Putin: foreign-made tanks are ‘priority target’ for Russian forces in Ukraine

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Western supplies of weapons to Ukraine would change nothing on the battlefield but only further escalate the conflict, adding that foreign-made tanks were a “priority target” for Moscow’s forces. Putin, in comments to state television made after a NATO summit in which Ukraine won…

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EU bank unveils new fund worth 400 million euros to help rebuild Ukraine

By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union’s lending arm on Thursday unveiled a new fund worth 400 million euros ($447 mln) to spend on rebuilding Ukraine before the bloc’s longer-term reconstruction plan kicks in. Sixteen of the EU’s 27 countries said they would chip in to the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) Ukraine Trust…

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Tornadoes touch down near Chicago, disrupting air traffic

(Reuters) -Tornadoes and thunderstorms battered the greater Chicago area on Wednesday, temporarily forcing O’Hare and Midway airports to halt all air traffic, officials said, as tornado sirens echoed through the third biggest U.S. city. At least eight tornadoes touched down in four counties in northeastern Illinois, including four in Cook County, which is home to…

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Congo opposition spokesman shot dead months before election

KINSHASA (Reuters) -The spokesman for one of Democratic Republic of Congo’s main opposition parties was shot dead on Thursday, authorities said, raising tensions ahead of national elections in December. Video shared on social media purported to show the bullet-ridden body of Cherubin Okende, a former transport minister who was also a member of parliament, slumped…

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Explainer-What is happening in Sudan? Fighting in Khartoum explained

By Aidan Lewis KHARTOUM (Reuters) – A conflict in Sudan that erupted on April 15 has wrought havoc in the capital Khartoum, unleashed ethnic violence in Darfur, and uprooted more than three million people, including over 700,000 who have fled into neighbouring countries. WHAT TRIGGERED THE VIOLENCE? Tension had been building for months between Sudan’s…

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US appeals court opens docket on FTC effort to overturn loss on Microsoft deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. appeals court on the West Coast opened a docket on Thursday on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s effort to overturn its loss trying to stop Microsoft from buying “Call of Duty” maker Activision. A federal judge in California had ruled for Microsoft on Tuesday, saying the agency had failed to show…

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US ‘under no circumstances’ will pay climate reparations, Kerry says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States will not pay reparations to developing countries hit by climate-fueled disasters, John Kerry, the U.S. special envoy on climate change, told a congressional hearing on Thursday. Kerry, a former U.S. secretary of state, was asked during a hearing before a House of Representatives foreign affairs oversight subcommittee whether the U.S….

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Group challenges Texas ban on TikTok for public university employees

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A group on Thursday sued the state of Texas, claiming that research and teaching have been compromised by the state’s ban on public university employees using Chinese-owned short video app TikTok on state-owned devices or networks. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed suit in U.S. District Court…

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