Biden administration announces $11 billion for rural clean energy projects

By Leah Douglas WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Rural electric cooperatives, utilities, and other energy providers will soon be able to apply for nearly $11 billion in grants and loans for clean energy projects, funded by the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act signed into law last August, the Biden administration said on Tuesday. Expanding clean energy to rural…

Read More

Biden vetoes legislation to block solar panel tariffs waivers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he has vetoed legislation passed by the U.S. Congress that would repeal exemptions on American tariffs on imported solar panels from four Southeast Asian nations. The waivers for duties on panels made in Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, granted by Biden in June 2022, are set to…

Read More

Pakistan to try ex-PM Khan’s violent supporters under army laws

By Asif Shahzad ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s civilian and military leaders on Tuesday said that rioters and their backers who attacked state assets and military installations to protest the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan will be tried under army laws. The decision was taken at a meeting of the National Security Committee chaired…

Read More

U.S. condemns reported arrest of former U.S. mission employee in Russia

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday it “strongly condemns” the reported arrest of Robert Shonov, a former employee of the United States’ mission in Russia, calling allegations he illegally collaborated with foreigners “wholly without merit.” Russian state news agency TASS reported on Monday that Shonov had been detained in the far…

Read More

Ukraine Supreme Court chief dismissed after being detained in bribery case

By Dan Peleschuk KYIV (Reuters) -The head of Ukraine’s Supreme Court was dismissed from his post on Tuesday after being detained in a bribery investigation which anti-corruption authorities cast as their biggest-ever case. Kyiv has redoubled efforts to clamp down on corruption despite Russia’s invasion, and doing so is vital to meet the conditions for…

Read More

European leaders meeting in Iceland to count cost of Russia’s war

By Andreas Rinke and Michel Rose REYKJAVIK (Reuters) -Ways to hold Russia to account for its war against Ukraine, including keeping a tally of losses and damage inflicted by Moscow’s forces, were the focus of talks as European leaders met in Iceland on Tuesday for a two-day summit. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel…

Read More

US consumer spending appears solid early in second quarter

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. consumer spending appears to have increased solidly in April, with households boosting purchases at online retailers as well as spending more at restaurants and bars, signs of resilience in the face of growing headwinds to the economy. The economy’s improving fortunes were further bolstered by other data on…

Read More

Five Germans handed jail sentence for Green Vault jewel heist

DRESDEN, Germany (Reuters) – A German court on Tuesday sentenced five men to several years behind bars for their involvement in a jewel heist in 2019 at a museum in Dresden which houses one of Europe’s greatest art collections. The pieces stolen from the break-in at the Gruenes Gewoelbe (Green Vault) museum in Dresden contained…

Read More