ASEAN chair urges unity as top diplomats meet amid Myanmar discord

By Kate Lamb and Stanley Widianto JAKARTA (Reuters) – ASEAN chair Indonesia on Tuesday stressed the importance of the regional bloc’s unity in remaining credible, as its foreign ministers started talks expected to touch on the thorny issue of engaging Myanmar’s ostracised ruling generals. The meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Jakarta…

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Israel’s Knesset gives first nod to contested Supreme Court bill

By Maayan Lubell JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel’s parliament has given initial approval to a bill that limits some Supreme Court power, part of a rebooted judicial overhaul by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that has set off a deep political crisis. The drive to change the justice system by Netanyahu’s ruling coalition of nationalist and religious parties…

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Spain 2023 election: PM Sanchez and rival Feijoo in chaotic live TV debate

MADRID (Reuters) -Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Alberto Nunez Feijoo, leader of the conservative People’s Party (PP), held a fractious live television debate on Monday, ahead of a national election on July 23. The pair tore into each other on a range of topics from the economy, housing, and pensions, to the environment,…

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Cuba seeks stronger EU-CELAC relations, condemns EU’s ‘manipulative behavior’

HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba will look to expand cooperation at an upcoming summit of European Union, Latin American and Caribbean leaders next week, its foreign minister said, but accused the EU of “manipulative behavior” that could hamper leaders’ ambitions. Heads of state from the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)…

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Analysis-Yellen’s China trip yields long meetings, ‘cordial’ tone, but no consensus

By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen went to Beijing with no expectations that meetings with China’s new top economic officials would immediately ease tensions between the world’s two largest economies. There was no breakthrough. And it’s far from clear whether the 10 hours of meetings, covering issues ranging from U.S….

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US House hardliners step up spending pressure as showdown looms

By David Morgan and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) -More than 20 U.S. House Republican hardliners warned Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday that they will try to block their party’s fiscal 2024 appropriations bills unless spending levels are cut below levels that McCarthy and Democratic President Joe Biden agreed to in May. The hardliners, including members…

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