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…
By John Kruzel WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Democrats are pursuing legislation this week that would set a binding ethics code for the U.S. Supreme Court following revelations that some conservative justices have failed to disclose luxury trips and real estate transactions – a measure facing an uphill battle thanks to Republican opposition. Senate Judiciary Committee…
By David French (Reuters) – Bain Capital has raised $1.15 billion for its first fund dedicated to investing in the insurance industry, as the private equity firm aims to create and invest in companies in the sector, a senior executive told Reuters. The fund exceeded its initial $750 million target through backing from high-net-worth individuals,…
By Arshreet Singh (Reuters) – Major North American copper miners are likely to report a fall in second-quarter profits, as global growth concerns dented realized prices for the red metal and labor costs remained high. Freeport-McMoRan, Southern Copper and Teck Resources are estimated to post a combined adjusted profit of $1.53 billion for the April-June…
BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said more work was needed to iron out agreements with China on major issues, after three days of talks in Beijing designed to rebuild trust between the world’s two biggest greenhouse gas emitters. “We – our team and the United States administration – came to Beijing in…
By Rachna Uppal ABU DHABI (Reuters) – Abu Dhabi, the capital of major oil exporter United Arab Emirates, plans to double the contribution from its industrial sector to GDP, a senior government official said on Wednesday, amid growing regional competition to diversify from oil. Last year the industrial sector’s contribution to Abu Dhabi’s gross domestic…
