By Uditha Jayasinghe, Devjyot Ghoshal and Waruna Cudah Nimal Karunatilake COLOMBO (Reuters) -Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on Wednesday, driven out after an economic collapse unleashed a popular uprising that appeared to …
Barr confirmed as Fed’s newest governor as inflation roars
By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Michael Barr, a former top official at the U.S. Treasury, won Senate confirmation Wednesday to the Federal Reserve Board as its newest member, and he is expected to also be confirmed later in the day as the central…
Mexico sees $40 billion in U.S. investment through 2024 amid business talks
By Ted Hesson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. companies plan to invest $40 billion in Mexico between now and 2024, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told a meeting of U.S. and Mexican executives on Wednesday, according to Mexican Foreign Minist…
Ex-finance minister Sunak tops first vote to be next UK PM
By Michael Holden and Elizabeth Piper LONDON (Reuters) -Former finance minister Rishi Sunak won the biggest backing from Conservative lawmakers on Wednesday in the first vote to choose who will succeed Boris Johnson as party leader and British prime mi…
U.S. OKs American Airlines bid to resume service to some Cuban airports
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) on Wednesday approved American Airlines’ request to resume service to some smaller Cuban airports after President Joe Biden reversed his predecessor’s policy. American sought approval fo…
COVID cases down in Americas but Omicron subvariants driving new infections -PAHO
By Steven Grattan (Reuters) -The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on Wednesday warned of the growing number of COVID-19 cases caused by the highly infectious BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants of the coronavirus even as overall cases dipped in th…
Why world’s first malaria shot won’t reach millions of children who need it
By Jennifer Rigby, Natalie Grover and Maggie Fick LONDON/KISUMU, Kenya (Reuters) – After decades of work, the World Health Organization endorsed the first-ever malaria vaccine last year – a historic milestone that promised to drive back a disease that …
Biden savors Israel ‘homecoming’ as high-wire Saudi leg looms
By Steve Holland JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel embraced U.S. President Joe Biden as an old friend on Wednesday at the start of a high-stakes visit dominated by efforts to bring Israel closer to Saudi Arabia and persuade Washington’s Gulf allies to pump m…
Ukraine targets grain exports breakthrough at four-way talks
By Yesim Dikmen and Ali Kucukgocmen KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine said on Wednesday that an agreement to resume grain exports blocked by Russia appeared close as Turkey hosted four-way talks, raising hopes of an end to a standoff that has exposed millions t…
Explainer-What is the BA.5 variant and why does it seem to be reinfecting so many people with COVID-19?
By Jennifer Rigby and Julie Steenhuysen LONDON (Reuters) – BA.5, part of the Omicron family, is the latest coronavirus variant to cause widespread waves of infection globally. According to the World Health Organization’s most recent report, it was behi…