WELLINGTON/SYDNEY – The World Bank is preparing a financial lifeline for Pacific Island nations, backed by the U.S. and Australia, as an exodus of Western banks from the unprofitable market prompts concern that China could fill the vacuum in the strategic region.

BEIJING – China will never accept the “unfounded accusations” made against it at the NATO summit this week in Washington, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said to his Dutch counterpart over a phone call, his ministry said.

Global stocks are mixed, with the Japanese yen losing some of its gains after the latest U.S. update on inflation bolstered Wall Street’s belief that relief on interest rates may come as soon as September

Wind energy is booming in Brazil’s dry and windy Northeast, but some projects are drawing criticism as it becomes clear that certain communities have benefited while others have not

Mexico’s president says his successor is planning to build passenger train lines running from the capital to cities on the U.S. border

The U.N. General Assembly has declared 2025 to 2034 the United Nations Decade on Combating Sand and Dust Storms — extreme weather events that are increasing and threaten health and economies from central Africa to northern China

ZURICH – Britain is likely to lose nearly one in six of its U.S. dollar millionaires by 2028, but their number is set to grow in other countries including the United States and surge in Taiwan, according to a report published on Wednesday.

China’s Commerce Ministry has announced it will launch an investigation into whether unfair trade practices were adopted by the European Union in its probe of Chinese companies

OTTAWA – Canada, looking to shore up its defense of the Arctic, is moving ahead to acquire up to 12 submarines and has started a formal process to meet with manufacturers, the defense ministry said on Wednesday.

South Korea’s government has announced it will abandon its plan to suspend the licenses of striking junior doctors to resolve the country’s long medical impasse