Afghanistan has received an inaugural consignment of wheat from India through an Iranian port, opening a new trade and transit route for the landlocked nation that bypasses neighboring Pakistan. The strategic sea route, officials say, will help improve trade and transit connectivity between Kabul and New Delhi. It will also potentially give India access to Central Asian markets through Afghanistan, because rival Pakistan does not allow Indian goods to be transported through its territory . The shipment of almost 15,000 tons of wheat dispatched from India’s western port of Kandla …

U.S. President Donald Trump heaped praise on Vietnam Saturday, saying the southeast Asian nation is “one of the great miracles of the world.” Trump’s remarks were made at a state banquet in the capital of Hanoi, the latest event on his five-country Asian tour. Trump, who arrived in Hanoi Saturday, told dignitaries he toured parts of the country, which he said “is really something to behold.” After the nearly 20-year Vietnam War that killed millions of people, the country’s economy has been among the world’s fastest growing since 1990. Its …

Chinese consumers are spending billions of dollars shopping online for anything from diapers to diamonds on “Singles Day,” a day of promotions that has grown into the world’s biggest e-commerce event.   China’s biggest e-commerce giant, Alibaba Group, said sales by retailers on its platforms had topped $19 billion by midafternoon Saturday in a count that started at midnight.   Its main rival, online retailer JD.com, which tracks sales starting from Nov. 1 through to the actual day, had topped $16.7 billion.   Starting at midnight, diamonds, Chilean frozen salmon, …

Pneumonic plague continues to decline in Madagascar, according to the World Health Organization, whose latest figures put the number of suspected cases at 1,947, including 143 deaths. The latest reported cases of pneumonic plague, based on the number of people hospitalized and on district reporting in Madagascar, is good news, said Fadela Chaib, WHO spokeswoman. “As of yesterday, 6 November, there were only 27 people hospitalized with plague compared with 106 on 29 October, for example,” she said. “This decline in new cases is encouraging and shows that the quick …

Despite President Donald Trump’s tough talk on trade at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam, international business leaders say they are excited by the prospects of greater cooperation among the 21 member countries of APEC. Many believe the annual economic leaders forum, established nearly three decades ago, will become more influential in the future and lead to greater and more balanced trade between East and West. Mil Arcega has more. … From: MeNeedIt

Rupert Murdoch telephoned AT&T Inc. Chief Executive Randall Stephenson twice in the last six months and talked about cable network CNN, sources briefed on the matter told Reuters on Friday. One source said the 86-year-old executive chairman of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. offered to buy CNN in both conversations. Another source said Murdoch had “zero interest” in owning CNN. Representatives of Twenty-First Century Fox, AT&T and Time Warner, CNN’s parent, declined to comment. CNN has become the focal point in antitrust approval of AT&T’s $85.4 billion deal to buy Time …

U.S. women’s soccer star Hope Solo on Friday accused Sepp Blatter of sexual assault, claiming the disgraced former FIFA president groped her backside at the 2013 Ballon d’Or ceremony. Solo, 36, her country’s standout goalkeeper, said Blatter, 81, committed the act shortly before she was to present an award to her teammate Abby Wambach. “It was a few years ago at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, just before I got on stage,” Solo told Portuguese newspaper Expresso. A spokesman for Blatter, however, said the accusation was “ridiculous.” Solo, a World Cup …