Gene J. Puskar / AP
TJX, Ross, and Burlington are planning to open about 300 U.S. stores combined in 2017, according to CNBC.
Why this matters: That's about the same number that Macy's, Sears, and J.C. Penney are closing this year. This is further evidence that if retailers aren't offering extreme discounts or extreme convenience, they'll keep losing business to those who do. Plus, guess which retail chains have seen climbing stock prices over the past year? (Hint: the off-price stores).
Photos: Graeme Jennings/Pool/Getty Images; Al Drago/Pool/Getty Images
China's Foreign Ministry announced Monday that it's imposing sanctions on Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) along with nine other Americans, including Freedom House president Michael Abramowitz and Human Rights Watch Executive director Kenneth Roth, per Bloomberg.
Why it matters: It's a direct response to similar actions by the U.S. that included the Trump administration placing sanctions on officials Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam last Friday over Beijing's encroachment of the Asian financial hub's s autonomy. China announced last month it would ban Rubio and Cruz from entering the country over their criticisms of human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.
Editor's note: This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.
Protesters and riot police clash in Minsk, Belarus, on Sunday during a demonstration against President Alexander Lukashenko's claim of a landslide victory. Photo: Misha Friedman/Getty Images)
Riot police clashed with protesters in Belarus overnight after a government exit poll predicted Sunday President Aleksander Lukashenko, an authoritarian who has ruled the Eastern European country since 1994, had overwhelmingly defeated a pro-democracy opposition candidate.
Why it matters: It's a precarious moment for the former Soviet republic, where decades of repression and a complete disregard for the coronavirus pandemic threaten to topple "Europe's last dictator." Rights groups said at least one protester was killed and dozens more wounded in a "police crackdown," per AP.
Anti-government protesters in Beirut. Photo: STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Lebanon’s information and environment ministers resigned Sunday in the wake of massive protests over the deadly blast in Beirut's port last week, per AP.
Why it matters: In her resignation letter, Information Minister Manal Abdel-Samad called change "elusive" and apologized for not delivering more to the country, which had been devastated by a financial crisis and the coronavirus pandemic even before the blast destroyed much of the capital city.