Newly approved US flights by Chinese airlines avoid Russian airspace

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Chinese airlines are avoiding flying over Russian airspace in newly approved flights to and from the United States, according to flight tracking website FlightAware and industry officials. Russia has barred U.S. airlines and other foreign carriers from flying over its airspace, in retaliation for Washington banning Russian flights over…

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Dev Shah, 14, crowned US National Spelling Bee champion

By Brendan O’Brien and Steve Gorman (Reuters) -Dev Shah, a 14-year-old boy from Largo, Florida, won the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday, nailing the word “psammophile,” meaning an organism that thrives in sandy soils, in the 15th round of the contest’s finals. He edged out fellow eighth-grader Charlotte Walsh, 14, from Arlington, Virginia,…

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Trump, DeSantis trade barbs as 2024 campaign acrimony grows

(Reuters) – Former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis traded barbs on Thursday over who could most quickly fix the economy and reform government agencies as the battle between the top two Republican contenders grew increasingly acrimonious. Trump, who currently holds a large lead over DeSantis in a distant second in polls on…

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Bank of China chairman visits Papua New Guinea amid Sino-US strategic rivalry

By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY (Reuters) – Bank of China chairman Ge Haijiao has travelled to Papua New Guinea (PNG) as the world’s fourth-largest bank seeks an operating licence in the Pacific Islands nation, which is seeking to boost China trade while expanding U.S. defence ties. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week travelled to…

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Japan, South Korea finance ministers to hold next meeting on June 29

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and South Korean Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho will meet on June 29 in Tokyo for the next bilateral meeting, almost two months after the first talk between the two countries’ financial leaders in seven years. Japan’s top financial diplomat Masato Kanda and South Korea’s Deputy Minister for…

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