Explainer-How could a US debt ceiling default hit regular Americans?

By Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) – What could happen on Main Street if Washington’s political showdown over the debt ceiling stopped the government from cutting checks that fund a quarter of the economy? Americans could quickly notice painful blows to their retirement accounts as stock markets swooned, and within days the lack of federal payments…

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Turkish court acquits three people in retrial over Ghosn escape – lawyer

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A Turkish court acquitted three people over former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn’s escape via Istanbul to Lebanon after fleeing Japan, a lawyer for one of the defendants said on Tuesday. A jet company executive and two pilots, who were detained for several months, were convicted to four years and two months in…

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US monthly home prices increase in March, surveys show

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. single-family home prices increased solidly on a monthly basis in March, boosted by a persistent shortage of properties on the market, though the overall trend continued to point to a slowdown in house price inflation. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, climbed 0.4%…

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North Korea to launch first military spy satellite in June

By Soo-hyang Choi SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea will launch its first military reconnaissance satellite in June for monitoring U.S. activities, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday, drawing criticism over its potential use of banned missile technology. Ri Pyong Chol, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, denounced ongoing joint…

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Uganda enacts harsh anti-LGBTQ law including death penalty

KAMPALA (Reuters) – Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni signed one of the world’s toughest anti-LGBTQ laws, including the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”, drawing Western condemnation and risking sanctions from aid donors. Same-sex relations were already illegal in Uganda, as in more than 30 African countries, but the new law goes further. It stipulates capital punishment…

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