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AP  —  Police in Thailand arrested a woman Tuesday who allegedly enticed a string of Buddhist monks into sexual relationships and then pressured them into making large payments to cover up their intimacy. The possible violation of the celibacy rule for monks has rocked Buddhist institutions and gripped public attention in Thailand in recent weeks. At least nine abbots and senior monks involved in the scandal have been disrobed and cast out of the monkhood, the Royal Thai Police Central Investigation Bureau said. Wilawan Emsawat, in her mid-30s, was arrested at her home in Nonthaburi province north of the capital…

CNN  —  The United States has launched an investigation into “unfair” trading practices by Brazil, escalating President Donald Trump’s spat with the world’s 10th-largest economy over issues including the criminal case against its former President Jair Bolsonaro. The investigation will focus on digital trade and electronic payment services, preferential tariffs, and anti-corruption interference, as well as intellectual property protection, to determine whether there are “unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict” American commerce, according to a statement by the United States Trade Representative (USTR). It will also look into ethanol market access and illegal deforestation. “At President Trump’s direction, I…

You may say I’m a dreamerBut I’m not the only oneI hope someday you’ll join usAnd the world will be as oneJohn Lennon Humanity may have lucked out. China speed, dodgy data and the Houthis may just have derailed the 21st Century Thucydides trap. Meme: imgflip While Athens and Sparta careened unstoppably towards the Peloponnesian war, each powerless to arrest rising tensions, today’s Sparta should consider itself lucky: It cannot win the 21st Century Peloponnesian War and, as such, will not press for one. The most consequential military development of the past few years – and there have been legion…

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares in Asia traded mixed on Wednesday after an update on U.S. inflation pulled most Wall Street stocks lower, though gains for Nvidia pushed the Nasdaq to another record. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 edged less than 0.1% lower, to 39,663.40. Investors are focusing on the potential impact of an election for the Upper House of Parliament on Sunday that is expected to lead to tax cuts and higher spending as lawmakers try to restore the waning popularity of the ruling Liberal Democrats.Worries over a deterioration in Japan’s fiscal health have pushed yields of long-term Japanese government bonds to…

MBALE, Uganda (AP) — Wilson Watira offered his hand when he met his political rival at a funeral, gesturing for a proper handshake. The man didn’t want contact, instead folding a piece of paper that he aimed at Watira. “He looked at me and picked that piece of paper of the program. He folded it and greeted me,” Watira said. “He’s just afraid of me simply because I am not afraid of him.”Watira, who seeks a seat in Uganda’s Parliament, remembered the recent event as a vivid example of the rampant fear of witchcraft as politicians seeking office try to…

People shop for groceries at a store in New York City, U.S., July 15, 2025. Jeenah Moon | Reuters Expectations are a funny thing. When we say that something meets expectations, we tend to mean it in a positive way, suggesting that a hurdle has been cleared or the result is welcome.But what happens when we expect something bad, and the outcome meets expectations?The U.S. consumer price index in June, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Tuesday, matched the Dow Jones consensus estimate. And there was even a pleasant surprise: Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy…

Facebook Tweet Email Link A stolen private plane caused a temporary shutdown of the airspace over Vancouver International Airport, one the busiest in Canada, on Tuesday. The Cessna 172 took off from Victoria International Airport, where it is used for flight training, and flew north about 40 miles to Vancouver and started circling. “We do have an aircraft that has been hijacked and is in the vicinity of the airport,” a tower controller warned other planes in a recording from the website LiveATC.net. “Just in case anything starts heading toward your you have the ability to move at your discretion.”…

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Nilma Teles de Freitas, an 80-year-old retired teacher in Brazil who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease more than a decade ago, says she used to fall over all the time. That changed after she began attending a capoeira class in downtown Rio de Janeiro especially designed for people with the neurodegenerative illness. Capoeira is a movement practice that originated within the large enslaved communities in Brazil, where nearly 5 million kidnapped Africans disembarked during the transatlantic slave trade that started in the 16th century.It is considered both a martial art and a dance, combining ritual,…

President Donald Trump’s ultimatum to Russia to accept a peace deal in Ukraine within 50 days or face bruising sanctions on its energy exports has given the Kremlin extra time to pursue its summer offensive. The dogged Ukrainian resistance, however, makes it unlikely that the Russian military will make any quick gains.President Vladimir Putin has declared repeatedly that any peace deal should see Ukraine withdraw from the four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022 but never fully captured. He also wants Ukraine to renounce its bid to join NATO and accept strict limits on its armed forces -–…

Stocks @ Night is a daily newsletter delivered after hours, giving you a first look at tomorrow and last look at today. Sign up for free to receive it directly in your inbox. Here’s what CNBC TV’s producers were watching as the Nasdaq Composite posted a record close, aided by Nvidia, and what’s on the radar for the next session. Private markets and your 401(k) The Wall Street Journal reported , citing people familiar, that the Trump administration is getting closer to an executive order that would make private market investments more available in 401(k) retirement plans. That could be…