Analysis-Vast China-Russia resources trade shifts to yuan from dollars in Ukraine fallout

By Chen Aizhu SINGAPORE (Reuters) – China has dramatically increased use of the yuan to buy Russian commodities over the past year, with nearly all of its purchases of oil, coal and some metals from its neighbour now settled in the Chinese currency instead of dollars, multiple trading executives with direct knowledge of the matter…

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Peru to extradite suspect in 2005 disappearance of Alabama teen

By Steve Gorman (Reuters) – A convicted killer imprisoned in Peru will be handed over to U.S. authorities to face extortion and fraud charges there stemming from the unsolved 2005 disappearance and presumed murder of an Alabama teenager, the Lima government said on Wednesday. The executive order from Peru’s Council of Ministers allowing the temporary…

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China, Ecuador sign free trade agreement, says Chinese commerce ministry

BEIJING (Reuters) – China and Ecuador signed a free trade agreement on May 11, China’s commerce ministry said on Thursday. The two sides will create a more favourable, transparent and stable business environment for enterprises through the FTA, and further stimulate the potential of trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, the ministry said….

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South Korea think tank cuts 2023 growth forecast due to poor exports

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s top government research body has cut its economic growth forecast for this year to 1.5% from its earlier view of 1.8%, saying a deeper and longer export slump than previously expected is likely to offset resilient private consumption. The Korea Development Institute’s latest projection compared with the 2.6% that Asia’s…

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South Korea to drop mandatory 7-day quarantine for COVID patients from June

By Hyonhee Shin SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea on Thursday lowered its crisis level for COVID-19 and will from June no longer require infected people to quarantine for seven days, dropping one of the country’s few remaining pandemic-related restrictions. Health authorities will still recommend five days of self-isolation for infected people but it will not…

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Border crossings top 10,000 daily as migrants seek US entry before Title 42 ends

By Mike Blake and Ted Hesson SAN DIEGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Thousands of migrants are crossing into the United States this week before a new regulation takes effect that could bar most who cross illegally from seeking asylum, while others gathered on the Mexico side amid confusion about U.S. policy. The U.S. rolled out a regulation on…

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Trump plays down consequences of a US default: ‘Could be maybe nothing’

By Tim Reid (Reuters) – Republican former President Donald Trump on Wednesday played down the severity of a potential U.S. government default, saying the consequences of a failure by Congress to raise the nation’s debt limit “could be maybe nothing.” Most economists warn that a failure to raise the debt ceiling by June 1, when…

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Cluster of Chinese vessels spotted near Russian rig off Vietnam – ship monitors

By Francesco Guarascio (Reuters) -A Chinese research vessel flanked by coast guard and nearly a dozen boats on Wednesday entered a gas block operated by Russian and Vietnamese state firms, two monitoring groups said, another potential flashpoint in the South China Sea. It follows a pattern of assertive moves of late by Beijing in its…

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Philippines Q1 GDP Slows To 6.4%, But Faster Than Forecast

Philippines Q1 GDP Slows To 6.4%, But Faster Than Forecast

MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippine economy expanded 6.4% in the first quarter from a year earlier, the statistics agency said on Thursday, topping expectations. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, growth slowed to 1.1% from the earlier reported 2.4% expansion in the previous three-month period. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected first quarter gross domestic product (GDP)…

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