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ROME (AP) — Ukraine’s small-scale farmers, who are playing a critical role in feeding the population during the war, will be eligible for funding through the U.N.’s International Fund for Agricultural Development following Ukraine’s induction Wednesday into body, officials said. Small farmers in Ukraine “play a fundamental role in feeding the country” during the war, producing up to 80% of dairy, fruits and vegetables consumed by the population, IFAD said […]

Biogen closed 2022 with a better-than-expected fourth quarter, as more cost cutting helped counter sales declines for some key treatments. The drugmaker said Wednesday that total cost and expenses fell 17% in the quarter, and Biogen’s bottom line grew nearly 50% to $550.4 million. Adjusted earnings totaled $4.05 per share. Total revenue slid 7% to $2.54 billion, as sales of multiple sclerosis treatments tumbled. Analysts expected earnings of $3.48 per […]

BEIRUT (AP) — Jordan’s foreign minister Tuesday met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, vowing to continue delivering earthquake aid and work to find a political solution to Syria’s 12-year conflict, Syrian state media reported. Ayman Safadi’s visit to the earthquake-hit country makes him the first Jordanian official to do so since the onset of Syria’s conflict in 2011. It marks a new thaw in relations between the two […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s consumers rebounded last month from a weak holiday shopping season by boosting their spending at stores and restaurants at the fastest pace in nearly two years, underscoring the economy’s resilience in the face of higher prices and multiple interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The government said Wednesday that retail sales jumped 3% in January, after having sunk the previous two months. It was the […]

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese seniors singing the communist anthem protested in the city of Wuhan on Wednesday over benefit cuts, in a rare sign of confrontation with the authoritarian state. The demonstration was the latest sign of economic pain caused by China’s now-abandoned “zero COVID” policy and a drop in local government coffers exacerbated by the collapse of major players in the real estate industry. The ruling Communist Party maintains […]

NEW YORK (AP) — Two leading young adult authors have a seven-figure deal to write a pair of novels centered on Black, queer characters. FSG Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, announced Wednesday that George M. Johnson and Leah Johnson (no relation) will write two romantic comedies, starting in 2025 with “There’s Always Next Year.” The story is set around New Year’s Day and tells […]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Hundred Acre Wood has seen some pretty unsettling things over the years. A honey jar shortage. Rather blustery days. The omnipresent threat of a Heffalump. But in “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey,” a new microbudget R-rated horror film, Pooh wades into far darker territory than even Eeyore could have ever imagined. After 95 years of saying things like “A hug is always the right […]

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday urged the 30 member countries to commit to spending at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense by a set date, as Russia’s war on Ukraine and other threats eat into military spending. NATO allies agreed in 2014, after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, to halt the spending cuts they had made after the Cold War and move toward […]

Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton insisted he will not be silenced by offseason rules that prohibit drivers from speaking out on political issues. Hamilton said Wednesday he will continue to use his global platform to promote his wide-ranging interests, which include social justice and race, human rights and protection of the LBGTQ community. The FIA in December updated its International Sporting Code to require prior written permission for drivers […]