Pope skips speech, blaming breathing difficulties after surgery

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis skipped reading a planned speech at a conference on Thursday, saying he still had breathing problems following a hernia operation this month. “I am still under the effects of anaesthesia, my breathing is not good,” Francis told a meeting of the Catholic Oriental Church, saying delegates would instead receive…

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Six people in critical condition, one still missing after Paris blast – prosecutor

PARIS (Reuters) – Six people remained in a critical condition and one person was believed still missing on Thursday, one day after a blast ripped through a street near Paris’ historic Latin Quarter, the city’s public prosecution office said. “These figures may still change,” prosecutor Maylis De Roeck told Reuters in a text message, adding…

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Russian court rejects U.S. reporter Gershkovich’s appeal against pre-trial detention

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian court on Thursday rejected U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich’s appeal against his pre-trial detention on charges of espionage that he denies, a Reuters reporter at the court said. Gershkovich, 31, was arrested in March and accused by the FSB security service of collecting military secrets in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg….

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Battle of billionaires: Musk’s Starlink eyes India, Ambani resists

By Aditya Kalra, Munsif Vengattil and Aditi Shah NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Elon Musk is eager to bring his Starlink satellite broadband to India, but the world’s richest man faces strong resistance from Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s wealthiest, who runs Indian telecom giant Reliance Jio. Following a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the…

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Ukraine military reports ‘partial success’ in southeast, east fighting

KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s military on Thursday reported “partial success” in fighting in the southeast and east, where it said its troops were continuing to conduct offensive operations. Kyiv’s forces, which began a military push against Russian forces this month, were reinforcing the positions they reached after attacking towards the southeastern villages of Rivnopil and…

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Explainer-What is the ‘Bridgetown Initiative’ asking for at Paris summit?

PARIS (Reuters) – President Macron hosts a summit in Paris starting Thursday to discuss reform of the world’s multilateral finance institutions in the face of climate change and other development challenges. A key topic of discussion will be suggestions from a groupof developing countries, led by Barbados, dubbed the ‘BridgetownInitiative’. The key demands of the…

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Deadly China blast sparks fears about safety at BBQ restaurants

By Ryan Woo BEIJING (Reuters) -A gas explosion at a barbecue eatery on Wednesday night in China’s northwestern Ningxia region killed 31, according to state-run Xinhua news agency, in one of the country’s deadliest restaurant blasts in recent years. The explosion at the two-storey establishment sparked discussion on Chinese social media about the safety of…

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