ISLAMABAD, July 29 (Xinhua) -- The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has brought high-quality development and contributed to a human community with a shared future through win-win economic cooperation between Pakistan and China, highlighting the vitality of China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a Pakistani expert said.

NAIROBI, July 29 (Reuters) - Kenya is ready to lead a multinational force into Haiti, which is experiencing a surge in violence between police and gangs, its foreign minister said on Saturday.

An escalation of violence by Haiti's armed gangs is driving a humanitarian crisis that has displaced tens of thousands of people.

Earlier this month, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to the Security Council and major potential contribution countries to act fast to create the conditions for the deployment of multinational force to Haiti.

PHOENIX (AP) — A historic heat wave that turned the U.S. Southwest into a blast furnace throughout July is beginning to abate with the late arrival of monsoon rains.

Forecasters expect that by Monday at the latest, people in metro Phoenix will begin seeing high temperatures under 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) for the first time in a month. As of Friday, the high temperature in the desert city had been at or above that mark for 29 consecutive days.

DENVER, the United States, July 29 (Xinhua) -- The harvest of Colorado's sweet corn this summer suffered a drastic drop due to an earworm infestation. Scientists warn the pest is spreading north due to climate change, endangering thousands more acres of crops.

The pest problem, linked with the severe drought plaguing the Midwest U.S., could lead to an increase in already high food prices, impacting American consumers' wallets.

DECIMATED HARVEST

BOSTON, July 29 (Reuters) - Vice President Kamala Harris has shown a punchy side during a tour of nearly a dozen U.S. states in recent weeks, attacking Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for backing "revisionist history" about slavery, telling Iowa healthcare workers to rebel against the state's new restrictive abortion laws and rallying Latinos in Chicago to fight "extremist" Republicans.

DHAKA, July 29 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank has approved 300 million U.S. dollars to help Bangladesh improve the efficiency of gas distribution and end-use through prepaid metering systems for residential and industrial consumers and reduce methane emissions along the natural gas value chain.

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Mutinous soldiers who staged a coup in Niger declared their leader the new head of state on Friday, hours after the general asked for national and international support despite rising concerns that the political crisis could hinder the nation’s fight against jihadists and boost Russia’s influence in West Africa.

Spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane said on state television that the constitution was suspended and Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani was in charge.

CHICAGO (AP) — Leading up to the 2020 election, Facebook ads targeting Latino and Asian American voters described Joe Biden as a communist. A local station claimed a Black Lives Matter co-founder practiced witchcraft. Doctored images showed dogs urinating on Donald Trump campaign posters.

None of these claims was true, but they scorched through social media sites that advocates say have fueled election misinformation in communities of color.

MAGDEBURG, Germany, July 29 (Reuters) - Thousands took to the streets to protest against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Friday and Saturday as the party held a convention to choose its candidates for European parliamentary elections next year.

Protesters outside the conference venue in the city of Magdeburg waved banners with messages like "stand together against right-wing hate" or "Nazis out".

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Friday the United States stands with countries fighting Chinese “bullying behavior” as he launched bilateral talks in Australia aimed at countering Beijing’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Austin and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the Australian city of Brisbane late Thursday ahead of annual bilateral meetings on Friday and Saturday that will focus on a deal to provide Australia, a defense treaty partner, with a fleet of submarines powered by U.S. nuclear technology.

WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) - Donald Trump ordered employees at his Florida resort to delete security videos as he was under investigation for retaining classified documents, U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday as they broadened the case against the former president and charged a second member of his staff with helping to hide documents.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to sign an executive order while visiting Maine on Friday to encourage companies to manufacture new inventions in the United States.

Biden is going to Maine for the first time of his presidency, packaging his signing of the executive order with a speech at a textile factory and a fundraiser later in the town of Freeport.