Ukraine claims new gains in early phase of counteroffensive

By Tom Balmforth KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine said on Monday its troops had recaptured seven villages from Russian forces along an approximately 100-km (60-mile) front in the southeast since starting its long-anticipated counteroffensive last week. The task of ending Russia’s occupation of southern and eastern Ukraine is daunting, given Russia’s numerical superiority in men, ammunition and…

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Exclusive-Coalition aims to begin Ukrainian F-16 pilot training by summer – Dutch minister

By Anthony Deutsch VOLKEL AIR BASE, Netherlands (Reuters) – Ukrainian pilots could begin training to fly U.S.-manufacture F-16 fighter jets as soon as this summer, the Dutch defense minister has told Reuters, a first step toward supplying Kyiv with a powerful, long-term capability in its war with Russia. NATO allies the Netherlands and Denmark are…

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Judge in Trump criminal hush-money case can stay, NY ethics panel signals

By Karen Freifeld NEW YORK (Reuters) – A New York judicial ethics committee signaled that the state judge overseeing the criminal case against former President Donald Trump over hush money payments to a porn star will not need to recuse himself as Trump has requested. The one-page opinion released on Saturday by New York’s Advisory…

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Countdown to mega merger – how Credit Suisse wobbled and UBS rushed to rescue

ZURICH (Reuters) – UBS Group’s takeover of Credit Suisse, arranged by the Swiss authorities to stave off a broader banking crisis, became official on Monday. The closing of the tie-up marks the final chapter for the 167-year old institution after years of scandals and missteps eroded customer confidence and brought the lender to the edge….

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Americans should prepare for cyber sabotage from Chinese hackers, US official warns

By Raphael Satter WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Chinese hackers are all but certain to disrupt American critical infrastructure, such as pipelines and railways, in the event of a conflict with the United States, a senior U.S. cybersecurity official said Monday. In comments made during an appearance at the Aspen Institute in Washington, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security…

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France to intensify arms delivery to help Ukraine counter-offensive -Macron

PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said that a long-anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive against occupying Russian forces had started, and he promised more military aid to the Kyiv government. At a press conference after a meeting with Polish and German leaders, the so-called Weimar Triangle, Macron said: “We have done everything to help…

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Sudan war traps civilians after ceasefire ends

KHARTOUM (Reuters) -Air strikes, artillery and gunfire rocked several areas of Sudan’s capital on Monday as fighting between warring factions intensified for a second day, trapping civilians in a worsening humanitarian crisis. The war between the country’s army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has raged for almost two months, forcing almost 2 million to…

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Silvio Berlusconi, former Italian prime minister and media mogul, dies at 86

By Emilio Parodi, Elvira Pollina and Alvise Armellini MILAN (Reuters) -Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire media mogul and former Italian prime minister who transformed the nation’s politics with polarising policies and often alarmed his allies with his brazen remarks, died on Monday aged 86. Berlusconi, Italy’s longest-serving premier who counted Russian President Vladimir Putin as a…

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