Italy PM says good ties with China possible without Belt and Road

MILAN (Reuters) – Good relations with China are possible even without being part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) deal, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in an interview published on Sunday, as her government weighs abandoning the project. Italy is the only major Western country to have joined China’s BRI scheme, which envisions…

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Turkey election 2023: What’s at stake in the runoff?

(Reuters) -Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan aims to extend his rule into a third decade in an election on Sunday, with the momentum seen in his favour in the runoff vote after a first round showed him ahead of his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Already buoyed by a parliamentary majority won by his Islamist-rooted AK Party and…

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Explainer-US debt ceiling deal’s winding road to passage in Congress

By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy struck a deal on Saturday to suspend the federal government’s $31.4 trillion limit on U.S. government borrowing, in order to avert a catastrophic default as soon as June 5. Their challenge isn’t over. They now have to shepherd it…

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Analysis-Why a US debt deal may only provide short-term relief for markets

By Shankar Ramakrishnan, Davide Barbuscia, Saeed Azhar and Laura Matthews (Reuters) – Good news of a tentative deal for the U.S. debt ceiling impasse may quickly turn out to be bad news for financial markets. U.S. President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy on Saturday reached a tentative deal to raise the federal…

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Reaction: Biden, McCarthy debt ceiling deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy have reached a tentative deal to raise the federal government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, ending a months-long stalemate. Here are some quotes from the announcement and reactions to the news: DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN “Earlier this evening, Speaker McCarthy and I reached…

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Britain says border e-gates back in service after outage sparked delays

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s automated border control gates have returned to normal operation, the Home Office said on Saturday, after a nationwide system issue caused major delays. Images posted on social media earlier showed long queues of hundreds of people at London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports, with frustrated passengers complaining of having to wait several hours…

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US debt ceiling deal keeps non-defense spending roughly flat until FY 2024 – source

(Reuters) – A deal reached to raise the U.S. federal government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling keeps non-defense spending roughly flat for current fiscal year and 2024, a source familiar with the negotiations said on Saturday, There are no budget caps after 2025 in the U.S. debt deal, the source added. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing…

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Ukraine says Russia eases Bakhmut attacks, Kyiv talks up counteroffensive

KYIV (Reuters) -Russian troops have temporarily eased attacks in and around the besieged eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut to regroup and strengthen their capabilities, a senior Kyiv official said on Saturday. Separately, senior Ukrainian officials indicated their forces were ready to launch a long-promised counteroffensive to recapture territory taken by Russia since the start of…

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Truce reduces fighting in Sudan, but little relief for humanitarian crisis

By Khalid Abdelaziz and Nafisa Eltahir DUBAI/CAIRO (Reuters) -Khartoum was calmer on Saturday as a seven-day ceasefire appeared to reduce fighting between two rival military factions although it has not yet provided the promised humanitarian relief to millions trapped in the Sudanese capital. A truce signed on Monday by the two fighting parties – Sudan’s…

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