By John Irish and Sakura Murakami HIROSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) – Japan and France on Friday said they wanted to deepen bilateral cooperation after agreeing earlier this month to accelerate discussions for a joint military exercise framework with Paris hoping to push for reciprocal access agreements. Speaking ahead of a Group of Seven leaders summit in…
By Alexandra Valencia QUITO (Reuters) -Ecuador’s Constitutional Court on Thursday paved the way for early legislative and presidential elections, rejecting a series of cases brought by opposition politicians to block President Guillermo Lasso’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly. Members of opposition parties, along with social organizations, had presented six separate cases to the court,…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A group of U.S. Senate Democrats called on President Joe Biden to prepare to invoke the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment to avoid a debt default if negotiations with Republicans fail, according to a letter released on Thursday. Led by independent Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with the Democrats, the 11 lawmakers said while they…
By Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) – More than a year after escaping her native Kyiv with a broken leg one winter night, Lidiya Bibko lives in a tidy two-bedroom Tokyo flat as one of 2,300 Ukrainians who fled to Japan after the Russian invasion. Japan’s embrace of evacuees like Bibko has been unusual for a…
By Jeff Mason and Trevor Hunnicutt HIROSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) – The United States and the rest of the “Group of Seven” major economies will unveil new sanctions and export controls targeting Russia over its war against Ukraine, a U.S. official said ahead of a G7 summit in Japan. G7 leaders are gathering in Hiroshima on…
By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday urged federal and state officials to improve maintenance oversight for more than 10,000 U.S. bridges made of a specific type of steel, based on its review of a 2022 bridge collapse in Pittsburgh. The NTSB said officials should make sure any problems identified…
(Reuters) – Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to announce a ban on Russian diamonds and imports of metals from Russia including copper, aluminium and nickel in support for Ukraine, his government said in a statement. Britain is also targeting an additional 86 people and companies from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military industrial complex, in…
By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks closed higher for a second straight day on Thursday on mounting optimism that a U.S. debt ceiling deal could be reached within days, with discount retailer Walmart Inc providing additional support after an upbeat annual sales forecast. The benchmark S&P 500 index rebounded from early declines…
OTTAWA (Reuters) -Alberta officials on Thursday warned more wildfires could spread in next few hot and dry days, even as firefighters make progress in tackling widespread blazes that have slowed the outflow of natural gas from Canada into the United States, spiking prices. Record-high temperatures and tinder-dry vegetation have led to an intense, early start…
By Suban Abdulla LONDON (Reuters) – British consumer confidence has risen for the fourth month in a row to its highest in 15 months as households take a more positive view about the economy and their finances, despite inflation still in double digits, a survey showed on Friday. Market research firm GfK’s headline confidence index…
