JAKARTA (Reuters) – The world’s two biggest palm oil producers Indonesia and Malaysia will send top officials to the European Union next week to voice concern over a new deforestation law they believe could be detrimental to small farming businesses. Indonesia and Malaysia accounts for about 85% of global palm oil exports and the EU…
By Hyonhee Shin SEOUL (Reuters) – Hundreds of thousands of South Korean artillery rounds are on their way to Ukraine via the United States, after Seoul’s initial resistance toward arming Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The Journal, citing unnamed sources, said Seoul had reached a “confidential arrangement” with Washington to transfer the…
By Michael Martina and Humeyra Pamuk WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department’s top China policy official Rick Waters is set to step down at a time of fraught relations between Washington and Beijing. Waters, deputy assistant secretary of State for China and Taiwan who leads the department’s recently created China House policy division, will leave…
By David Morgan, Andrea Shalal and Moira Warburton WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Negotiators for Democratic President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy held what both sides called productive talks on Wednesday to try to reach a deal to raise the United States’ $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and avoid a catastrophic default. After a four-hour White…
By Tim Reid (Reuters) – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis entered the battle for the 2024 presidential election during a chaotic, glitch-filled online forum on Twitter hosted by its billionaire owner, Elon Musk. Here are three takeaways from the DeSantis announcement: TWITTER CAN BE DANGEROUS TO YOUR CAMPAIGN’S HEALTH DeSantis’ decision to announce his White House…
(Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy renewed his appeal on Wednesday for U.S.-built F-16 fighter jets, saying their appearance with Ukrainian pilots would be a sure signal from the world that Russia’s invasion would end in defeat. “The main thing is the speed in training and in supply – meaning the time between decisions in real…
By James Oliphant WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suffered a chaotic start to his 2024 presidential election race on Wednesday when glitches marred an online forum hosted by Twitter owner Elon Musk that was meant to showcase DeSantis’ fitness for the job. The Twitter broadcast of the hour-long interview , which had been intended…
By Lewis Krauskopf, Shreyashi Sanyal and Shristi Achar A (Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes ended lower on Wednesday as talks between the White House and Republican representatives on raising the U.S. debt ceiling dragged on without a deal. The lack of progress on raising the U.S. government’s $31.4 trillion debt limit ahead of a…
By Steve Scherer OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada and Saudi Arabia have agreed to restore full diplomatic ties and appoint new ambassadors, both countries said on Wednesday, bringing to a close a 2018 dispute that damaged relations and trade. The decision follows discussions held between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman…
By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden has picked U.S. Air Force chief General Charles Q. Brown as the top U.S. military officer, the White House said on Wednesday, elevating a former fighter pilot with experience in the Pacific at a time of rising tension with China. Brown, whose long-anticipated appointment…
