Pent-up demand promises record tourist season for southern Europe

By Giselda Vagnoni ROME (Reuters) – After three years of pandemic travel restrictions and rocketing energy costs, tourism is back with a vengeance to boost the economies of southern Europe as sun-seekers make up for lost time. Early bookings suggest Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal could receive record tourism revenues this year, helping replenish state…

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USC, NCAA face US agency’s claims that college athletes are employees

By Daniel Wiessner (Reuters) – A U.S. labor board official has accused the University of Southern California of blocking student athletes from unionizing by not treating them as employees, in the latest case to challenge the longstanding business model of college athletics. The National Labor Relations Board’s Los Angeles office in a complaint announced late…

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Syria’s Assad shakes hands, kisses cheeks with onetime foes at Arab League summit

By Maya Gebeily (Reuters) – Every handshake would count, and Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad had plenty of them at Friday’s Arab League Summit – along with hugs and kisses – from his onetime foes in the region. As he strolled into the summit venue in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Friday afternoon, a beaming…

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Republican states to be hit hardest by proposed cuts in US debt ceiling fight

By Andy Sullivan LAKE CHARLES, La. (Reuters) -In Washington, Republican U.S. Representative Clay Higgins has been a vocal advocate for spending cuts. Back home in Louisiana, it’s a different story. The cowboy-hat wearing conservative regularly highlights federal funding for hospitals, bridges and ports in his district, while voting against the spending bills that include them…

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WHO recommends new COVID shots should target only XBB variants

(Reuters) – A World Health Organization (WHO) advisory group on Thursday recommended that this year’s COVID-19 booster shots be updated to target one of the currently dominant XBB variants. New formulations should aim to produce antibody responses to the XBB.1.5 or XBB.1.16 variants, the advisory group said, adding that other formulations or platforms that achieve…

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