Yellen criticizes China’s ‘punitive’ actions against US companies, urges market reforms

By Andrea Shalal and Joe Cash BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on Friday for market reforms in China and criticized its recent tough actions against U.S. companies and mineral export controls, while China’s premier called on her to “meet China halfway” and put bilateral relations back on track. Yellen met with…

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Giuliani should be disbarred over 2020 election case, ethics panel finds

By Andrew Goudsward and Mike Scarcella (Reuters) – Rudy Giuliani’s law license should be revoked over his work on a failed lawsuit challenging the 2020 election results on behalf of then-U.S. President Donald Trump, a District of Columbia attorney ethics committee recommended on Friday. The committee of the D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility found that…

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White House says no clear answer on how to return WSJ reporter detained in Russia

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser said on Friday there was no clear answer on how to return Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter detained by Russia, to the United States. “I do not want to give false hope,” said the Biden aide, Jake Sullivan, in a briefing with reporters….

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Central bankers lay out digital currency cyber threat

By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) – The central bankers’ central bank, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), has laid out a seven-point plan designed to help countries prevent cyber hacks on the new wave of digital national currencies under development. Around 130 countries are now exploring central bank digital currencies (CBDC) to keep up with…

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Brazil’s lower house approves ‘historic’ tax reform bill

By Maria Carolina Marcello and Gabriel Araujo BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil’s lower house of Congress approved on Friday the main text of a tax reform that will restructure the country’s complex consumption taxes, a move President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva touted as a “great victory”. Such a reform – previously attempted by various administrations without…

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Blinken to press ASEAN to take tougher line on Myanmar, China – official

By David Brunnstrom and Simon Lewis WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Washington hopes to rally Southeast Asian nations to take tougher action against Myanmar’s military junta and to push back on China’s actions in the South China Sea as top U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken heads to the region for meetings next week, a State Department official said…

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Former US Army financial counselor charged with defrauding Gold Star families

By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) – A former U.S. Army financial counselor from New Jersey was criminally charged on Friday with defrauding grieving military families out of life insurance payments, causing millions of dollars of losses while reaping big commissions for himself. The U.S. Department of Justice charged Caz Craffy, 41, of Colts Neck, New Jersey,…

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Syria brought Wagner Group fighters to heel as mutiny unfolded in Russia

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi, Maya Gebeily BEIRUT (Reuters) -As Wagner mercenaries advanced on Moscow in an attempted mutiny in late June, authorities in Syria and Russian military commanders there took a series of swift measures against local Wagner operatives to prevent the uprising spreading, according to six sources familiar with the matter. The previously unreported crackdown…

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