China’s security drive hits embassy activities, LGBT events, some diplomats say

By Laurie Chen, Yew Lun Tian and Brenda Goh BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Some diplomats in China say they are facing heightened scrutiny and interference from Chinese authorities, which is thwarting foreign officials’ efforts to re-engage with the country after three years of COVID-induced isolation. Twenty envoys from 12 Western and Asian delegations told Reuters that…

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Friction and confusion among Russian leadership since mutiny -U.S. general

By Idrees Ali ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT (Reuters) – Russia’s leadership is suffering a significant amount of “friction and confusion” since the Wagner mercenary group’s mutiny last month, but the impact it is having on front lines in Ukraine is still uncertain, the United States’ top general said on Thursday. The June 24 mutiny…

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Analysis-Italy’s Meloni faces reality check as migrant flows rise relentlessly

By Crispian Balmer and Angelo Amante ROME (Reuters) – Just as King Canute failed to hold back the seas, so Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has floundered in her efforts to stop the flow of migrants to Italy since she took office last October. Despite pledges before last year’s national election that she would cut immigration,…

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Analysis-Partnering with Coinbase could hinder bid for bitcoin ETF approval

By John McCrank and Michelle Price WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Partnering with Coinbase Global may hinder rather than help Nasdaq’s bid to win regulatory approval for a bitcoin exchange-traded-fund it wants to launch with BlackRock. Nasdaq last month filed a proposal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch an ETF by BlackRock that…

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Russia is rotting in absurdity and repression, veteran rights campaigner says

(This July 12 story has been refiled to remove an additional word in paragraph 1) By Guy Faulconbridge and Filipp Lebedev MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia is decaying in a potent brew of absurdity and repression that is comparable to the Leonid Brezhnev-era of the Soviet Union, Oleg Orlov, one of Russia’s most respected human rights…

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