Reuters

(Reuters) - Simone Biles got her bid for a record-extending ninth all-around title at the U.S. championships off to a sensational start on Friday, piling up 60.45 points to take a more than three-point lead after the first night of the competition.

Starting on vault, Biles landed her signature Yurchenko double pike to thrill the fans in Fort Worth, Texas, and was rewarded with a 15.80 from the judges at the meet, which will help determine the U.S. team... (continue reading...)

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - New home prices in China rose slightly for a ninth month in May, a private survey showed, driven higher by a slew of supportive steps to prop up the nation's crisis-hit property sector.

The average new home price across 100 cities rose 0.25% on month in May, following a 0.27% gain in April, the data from real estate researcher China Index Academy showed on Saturday.

China's property sector, a pillar of the economy,... (continue reading...)

FIROZPUR/KOLKATA (Reuters) - India voted on Saturday in the final phase of a long-drawn general election, held in record summer heat in many parts, as both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his challengers said they would win the polls centred mostly on inequality and religion.

The seven-phase vote, in which nearly a billion people were eligible to cast their ballots, began on April 19 and will end with polling in the last 57 seats - including in... (continue reading...)

By Brad Brooks

(Reuters) - A Florida sheriff's office on Friday fired a deputy who had shot and killed a Black airman with the U.S. Air Force, saying the use of deadly force was not reasonable.

That was the conclusion of an internal affairs investigation by the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office into the May 3 killing of Roger Fortson, 23, in Fort Walton Beach, the sheriff's office said in a statement.

A criminal investigation... (continue reading...)

By Idrees Ali

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin tried to refocus attention on China's threat in the Pacific on Saturday, seeking to alleviate concerns that conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza have distracted from America's security commitments in Asia.

Austin, who was speaking at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, met his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, on Friday in a bid to cool friction over issues... (continue reading...)