Brazil’s Lula says EU should ‘give up’ protectionism to reach Mercosur deal

By Catarina Demony (Reuters) – Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday the European Union should stop adopting a protectionist stance if it wants to reach a long-delayed trade deal with the Mercosur bloc. The EU and the Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay completed negotiations in 2019 but the…

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US Coast Guard ship transited Taiwan Strait after Blinken’s China visit -US Navy

TAIPEI (Reuters) -A U.S. Coast Guard ship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday in a transit that China described as “public hype”, after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken having wrapped up a high-profile, widely watched visit to Beijing a day earlier. The national security cutter Stratton made a “routine” Taiwan Strait transit on…

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Cash-strapped Casino to sell participation in Brazil’s Assai

PARIS (Reuters) – Heavily indebted French supermarket chain Casino on Thursday announced it would sell its residual equity stake in Brazilian retailer Assai, representing around 12% of the company’s share capital. The deal helps Casino improve its liquidity, the company said one day after announcing it had also reached an agreement with the French government…

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India’s Modi starts Washington visit to build Biden, US ties

By Nandita Bose, Jeff Mason and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to deepen defense and technology cooperation between their countries during Modi’s official visit to the White House, despite lingering concerns about human rights in India. Two days of carefully orchestrated official events had…

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