Blinken says Armenia and Azerbaijan make ‘tangible progress’ in peace talks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Azerbaijan and Armenia have made “tangible progress” towards a peace agreement in negotiations this week in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday. Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars over 30 years focusing on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated mainly by Armenians. In…

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Sons of Mexican drug lord ‘El Chapo’ deny trafficking fentanyl in rare letter

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Sons of former Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman denied U.S. allegations that they were major traffickers flooding the United States with synthetic opioid fentanyl, addressing the claims against them in a rare letter. The U.S. Justice Department last month charged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel with trafficking fentanyl and…

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Hollywood insiders predict writers strike to drag on through summer

By Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Hollywood writers’ strike that kicked off this week could last well into the summer and likely beyond, top executives close to the discussions told Reuters this week. On day three of the walkout that has roiled the industry, the two sides remained so far…

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Syria to be readmitted soon to Arab League, Jordan minister says

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) – Syria should soon be able to return to the Arab League but many challenges lie ahead in resolving the country’s more than decade-old conflict, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on Friday. The organisation suspended Syria’s membership in 2011 over President Bashar al-Assad’s violent crackdown on an uprising that…

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Heavy fighting in Khartoum; Sudan’s children caught in conflict, UN says

By Khalid Abdelaziz and Mohamed Noureldin KHARTOUM (Reuters) -Fierce fighting persisted in Sudan on Thursday despite a truce agreement as U.S. intelligence said rival forces were trying to gain the upper hand ahead of possible negotiations and the U.N. warned of the violence’s devastating toll on children. Despite multiple ceasefire declarations, the two sides appeared…

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