Israeli PM plans to meet with Florida’s DeSantis during Israel trip

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to meet with Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis when the expected 2024 presidential candidate visits Israel this week, Netanyahu said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. DeSantis is traveling abroad to Japan, South Korea, Israel and the United Kingdom. The visit to Israel coincides…

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Russia’s Medvedev warns Moscow will scrap grain deal if G7 bans exports

(Reuters) – Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday that if the G7 moved to ban exports to Russia, Moscow would respond by terminating the Black Sea Grain deal that enables vital exports of grain from Ukraine. The Group of Seven (G7) countries are considering a near-total ban on exports to Russia, Japan’s Kyodo…

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Israelis protest planned judicial overhaul ahead of 75th independence day

TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Israelis joined protests on Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to tighten controls on the Supreme Court, ahead of Israel’s independence day marking 75 years since establishment of the Jewish state. The plans were paused last month in the face of a wave of strikes and…

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Daughter of U.S. citizen jailed by Iran says she has lost confidence in US efforts

MADRID (Reuters) – The daughter of an environmentalist imprisoned by Iran said on Saturday she had lost confidence in U.S. President Joe Biden’s efforts to free her father. Morad Tahbaz, an Iranian-American who also holds British citizenship, has served five years of a 10-year sentence after being convicted of spying. He was briefly released to…

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U.S. military prepares options for possible Sudan evacuation

By Daphne Psaledakis and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military is preparing options to evacuate the U.S. Embassy in Sudan, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Friday as the Biden administration weighed whether to pull personnel out of the country’s increasingly unstable capital. “We’ve deployed some forces into theater to ensure that we…

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DeSantis to travel abroad as he gears up for expected presidential run

By Gram Slattery and James Oliphant WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is set to begin a trip abroad on Saturday taking him through Japan, South Korea, Israel and the United Kingdom. While the trip is officially billed as a trade mission, the tour…

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Turkey’s Erdogan says interest rates will fall as long as he is in power

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that interest rates will fall as long as he is in power, and that inflation will decline with them, repeating his unorthodox views. Erdogan was speaking in Istanbul weeks before a presidential election on May 14. Some anticipate a shift to more orthodox policies after…

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Explainer-Sudan’s conflict and what worries neighbours, the U.S. and others

(Reuters) – A conflict raging in Sudan is rattling neighbouring countries and worrying the United States and others for reasons ranging from concern about shared Nile waters and oil pipelines to the shape of a new government and a new humanitarian crisis in the making. Sudan, which relies heavily on foreign aid, is no stranger…

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