China

Physicists at the University of California, Berkeley, calculated that about 1.6 million people in China die each year from heart, lung and stroke problems because of incredibly polluted air, especially small particles of haze.

Earlier studies put the annual Chinese air pollution death toll at 1 to 2 million, but this is the first to use newly released Chinese air monitoring figures.

China's government said the devaluation of the yuan was part of reforms meant to make its exchange rate more market-oriented. But the decision has added to worries over slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy and that Western companies might find it harder to sell their goods there.

Adm. Scott Swift joined the surveillance mission on board a P-8A Poseidon plane on Saturday to witness the aircraft's full range of capabilities, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said Sunday.

The Navy has acquired and plans to purchase more of the versatile aircraft to replace its aging P-3 Orion fleet. The plane can be used for a range of undertakings, including anti-submarine warfare, and surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

The ruling Nationalist Party on Sunday picked as its candidate Hung Hsiu-chu, a former teacher and the current deputy legislative speaker. Hung, who supports friendly relations with China, will run against Tsai Ing-wen, the opposition Democratic Progressive Party chairwoman and an advocate of more cautious relations with Beijing. Tsai leads in opinion polls ahead of January's election.

Ties with Beijing, long icy but cordial since 2008, have shaped up as an early campaign issue.

The new species named Zhenyuanlong suni is a close cousin of the dinosaur predator Velociraptor.

Scientists said the new addition, which lived around 125 million years ago, had multiple layers of dense feathers covering both its wings and tail. Experts, however, believe the feathers are more for display instead of flying.

The IMF’s new data set, released in April with its latest World Economic Outlook report, estimates that in real terms (corrected for price differences, that is), China’s output in 2014 edged ahead of the United States for the first time. There was little between them: assuming its national accounts are correct, China produced goods and services worth US$17.6 trillion, just $198 billion more than US production of US$17.4 trillion.

The Office of Personnel Management says more than 19 million who had applied for background investigations were affected. The government also said nearly 2 million people were also affected who weren't applicants, but rather their spouses or other family members.

The Dow Jones industrial average declined 132 points, or 0.7 percent, to 17,649 as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time.

The Standard & Poor's 500 gave up 13 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,068. The Nasdaq fell 32 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,965.

Stocks fell 6 percent in Shanghai despite the Chinese government's latest efforts to shore up the market. Chinese stocks have plunged in the last month but are still up 70 percent over the past year.

European markets were broadly higher as talks continue on Greece's debt woes.

Twenty one Chinese securities companies, in a statement released Saturday, said they would pledge no less than 120 billion yuan ($19.33 billion) to invest in Chinese stocks. The securities companies also said they would continue to invest in the market as long the Shanghai Composite index remains below 4,500. It closed at 3,686 on Friday.

Chinese regulators have also decided to suspend new Chinese initial public offerings, according to The Wall Street Journal.