Pent-up demand promises record tourist season for southern Europe

By Giselda Vagnoni ROME (Reuters) – After three years of pandemic travel restrictions and rocketing energy costs, tourism is back with a vengeance to boost the economies of southern Europe as sun-seekers make up for lost time. Early bookings suggest Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal could receive record tourism revenues this year, helping replenish state…

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Syria’s Assad shakes hands, kisses cheeks with onetime foes at Arab League summit

By Maya Gebeily (Reuters) – Every handshake would count, and Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad had plenty of them at Friday’s Arab League Summit – along with hugs and kisses – from his onetime foes in the region. As he strolled into the summit venue in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Friday afternoon, a beaming…

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Republican states to be hit hardest by proposed cuts in US debt ceiling fight

By Andy Sullivan LAKE CHARLES, La. (Reuters) -In Washington, Republican U.S. Representative Clay Higgins has been a vocal advocate for spending cuts. Back home in Louisiana, it’s a different story. The cowboy-hat wearing conservative regularly highlights federal funding for hospitals, bridges and ports in his district, while voting against the spending bills that include them…

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WHO recommends new COVID shots should target only XBB variants

(Reuters) – A World Health Organization (WHO) advisory group on Thursday recommended that this year’s COVID-19 booster shots be updated to target one of the currently dominant XBB variants. New formulations should aim to produce antibody responses to the XBB.1.5 or XBB.1.16 variants, the advisory group said, adding that other formulations or platforms that achieve…

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U.S. Democrats warn Biden against toughening aid for the poor

By Richard Cowan, Leah Douglas WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democrats in the U.S. Congress expressed frustration with President Joe Biden’s willingness to engage with Republicans demanding tougher work requirements for food aid recipients as part of any deal to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. They have stopped short of threatening to block such moves, as talks on…

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More than half of the world’s large lakes are drying up, study finds

By Gloria Dickie LONDON (Reuters) – More than half of the world’s large lakes and reservoirs have shrunk since the early 1990s, chiefly because of climate change, intensifying concerns about water for agriculture, hydropower and human consumption, a study published on Thursday found. A team of international researchers reported that some of the world’s most…

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US banks rethink social media as a threat, not a marketing tool

By Nupur Anand NEW YORK (Reuters) -Bankers are beefing up risk management, monitoring and emergency procedures around the use of social media after an internet-fueled run toppled Silicon Valley Bank two months ago and sparked turmoil in the industry. In board rooms across the United States, executives are devising programs and plans to counteract online…

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