US Coast Guard ship transited Taiwan Strait after Blinken’s China visit -US Navy

TAIPEI (Reuters) -A U.S. Coast Guard ship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday in a transit that China described as “public hype”, after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken having wrapped up a high-profile, widely watched visit to Beijing a day earlier. The national security cutter Stratton made a “routine” Taiwan Strait transit on…

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India’s Modi starts Washington visit to build Biden, US ties

By Nandita Bose, Jeff Mason and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to deepen defense and technology cooperation between their countries during Modi’s official visit to the White House, despite lingering concerns about human rights in India. Two days of carefully orchestrated official events had…

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India’s PM Modi to join Biden in rare press conference, questions limited

By Nandita Bose WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden and visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver remarks and take questions from journalists on Thursday during the Indian leader’s state visit, an event a senior White House official called a “big deal” It is unusual for Modi to take questions from the media, beyond…

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Exclusive-US to ease visas for skilled Indian workers as Modi visits

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Ted Hesson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration will make it easier for Indians to live and work in the United States, using this week’s state visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help some skilled workers enter or remain in the country, according to three people familiar with the matter….

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Bidens to greet India’s Modi with lotus blooms, but no Gujarati food

By Jeff Mason and Nandita Bose WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a White House decorated with peacocks and lotus blooms on Thursday, hosting a vegetarian dinner but no specialties from Modi’s home state of Gujarat. Modi, a strict Hindu who follows…

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Time running out for Titanic sub as search focuses on undersea sounds

By Joseph Ax and Steve Gorman (Reuters) -Rescuers searching for a missing submersible near the wreck of the Titanic focused on Wednesday on a remote patch of the North Atlantic where undersea noises were detected, although officials cautioned the sounds may not have originated from the vessel. With the submersible’s air supply expected to run…

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Reformer fire quickly put out at Exxon Baytown, Texas, refinery – sources

HOUSTON (Reuters) – A fire on a reformer at Exxon Mobil Corp’s 564,440 barrel-per-day (bpd) Baytown, Texas, refinery was quickly extinguished on Wednesday, said people familiar with plant operations. The fire was put out a few minutes after it began on Wednesday afternoon on the 65,000-bpd Hydroformer 4, the sources said. No injuries were reported….

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Rescue efforts for missing Titanic submersible captivate worldwide audience

By Gabriella Borter (Reuters) – Around the world, the story of the missing Titanic submersible and its rescue operation’s race against time has been riveting onlookers. People have been glued to their television screens, fascinated by maritime experts detailing the hurdles for rescue efforts in a vast expanse of sea. They have been watching their…

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US announces new visa restriction policy for those who have assisted fugitives

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department on Wednesday announced a new visa restriction policy targeting foreign government officials and agents who assist fugitives in evading the U.S. justice system. The Fallon Smart policy is named after a 15-year-old who was killed in a hit-and-run incident in Oregon in 2016, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken…

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Powell: Half-point of additional hikes a ‘good guess’ of policy outcome

By Howard Schneider WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Further Federal Reserve rate increases are “a pretty good guess” of where the central bank is heading if the economy continues in its current direction, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in remarks on Wednesday to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. In response to a question late in a three-hour hearing before…

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