S.Korea, US, Japan hold drills as N.Korea slams US ‘nuclear blackmail’

By Hyonhee Shin SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea, the United States and Japan staged joint naval missile defence exercises on Monday to improve responses to North Korean threats, as Pyongyang accused Washington of ramping up “nuclear blackmail” with military drills. The three nations agreed at talks in Washington on Friday to hold regular missile defence…

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US Senator Fetterman returns to Senate after depression treatment

By Katharine Jackson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic U.S. Senator John Fetterman returned to work on Monday after weeks of treatment for depression, bringing a crucial vote back to a Senate narrowly controlled by Democrats. The Pennsylvania senator, 53, waved to cameras as he entered the Capitol in his customary hoodie and shorts. “It’s great to…

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Dozens of states criticize Russia for media ‘crackdown’ after reporter arrest

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The United States and more than 40 other countries said in a joint statement on Monday that they were deeply concerned over Russia’s detainment of a Wall Street Journal reporter and protested Moscow’s “efforts to limit and intimidate the media.” They also said in the statement, read to reporters at the United…

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Kremlin critic jailed in treason case for 25 years in harshest verdict of Putin era

By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW (Reuters) -Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza was jailed for 25 years by a Moscow court on Monday, the harshest sentence of its kind since Russia invaded Ukraine, after being convicted of treason and other offences in a trial he said was politically-motivated. Kara-Murza, 41, a father of three and an opposition politician…

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California city can’t enforce natural gas ban, appeals court says

By Clark Mindock NEW YORK (Reuters) -Berkeley, California, cannot ban natural gas hookups in new buildings because a U.S. federal law preempts its rule, a federal appeals court said Monday, siding with a challenge the state’s restaurant industry made. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said Berkeley’s 2019 ban on new…

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Analysis-Republican states could be hit hardest by McCarthy’s proposed spending cuts

By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The spending-cut proposals unveiled by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday could fall hardest on people in Republican-leaning states, a Reuters analysis of federal spending data found. McCarthy’s plan, which he presented as a condition for raising the United States’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, calls for…

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Republican US congressman asks judge to let probe into Trump case proceed

By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) -Republican U.S. congressman Jim Jordan on Monday asked a judge to let a House of Representatives panel’s investigation into the criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump proceed, saying a subpoena of a former Manhattan prosecutor was needed by lawmakers as they consider possible legislation. Jordan, chairman of the…

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Brazil’s govt working on extra revenue measures for second half -official

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s government is working on additional revenue measures to be announced in the second half of this year, said Revenue Chief Robinson Barreirinhas on Monday, highlighting confidence that this set of actions will improve public accounts. Speaking at a news conference on the 2024 budget bill, Barreirinhas stated that the measures would…

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Exclusive-G7 coalition to keep Russian oil price cap at $60 per barrel -source

By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Group of Seven (G7) coalition will keep a $60 per barrel price cap on seaborne Russian oil, a coalition official said, despite rising global crude prices and calls by some countries for a lower price cap to restrict Moscow’s revenues. The G7 and Australia made the decision to maintain…

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US homebuilder sentiment improves further; NY state manufacturing rebounds

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Confidence among U.S. single-family homebuilders improved for a fourth straight month in April as a dearth of previously owned homes and falling mortgage rates boosted demand for new houses, but a shortage of building materials remained a challenge. Other data on Monday showed manufacturing activity in New York state…

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