US confident of reaching strategic agreement with Marshall Islands, official says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration is confident about reaching a strategic agreement with the Marshall Islands, the State Department’s senior official for East Asia and the Pacific told Congress on Tuesday. The Pacific nation’s foreign minister last week called for more U.S. money to deal with the legacy of massive U.S. nuclear testing to…

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Biden re-election campaign HQ will be based in Delaware

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden will literally keep his re-election campaign headquarters close to home – Wilmington, Delaware, that is. Biden’s 2024 campaign team announced on Tuesday that the campaign apparatus will be headquartered in Wilmington, the Delaware city where the president has lived for decades. “My family’s values, my eternal optimism and my…

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US envoy Kerry says climate cooperation could redefine US-China ties

By Valerie Volcovici BEIJING (Reuters) -China and the United States could use climate cooperation to redefine their troubled relationship and lead the way in tackling global warming, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry told senior Chinese officials on Tuesday. Kerry’s three-day visit to China aimed at reviving climate cooperation between the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters…

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Childhood vaccination rates begin to recover post-pandemic – but not everywhere, U.N. says

By Jennifer Rigby LONDON (Reuters) – Efforts to vaccinate children worldwide against deadly diseases such as measles and diphtheria began to recover in 2022 after a historic backslide caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). But the recovery remains uneven,…

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Several G20 members condemn Russia quitting Black Sea grain deal

By Shivangi Acharya and Sarita Chaganti Singh GANDHINAGAR, India (Reuters) -Several G20 members condemned Russia’s move to quit an agreement that allowed safe export of grain from Ukraine, India’s finance minister said on Tuesday, as concerns rise in poorer countries over a rise in food prices following Moscow’s decision. Russia halted participation in the United…

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Congo’s former leader rejects accusations he harboured Islamist rebels

KAMPALA (Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo’s former president Joseph Kabila has rejected accusations from neighbouring Uganda that he gave sanctuary to an Islamist rebel group and allowed it to expand and exploit mineral resources. Kabila led Congo from 2001 to 2019 when he was succeeded by current president Felix Tshisekedi. Last week, Ugandan leader…

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Spanish court orders immediate extradition of Venezuela’s ex-spymaster to U.S

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s High Court on Tuesday ordered that global police agency Interpol immediately extradite a former director of Venezuelan military intelligence to the United States, where he is wanted on drug trafficking charges, from Spain. The decision comes after the European Court of Human Rights last week denied an effort by Hugo Carvajal…

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U.S. to announce $1.3 billion in military aid for Ukraine -sources

By Mike Stone WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States will announce a new pledge to buy $1.3 billion worth of military aid for Kyiv in its conflict with Russia in the coming days, two U.S. officials said. The previously unreported weapons package includes air defenses, counter-drone systems, exploding drones and ammunition, one of the U.S….

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