US appeals court opens docket on FTC effort to overturn loss on Microsoft deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. appeals court on the West Coast opened a docket on Thursday on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s effort to overturn its loss trying to stop Microsoft from buying “Call of Duty” maker Activision. A federal judge in California had ruled for Microsoft on Tuesday, saying the agency had failed to show…

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US ‘under no circumstances’ will pay climate reparations, Kerry says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States will not pay reparations to developing countries hit by climate-fueled disasters, John Kerry, the U.S. special envoy on climate change, told a congressional hearing on Thursday. Kerry, a former U.S. secretary of state, was asked during a hearing before a House of Representatives foreign affairs oversight subcommittee whether the U.S….

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Group challenges Texas ban on TikTok for public university employees

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A group on Thursday sued the state of Texas, claiming that research and teaching have been compromised by the state’s ban on public university employees using Chinese-owned short video app TikTok on state-owned devices or networks. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed suit in U.S. District Court…

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Blinken, Wang meet again for talks aimed at managing U.S.-China competition

By Gayatri Suroyo, David Brunnstrom and Simon Lewis JAKARTA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held “candid and constructive” talks with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi on Thursday in Indonesia’s capital, an official said, the latest in a series of interactions Washington says are aimed at managing competition between the rival superpowers. In…

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South African court rules against ex-president Zuma in parole release finding

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – South Africa’s top court on Thursday rejected an attempt to overturn a previous decision that found former president Jacob Zuma should go back to jail after being released early on medical parole. The Constitutional Court ruling could send Zuma back to prison, two years after his initial arrest sparked widespread protests…

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Jordan urges World Food Programme to reverse subsidy cuts for Syrian refugees

DUBAI (Reuters) – Jordan’s foreign minister on Thursday called on the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) to reverse a decision to cut food subsidies to Syrian refugees by Aug. 1. The WFP office in Amman told Reuters that an “unprecedented funding crisis” had forced it to cut food help for 50,000 out of some…

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Ukraine won military aid pledges worth 1.5 billion euros this week – minister

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine’s foreign partners pledged over 1.5 billion euros ($1.68 billion) in military aid for Kyiv while attending a NATO summit this week, Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Thursday. “Meetings in Vilnius were very productive,” Reznikov wrote on Twitter following the summit on Tuesday and Wednesday in the Lithuanian capital. “Ukraine will receive…

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Nearly 100 US lawmakers urge EPA to finalize tougher vehicle emissions cuts

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A group of 95 U.S. lawmakers on Thursday urged the Biden administration to finalize stricter emissions limits than it proposed in April, already prompting opposition from most automakers, a letter seen by Reuters showed. A dozen Democratic senators, including Ed Markey, Tom Carper, Alex Padilla, Ron Wyden, Elizabeth Warren,…

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