US asks appeals court to pause Microsoft deal after lower court refuses

By Diane Bartz and David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday asked an appeals court to temporarily stop Microsoft from closing its $69 billion purchase of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard, just hours after a federal judge rejected a similar request. The San Francisco federal court had ruled in favor…

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Russian Duma completes passage of bill banning gender change

By Lucy Papachristou (Reuters) – A sweeping Russian draft law to ban legally or medically changing gender was approved by the lower house of parliament on Friday in its final reading, part of a crackdown against LGBT rights under President Vladimir Putin. The bill would bar Russians from changing their gender on official identity documents,…

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Roivant in talks to sell bowel disease drug to Roche in over $7 billion deal – WSJ

(Reuters) -Biotech company Roivant Sciences is in talks to sell an experimental drug to treat inflammatory bowel diseases, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, to Roche in a deal that could be valued at more than $7 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The sale of the drug could be announced in the…

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Divisive China, Taiwan bids to join Pacific trade pact in focus at meet

By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Members of a major trans-Pacific trade pact meeting in Auckland on Sunday are set to discuss applications by China and Taiwan to join the group, proposals that have deepened the rancour among the neighbours and divided the opinions of member-nations. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)…

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Russia launches overnight drone attack on Ukrainian president’s hometown

KYIV (Reuters) – A 56-year-old man was injured in an overnight Russian drone strike on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s hometown, the central city of Kryvyi Rih, the regional governor said on Friday. The attack damaged a number of buildings in Kryvyi Rih but Ukraine’s air force said 16 of the 17 Iranian-made Shahed attack drones…

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China central bank to use tools such as RRR to tackle economic woes

By Kevin Yao BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s central bank will use policy tools such as the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) and medium-term lending facility to weather the challenges facing the world’s second-largest economy, a senior bank official said on Friday. Momentum in China’s post-pandemic recovery has slowed sharply after a brisk pickup in the first quarter,…

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