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Europe's hopes for busy post-COVID summer dim as Chinese stay away

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:17 GMT

Urs Kessler, who runs Jungfrau Railways, a train that takes tourists up the highest mountain in Switzerland, was excited for the return of Chinese tourists after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted late last year.But barring one small group in February and a few larger ones expected in May, few have materialized.Many tour operators like Kessler are disappointed by lower-than-expected bookings from high-spending Chinese travellers who before the pandemic would typically splash between 1,500 and 3,000 euros per person, according to the Global Times newspaper.Chinese outbound flight bookings to Europe during March and August are only 32% that of pre-pandemic levels, according to travel data firm ForwardKeys.The travel industry is also grappling with cash-strapped domestic holidaymakers looking for cheaper vacations as energy and food bills rise. This summer, the second since Europe's COVID restrictions ended, is a test for airports and airlines, scrambling to hire staff and avoid a repea...

Chinese leader Xi Jinping left Moscow, wrapping up a three-day visit, shortly after Japanese PM Fumio Kishida left Kyiv.

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:17 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping left Moscow, wrapping up a three-day visit, shortly after Japanese PM Fumio Kishida left Kyiv.Source

UK inflation makes unexpected comeback, jumps to 10.4 percent

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:17 GMT

After three months of small drops, Britain’s inflation jumped in February, defying expectations and raising pressure on the Bank of England to increase interest rates, data released by the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday.The consumer price index rose by 10.4 percent in February, up from 10.1 percent in January.According to a Reuters poll ahead of the release, analysts had expected the U.K. to leave double-digit inflation levels behind, forecasting a decline to 9.9 percent. The U.K.’s inflation had peaked at 11.1 percent in October last year.The Bank of England is due to announce it next interest rate decision Thursday. Analysts had expected another rise in interest rates, but recent turmoil in financial markets sparked speculation that policymakers may hold rates. But the unexpected jump in inflation may now tip the balance in favor of further tightening of interest rates.

China, Japan leaders end visits to warring capitals

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:17 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine faced more Russian drone attacks Wednesday that killed at least three people shortly after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida left Kyiv.Kishida was back in Poland Wednesday morning, according to Japan’s Kyodo News, and is expected to return to Japan Thursday.Kishida’s surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital stole some of the attention from Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s trip to Moscow where he promoted Beijing’s peace proposal for Ukraine, which Western nations have already dismissed. Xi left Moscow early Wednesday.Early Wednesday, Ukraine faced a new series of Russian drone attacks, which killed at least three people and damaged some infrastructure across the country.The Rival visits by Xi and Kishida, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) apart, highlighted how countries are lining up behind Moscow or Kyiv during the nearly 13-month-old war. Kishida, who will chair the Group of Seven summit in May, became the group’s last member to visit Ukraine...

Sotheby’s hopes for record sale of ancient Hebrew Bible

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:17 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — One of the oldest surviving biblical manuscripts, a nearly complete 1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible, could soon be yours — for a cool $30 million.The Codex Sassoon, a leather-bound, handwritten parchment tome containing almost the entirety of the Hebrew Bible, is set to go on the block at Sotheby’s in New York in May. Its anticipated sale speaks to the still bullish market for art, antiquities and ancient manuscripts even in a worldwide bear economy.Sotheby’s is drumming up interest in hopes of enticing institutions and collectors to bite. It has put the price tag at an eye-watering $30 million to $50 million. On Wednesday, Tel Aviv’s ANU Museum of the Jewish People opened a week-long exhibition of the manuscript, part of a whirlwind worldwide tour of the artifact in the United Kingdom, Israel and the United States before its expected sale, on Wednesday. “There are three ancient Hebrew Bibles from this period,” said Yosef Ofer, a professor of Bible studies at Isra...

Japan’s Kishida in Poland for talks after visit to Ukraine

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:17 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with Poland’s prime minister Wednesday for talks about the region’s security and bilateral relations a day after he made a surprise visit to Kyiv where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Kishida visited Ukraine on Tuesday while Chinese leader President Xi Jinping held talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the two visits showing how various countries are lining up behind Moscow or Kyiv.In Warsaw, Kishida was greeted by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki before brief talks. The Japanese leader will meet later with Polish President Andrzej Duda. Poland has been supplying military, humanitarian and political support to neighbouring Ukraine, which has been fighting to repel Russia’s full-scale invasion that began more than a year ago.___Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraineThe Associated Press

Australian jury mulls verdicts in Israeli principal trial

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:17 GMT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian jury retired on Wednesday to consider their verdicts following the six-week trial of a former principal of a Melbourne ultra-Orthodox Jewish girls school accused of molesting three sisters.Malka Leifer, 56, has pleaded not guilty in the Victoria state County Court to 27 sexual offenses that were allegedly committed at the Adass Israel School, where she was head of religion and later principal, and at her Melbourne home and at school camps in the rural Victorian towns of Blampied and Rawson between 2003 and 2007.Prosecutor Justin Lewis had asked the 12 jurors to consider that Leifer, a Tel Aviv-born mother of eight, showed sexual interest in the girls when they were teenage students at the school and later when they became student teachers there. He alleged that Leifer engaged in sexual activities with them and took advantage of their vulnerability and ignorance in sexual matters, and her position of authority.The sisters had an isolated upbr...

UK inflation jumps to 10.4%, surprising analysts

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:17 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s inflation rate rose for the first time in four months in February, surprising analysts and increasing pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates at its meeting on Thursday.The consumer price index jumped to 10.4% in the 12 months through February from 10.1% the previous month, as high energy prices continued to squeeze household budgets, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday.While economists expect prices to drop rapidly later this year, inflation is more than five times higher than the Bank of England’s 2% target.The central bank will weigh the need to control inflation against concerns about the fallout from global banking troubles when it decides whether to raise interest rates on Thursday. The bank has approved 10 consecutive rate increases since December 2021, pushing its key bank rate to 4%.Michael Hewson, chief analyst at CMC Markets UK, said he expects the Bank of England to raise rates by at least a quarter of a percentage po...

March Madness Mix: Dominant Gamecocks amid Sweet 16 parity

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:17 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina is keenly aware that everyone remaining in the women’s NCAA Tournament field is coming after the undefeated Gamecocks — and hard.That conviction has been boosted after two of the top four seeds in Indiana and Stanford were ousted — something that hasn’t happened since 1998. If they didn’t before, each of the Sweet 16 teams believe they can knock out the defending national champions, no matter how dominant the Gamecocks have been. It makes for good theater — which is good for the sport.Rebecca Lobo, the former UConn star turned ESPN analyst, calls South Carolina’s dominance combined with Sweet 16 parity “an interesting dichotomy.”“It’s like parallel paths, you have this overwhelming favorite to win it all, yet you have UConn losing to Marquette or Stanford losing in the second round,” she said. “It’s an interesting time for women’s basketball.”South Carolina with its 40 straight victories isn’t concerned about history, rati...

Ukraine says eastern town of Avdiivka could become 'second Bakhmut'

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:17 GMT

Ukraine announced on Monday (20 March) that the eastern city of Avdiivka could soon be a "second Bakhmut", a small town where its forces have held off against Russian invaders for eight years but are at risk of being completely encircled.The Battle for Bakhmut, in the industrial Donbas, was one of the most fierce of the almost 13-month-old war in Ukraine. It has drawn comparisons to World War One trench warfare.According to the commander of Ukraine's ground troops, Moscow's forces attempted to encircle Bakhmut last week in an offensive that had not made any major breakthroughs.The spokesperson for Ukraine's Tavria military commande said Monday that he agreed to an assessment made by British Defence Intelligence, that Russia was increasing pressure on Avdiivka's supply lines, just as it did around Bakhmut."The enemy is always trying to encircle Avdiivka. Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskyi, a spokesperson for the UK, said that he agreed with his colleagues in the UK that Avdiivka could soon be t...