Chinese tourists are back, but numbers still far from pre-COVID levels

By Joe Cash and Pasit Kongkunakornkul BEIJING/BANGKOK (Reuters) – Bookings in China for trips abroad during the upcoming May Day holiday point to a continued recovery in travel to Asian countries, but the numbers remain far off pre-COVID levels with long-haul airfares soaring and not enough flights available. Overseas tour bookings for the upcoming holiday,…

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Brazil’s Lula condemns invasion of Ukraine, touts peace initiative

By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday condemned the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity by Russia and again called for mediation to end the war, a peace initiative that was criticized by the Ukrainian government. Speaking at a lunch with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Lula said a group…

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Big Japanese manufacturers remain gloomy as external demand ebbs – survey

By Tetsushi Kajimoto TOKYO (Reuters) -Big Japanese manufacturers remained pessimistic in April for a fourth straight month as jitters over Western banks added to slowing global growth, the monthly Reuters Tankan survey showed on Wednesday, dimming prospects for an export-led recovery. However, it also showed the service sector mood improved for a second straight month…

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Top US Senate Republican backs U.S. Supreme Court chief amid calls for Thomas probe

By Katharine Jackson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday expressed support for the Supreme Court’s chief justice as Democrats urge him to investigate luxury trips taken by Justice Clarence Thomas that were paid for by a Republican donor. “I have total confidence in the Chief Justice of the United States…

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US must stem ‘iron river’ of guns flowing to Latin America, activists say

By Sarah Morland (Reuters) – U.S. guns, many of them exported legally, are flowing into Latin America in an “iron river” ending in the hands of drug cartels and abusive security forces, activists said Monday, calling for greater oversight from U.S. law and federal agencies. More than half of “crime guns” recovered and traced in…

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