European leaders head to Moldova for symbolic summit on Ukraine’s doorstep

By John Irish PARIS/CHISINAU (Reuters) – More than 40 European leaders meet in Moldova on Thursday in a show of support for the former Soviet republic and neighbouring Ukraine as Kyiv prepares to launch a counter-offensive against occupying Russian forces. The gathering of the EU’s 27 member states and 20 other European countries at a…

Read More

US agency says 8.3 million homes, businesses lack access to high-speed broadband

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -More than 8.3 million U.S. homes and businesses lack access to high-speed broadband internet, the Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday in unveiling its revised national broadband access map. The FCC said it has increased its estimates of homes and businesses without access by nearly 330,000 locations. The data is crucial…

Read More

State Farm stops new home insurance sales in California as wildfire risks grow

By Noor Zainab Hussain (Reuters) – State Farm said it would stop selling new insurance policies to homeowners in California, exacerbating troubles for thousands in the wildfire-prone state, who are already feeling the heat with coverage getting costlier or harder to come by. State Farm General Insurance Company – State Farm’s provider of homeowners insurance…

Read More

Climate battle looms as Smith wins Alberta election and targets Trudeau

By Steve Scherer and Nia Williams (Reuters) -Alberta’s election of conservative leader Danielle Smith puts her on a collision course with Canada’s Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over climate policies that she claims will undermine the province’s massive fossil fuel industry. Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP), defeated left-leaning New Democratic Rachel Notley…

Read More

Purdue Pharma can protect Sackler owners in opioid bankruptcy, court rules

By Dietrich Knauth NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bankrupt OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma can shield its owners, members of the wealthy Sackler family, from opioid lawsuits in exchange for a $6 billion contribution to the company’s broader bankruptcy settlement, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday. The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said…

Read More

US targets Syrian money service businesses in fresh sanctions

By Daphne Psaledakis WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Tuesday imposed punitive measures on two Syrian money service businesses it said help the government maintain access to the international financial system in violation of sanctions, in Washington’s first action targeting Syria since its readmittance to the Arab League. The U.S. Treasury Department in a…

Read More