SAO PAULO (AP) – The long-awaited trade deal between South American bloc Mercosur and the European Union took effect Friday, at least provisionally. The initiative creates a trans-Atlantic market estimated at $22 trillion with 720 million potential consumers, and some nations expect to boost their exports by more than 10% by 2038, once it is fully implemented.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – At her studio in Iran’s capital, Amen Khademi prepared a fashion shoot for a jacket she designed with Persian-inspired motifs. But even as she applied lipstick to the model, she was distracted, worrying if her business would survive after four months without its main link to customers – the internet.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Iran’s supreme leader vowed Thursday in a defiant tone to protect the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and missile capabilities, which U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to curtail through airstrikes and as part of a wider deal to cement the war’s shaky ceasefire.
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, has said he wants to bring “regime change” to the central bank, but if confirmed by the Senate he will find a Fed already transformed by the White House’s attacks.
HONG KONG (AP) – China’s factory activity expanded for a second straight month in April, according to an official survey on Thursday, as its economy remained resilient despite higher energy prices due to the Iran war.
MUNSTER, Germany (AP) – President Donald Trump has again threatened to pull U.S. troops out of Germany, a key NATO ally and the European Union’s largest economy. Europeans have heard this before.
HARET SAIDA, Lebanon (AP) – The warnings to flee come suddenly: Texts pinging thousands of phones, automated calls from strange numbers, hard-to-read maps shared on social media by an Israeli military spokesperson.
HAVELTE, Netherlands (AP) – Their faces daubed with camouflage, the troops emerge almost silently from a forest with Colt C7 rifles slung across their chests. They scan their surroundings for potential threats. The soldiers are members of the 10th Infantry Battalion Guard Security Corps National Reserve on a weekend exercise.
BEIJING (AP) – China said Thursday it conducted naval and air combat readiness patrols around a disputed area in the South China Sea, after the Philippines, the United States and other allied forces began annual drills in the region. China’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that the patrols took place at Huangyan Dao, China’s name for Scarborough Shoal, which is also claimed by the Philippines
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