in Singapore, which both men are attending. On the way to the annual Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security […]

QOM, Iran (AP) — It’s rare these days for a turbaned cleric in Iran to attract a large following of adoring young fans on Instagram, but Sayed Mahdi Tabatabaei has done it by rescuing street dogs in defiance of a local taboo. Tabatabaei posts regularly — to his more than 80,000 followers — heartbreaking stories […]

QUINCY, Ill. (AP) — A jury Wednesday convicted a former contestant on the television game show “Family Feud” of first-degree murder and home invasion in the slaying of his estranged wife in western Illinois. Timothy Bliefnick, 40, was found guilty in the Feb. 23 shooting death of Rebecca Bliefnick. The Adams County Circuit Court jury […]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The NBA Finals could’ve featured glamour teams like the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, and conventional thinking before the NHL playoffs stated the dominant Boston Bruins and star-studded Edmonton Oilers were on a near-collision course to meet in the Stanley Cup Final. All four teams are out, and what could’ve […]

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Attorneys representing adult entertainers, erotica authors and sex educators on Wednesday asked a judge to put on hold a Utah law requiring porn and other adult websites verify user ages. The Free Speech Coalition and its co-plaintiffs argued the new state law violates their clients’ First Amendment rights and intrudes […]

Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda — alongside a series of affordable housing developers — announced the renewal of the Seattle Housing Levy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Leading Federal Reserve officials are sending out stronger signals that they will forego an interest rate increase at the central bank’s next meeting in June, though they indicate hikes could resume later this year. “Skipping a rate hike at a coming meeting would allow (Fed policymakers) to see more data before making […]