Business

Interfaith group asks Starbucks to drop vegan milk surcharge

Editorial Bureau May 14, 2022

BOSTON — A group of Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish leaders is asking Starbucks to stop charging extra for vegan milk alternatives, saying the practice amounts to a tax on people who have embraced plant-based lifestyles. In a statement issued Friday, an interfaith coalition led by

Business

Baby formula shortage fueling spike in milk bank interest

Editorial Bureau May 14, 2022

The U.S. baby formula shortage has sparked a surge of interest at milk banks around the U.S. with some mothers offering to donate breast milk and desperate parents calling to see if it’s a solution to keep their babies fed. It’s a pathway that won’t work for every formula-fed baby, especially those with special dietary […]

Finance

GOP’s new midterm attack: Blaming Biden for formula shortage

Editorial Bureau May 14, 2022

AUSTIN, Texas — Republicans aiming to retake control of Congress have already sharpened a message centering around blaming Democrats for high inflation, expensive gas, migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and violent crime in some cities. But GOP leaders landed on an issue this week that it hopes could prove even more potent: tying President Joe […]

World

Louisiana justices toss COVID-related charges against pastor

Editorial Bureau May 14, 2022

NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana Supreme Court threw out charges Friday against a pastor who violated restrictions on gatherings early in the coronavirus pandemic, ruling that the governor’s executive orders violated freedom of religion. “This is a tremendous win for religious civil liberties and it has vindicated us in our … battle with the governor […]

Asia

North Korea confirms 21 new deaths as it battles COVID-19

Editorial Bureau May 14, 2022

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea on Saturday reported 21 new deaths and 174,440 more people with fever symptoms as the country scrambles to slow the spread of COVID-19 across its unvaccinated population. The deaths and cases, which were from Friday, increased total numbers to 27 deaths and 524,440 illnesses amid a rapid spread of […]

World

New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern tests positive for COVID

Editorial Bureau May 14, 2022

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has tested positive for COVID-19 but said she still plans to travel to the U.S. later this month for a trade trip and to give the commencement speech at Harvard University. Ardern on Saturday posted a photo of her positive test result on Instagram and […]

Asia

India bans exports of wheat, citing threat to food security

Editorial Bureau May 14, 2022

NEW DELHI — India has banned exports of wheat effective immediately, citing a risk to its food security, partly due to the war in Ukraine. A notice in the government gazette by the Directorate of Foreign Trade, dated Friday, said a spike in global prices for wheat was threatening the food security of India and […]

World

Top EU diplomat hopeful for deal at Iran nuclear talks

Editorial Bureau May 14, 2022

WEISSENHAUS, Germany — The European Union’s foreign policy chief said Friday he is hopeful that stalled talks with Iran over the country’s nuclear program can yield reach an agreement. The talks between Tehran and world powers deadlocked in part over Iran’s demand for the United States to lift a terrorist designation on the country’s paramilitary […]

World

Slain Al Jazeera journalist to be laid to rest in Jerusalem

Editorial Bureau May 14, 2022

JERUSALEM — Thousands of Palestinians are expected to attend the funeral on Friday in Jerusalem of an Al Jazeera journalist who witnesses say was shot dead by Israeli forces earlier this week while covering a military operation in the occupied West Bank. Recent days have seen an outpouring of grief from across the Palestinian territories […]

Business

Emirates Air lost $1 billion, but that’s an 80% improvement

Editorial Bureau May 14, 2022

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — One of the world’s biggest airlines and the Mideast’s top carrier, Emirates Air, said Friday it lost $1.1 billion over the past fiscal year, but that figure still marks an 80% improvement from the year before. The airline said revenue was up 91%, reaching $16.1 billion. As Emirates Air claws […]