(Reuters) – Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday it would deem all ships travelling to Ukrainian ports to be potential carriers of military cargo and their flag countries to be parties to the conflict on the Ukrainian side. The move follows Russia’s decision this week to pull out of the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain export…
By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. single-family homebuilding fell in June, but permits for future construction rose to a 12-month high as a severe shortage of previously owned houses for sale supports new construction. The decline in housing starts reported by the Commerce Department on Wednesday partially retraced an abnormally large 18.7% surge in…
(Reuters) – The World Health Organization on Wednesday urged governments and local authorities to set up a strong surveillance system for people who are most at risk of severe symptoms from a heatwave that is baking the northern hemisphere. People with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and diabetes, as well as pregnant women, children and homeless…
By Hannah Lang and Matt Tracy (Reuters) – U.S. financial technology companies are tightening their lending standards, a move that has bolstered their access to debt financing from Wall Street investors, according to industry executives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many fintechs began lending to borrowers with imperfect credit, but Wall Street investors were comfortable buying…
KYIV (Reuters) – Talks being mediated by Saudi Arabia and Turkey on the repatriation of Ukrainian thousands of children taken to Russia since Moscow’s invasion have been under way since at least April, a source with knowledge of the discussions said on Wednesday. The source confirmed a Financial Times report that Riyadh and Istanbul were…
By Stamos Prousalis and Stelios Misinas ATHENS (Reuters) – Fires raged across Greece on Wednesday, destroying forests on Rhodes and gutting homes close to Athens as a new heatwave loomed and threatened to further stoke tinderbox conditions across the country. Firefighters backed with air water bombers battled a resurgence of flames west of Athens which…
By Foo Yun Chee and Benoit Van Overstraeten BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A U.S. economist chosen for a senior European Union antitrust job pulled out on Wednesday after her appointment triggered criticism from the president of France and some EU lawmakers. Fiona Scott Morton, chief economist at the U.S. Department of Justice during the Obama administration,…
By Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat BANGKOK (Reuters) -The leader of Thailand’s election-winning Move Forward Party met fresh obstacles in his prime ministerial bid on Wednesday, as a court suspended him as a lawmaker and rivals successfully scuttled his re-nomination in parliament. U.S.-educated liberal Pita Limjaroenrat has an extremely difficult path to the top job…
By Hannah Lang (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accepted applications to create spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds from six firms including BlackRock for review, the first step in the agency’s process for deciding whether or not to approve the latest round of proposals. The SEC also formally acknowledged applications from Bitwise,…
By Asif Shahzad ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan will open criminal proceedings against former prime minister Imran Khan on charges of exposing official secrets, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Wednesday, the latest in a string of cases the former premier has been facing. The case is related to diplomatic correspondence between Washington and Islamabad, which Khan…
