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By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) – It turns out South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol can sing. At the end of a festive dinner at the White House on Wednesday, President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, President Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, moved from the East Room to the State Dining Room …

South Korea’s Yoon sings ‘American Pie’ at White House state dinner Read More »

By Laurie Chen BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese lawmakers passed a wide-ranging update to Beijing’s anti-espionage legislation on Wednesday, banning the transfer of any information related to national security and broadening the definition of spying. China’s top legislative body passed the revised Counter-Espionage Law – its first update since 2014 – following three days of deliberations, and …

China approves wide-ranging expansion of counter-espionage law Read More »

By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A jury on Wednesday convicted Grammy Award-winning rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel of The Fugees hip hop group on criminal charges that he conspired with a Malaysian financier to orchestrate a series of foreign lobbying campaigns aimed at influencing the U.S. government under two presidents. His conviction in federal court …

Fugees rapper convicted in US over lobbying campaigns with Malaysian financier Read More »

By Dan Peleschuk and Ethan Wang KYIV/BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, fulfilling a longstanding goal of Kyiv which had publicly sought such talks for months. Zelenskiy, describing the hour-long phone call as “long and meaningful”, signalled the importance …

Xi holds first talks with Zelenskiy since Russian invasion of Ukraine Read More »

By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The U.N. Security Council is set to vote on Thursday to condemn a ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations in Afghanistan and call upon the Taliban administration to “swiftly reverse” its crackdown on the rights of women and girls. The resolution to be voted on – …

UN Security Council set to condemn Taliban crackdown on Afghan women Read More »

(Reuters) -Russia said on Wednesday it had appointed one of its most senior army commanders to lead a peacekeeping force in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, as tensions rise again between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Russian peacekeepers were deployed in 2020 to end a war over Nagorno-Karabakh, the second that Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought since the …

Russia names new peacekeeping head as tensions rise between Armenia and Azerbaijan Read More »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Taliban have killed an Islamic State militant who was the “mastermind” behind a suicide attack at Kabul’s international airport in 2021 that killed 13 U.S. troops and scores of civilians during the United States’ chaotic evacuation from the country, U.S. officials said on Tuesday. The bombing occurred on Aug. 26, 2021, …

Kabul airport attack ‘mastermind’ killed by Taliban – U.S. officials Read More »

By Kanishka Singh and Nate Raymond WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A former Harvard University professor was sentenced on Wednesday to six months’ house arrest for lying about his ties to a China-run recruitment program, prosecutors said, in one of the highest-profile cases resulting from a crackdown on Chinese influence on U.S. research. Charles Lieber, a renowned nanoscientist …

Ex-Harvard professor sentenced to 6 months house arrest for lying about China ties Read More »

(Reuters) -Japan will end COVID-19 border measures on Saturday, earlier than expected, Jiji news agency reported, citing government sources. Japan had previously said COVID-19 measures would end on May 8, but the date was brought forward to ease congestion at airports at the start of a holiday, the report said. (Reporting by Eimi Yamamitsu; Editing …

Japan to end COVID border measures on Saturday, earlier than expected – Jiji Read More »