(Reuters) – Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the Kremlin’s staunchest ally in its war in Ukraine, said on Friday he was certain Russian tactical nuclear weapons deployed in his country would never be used. Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin have acknowledged that some tactical weapons have arrived in Belarus and the remainder would be put…
By Michael Martina WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. on Friday warned about a new Chinese counterespionage law, saying American and other foreign companies in the country could face penalties from Chinese authorities for regular business activities. Chinese lawmakers this year passed a wide-ranging update to Beijing’s anti-espionage legislation that goes into effect on July 1, banning…
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain, Australia and Canada have called on Israel’s government to reverse a decision to approve new settlement units in the West Bank, saying they are “deeply concerned” by an ongoing cycle of violence. This week, Israel approved over 5,700 new settlement units in the West Bank and earlier this month instituted changes…
By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) – UNESCO’s member states backed the United States’ return to the United Nations’ cultural organization almost five years after then-President Donald Trump ordered an American withdrawal, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday. “I am encouraged and grateful that today the (UNESCO) membership accepted our proposal, which will…
By David Lawder (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday that the U.S. economy is on a path to maintain a strong labor market while reducing inflation, even if the economy cools a bit more. Yellen said in prepared remarks at a residential solar power company in New Orleans that strong household and…
By Nandita Bose and Trevor Hunnicutt CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden worked to lift Americans’ dour mood about the economy with what his aides billed as a major speech on Wednesday, an effort to shore up a top political weakness as he seeks re-election. Biden, whose two-year term as president has witnessed a…
By Andrew Chung (Reuters) -In a blow to LGBT rights, the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Friday ruled that the constitutional right to free speech allows certain businesses to refuse to provide services for same-sex weddings, a decision that the dissenting liberal justices called a “license to discriminate.” The justices ruled 6-3 along ideological…
By Daphne Psaledakis and Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss political, security and humanitarian crises in Haiti with Prime Minister Ariel Henry next week, a State Department official said on Friday. Blinken will travel to Guyana and neighboring Trinidad and Tobago on July 5-6, the State Department said….
(Reuters) – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has questioned Goldman Sachs’ role in the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the profits it allegedly made in the process. “Goldman Sachs, serving as both the buyer of SVB-held bonds and the architect of failed efforts to raise capital for the bank, raked in profits and fees…
By Gabriel Stargardter RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s hopes of reclaiming the presidency in 2026 may be over. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be a Bolsonaro running in three years’ time. Brazil’s federal electoral court (TSE) on Friday froze Bolsonaro’s political career, barring the far-right nationalist from public office until…
