By Kirsty Needham and David Brunnstrom SYDNEY/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and Palau agreed on Wednesday to renew a key strategic pact, part of U.S. efforts to shore up support among Pacific island states to counter competition from China, even as President Joe Biden called off a historic stop in the region. The two…
By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A group of bipartisan U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation Wednesday to bar automakers from eliminating AM broadcast radio in their new vehicles, citing safety concerns. Democratic Senator Edward Markey, one of the sponsors of the bill, said at least eight automakers have removed AM broadcast radio from their electric vehicles, including…
By Daniel Wiessner (Reuters) – A group of Republican-led U.S. states has asked a federal judge in Texas to strike down a Biden administration rule allowing socially conscious investing by retirement plans, saying it will imperil Americans’ retirement savings. Lawyers for the 25 states led by Utah and Texas said in a filing in Amarillo,…
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) – White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, asked on Wednesday about a recent break-in at his home, said he had “total faith” in the Secret Service. The Secret Service on Tuesday said it was investigating a security incident at the site of “protectee” but did not name Sullivan. The…
By Tatiana Gomozova and Lucy Papachristou MOSCOW (Reuters) – Three Russian academics who have worked on hypersonic missile technology face “very serious accusations”, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, in a treason investigation that has spread alarm through Russia’s scientific community. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was aware of an open letter from Siberian scientists…
By Kate Abnett BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Southern Europe is bracing for a summer of ferocious drought, with some regions already suffering water shortages and farmers expecting their worst yields in decades. As climate change makes the region hotter and drier, years of consecutive drought have depleted groundwater reserves. Soils have become bone dry in Spain and…
By Simon Lewis WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Myanmar’s military has imported at least $1 billion in arms and other material since it staged a coup in February 2021, a UN expert said on Wednesday in a new report that calls out Russia and China for aiding the junta’s deadly campaign to crush its opposition. Since the military…
By Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber GENEVA (Reuters) – Evgenia Kara-Murza, wife of jailed Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, said authorities were torturing him psychologically by denying him calls with his children while he serves a 25-year sentence on charges he says are politically motivated. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the Geneva Summit for Human Rights…
By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Rachael Rollins, the top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts, improperly used her U.S. Justice Department position to meddle in a local district attorney election by leaking to newspapers dirt about a political rival – one of many ethics violations cited in two reports by government investigators on Wednesday. The reports…
By Huseyin Hayatsever and Michelle Nichols ANKARA/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The Ukraine Black Sea grain deal has been extended for two more months, in what U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed as “good news for the world,” a day before Russia could have quit the pact over obstacles to its grain and fertiliser exports. Turkish President Tayyip…
