Australian lawmakers meet US envoy to seek release of Julian Assange

By Renju Jose and Kanishka Singh SYDNEY/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A cross-party delegation of Australian lawmakers said on Tuesday they met U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, urging her to help drop the pending extradition case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and allow him to return to Australia. The “Bring Julian Assange Home Parliamentary Group” said it had informed…

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Analysis-Fears mount for the Arctic as cooperation with Russia stalls

By Humeyra Pamuk, Gloria Dickie and Gwladys Fouche WASHINGTON/LONDON/OSLO (Reuters) – For nearly three decades, the Arctic Council has been a successful example of post-Cold War cooperation. Its eight members, including Russia and the United States, have cooperated on climate-change research and social development across the ecologically sensitive region. Now, a year after council members…

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IMF still concerned by banking sector wobbles – chief economist

PARIS (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund remains concerned about recent turbulence in the banking sector despite actions by the U.S. and Swiss authorities to deal with troubled banks on their watch, its chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said on Monday. Speaking to journalists in Paris, he added that “the story is not over” and that…

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Li-Cycle and Glencore unveil plans for recycling hub in Italy

(Reuters) – Battery recycler Li-Cycle Holdings Corp said on Tuesday it planned to develop a recycling hub in Italy along with Swiss miner and commodity trader Glencore Plc to produce battery materials including lithium. Canada-based Li-Cycle had earlier announced in March that it would be building a French battery processing facility amid rising demand for…

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Thailand’s influential ex-PM Thaksin eyes July return from exile

By Panu Wongcha-um BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand’s billionaire former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on Tuesday he would return home in July after 17 years in self-imposed exile, just days ahead of an election his party is expected to win. Although Thaksin, arguably Thailand’s most influential and divisive former leader, has failed to make good on…

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AI pioneer says its threat to world may be ‘more urgent’ than climate change

By Martin Coulter LONDON (Reuters) – Artificial intelligence could pose a “more urgent” threat to humanity than climate change, AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton told Reuters in an interview on Friday.  Geoffrey Hinton, widely known as one of the “godfathers of AI”, recently announced he had quit Alphabet after a decade at the firm, saying he…

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