(Reuters) – The United States has called for a U.N. Security Council meeting on Friday to discuss North Korea’s attempted satellite launch this week, the spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the United Nations said. The launch on Wednesday was an attempt by North Korea to put its first spy satellite into space, but it…
By Andrew Gray and John Irish BULBOACA, Moldova (Reuters) – The presidents of Kosovo and Serbia held talks on Thursday on resolving a political crisis that has spiralled into violence, with the leaders of France and Germany pressing them to take swift steps to reduce tensions. Kosovo’s Vjosa Osmani and Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic met briefly…
By Hannah Lang (Reuters) – The dollar was on track for its worst daily loss in nearly a month on Thursday as U.S. manufacturing data and comments by Federal Reserve officials reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve will likely skip an interest rate hike at its upcoming meeting. The euro recovered from a two-month low on…
KHARTOUM/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on companies it accused of fuelling the conflict in Sudan, stepping up pressure on the army and a rival paramilitary force to stop fighting raging in Khartoum and other regions. The U.S. Treasury Department said it targeted two companies linked to the army, including the country’s…
By Marcelo Teixeira NEW YORK (Reuters) – A group of U.S. congressmen have formally complained about what they call unfair ethanol trade practices by Brazil that includes a blockade of U.S. companies seeking to take part in the Brazilian low-carbon biofuel program RenovaBio. The bipartisan group of 21 members of the U.S. Congress are asking…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sri Lanka is showing a “strong commitment” to implementing economic reforms but must continue this momentum amid a challenging economic environment, International Monetary Fund Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura said on Thursday. In a statement at the conclusion of his visit to Columbo, Okamura said continued open dialogue with Sri Lanka’s creditors…
By Marcela Ayres BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s economy rebounded more than expected in the first quarter, powered by a booming farm sector and paving the way for a rosier annual outlook despite a drag from high interest rates. Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 1.9% in the three months through March after a revised 0.1%…
By Wendell Roelf CAPE TOWN (Reuters) -BRICS foreign ministers on Thursday asserted their bloc’s ambition to rival Western powers but their talks in South Africa were overshadowed by questions over whether Russia’s president would be arrested if he attended a summit in August. South Africa’s foreign minister Naledi Pandor said her country was mulling options…
By Ann Saphir (Reuters) – U.S. central bankers should not raise interest rates at their next meeting, Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker said on Thursday, even though high inflation is coming down at a “disappointingly slow” pace. “It’s time to at least hit the stop button for one meeting and see how it goes,”…
MOSCOW (Reuters) – One of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s close allies on Thursday publicly criticised Russia’s most prominent mercenary, casting Yevgeny Prigozhin as a blogger who yells all the time about problems, drawing a stern rebuke from a top Wagner fighter. Addressing Prigozhin in a video message using the diminutive of “Zhenya” and the familiar…
