China natural disasters cost $3.3 billion in first quarter, government says

BEIJING (Reuters) – Floods, droughts, an earthquake and freezing conditions in China caused direct economic losses of 23.76 billion yuan ($3.28 billion) in the first quarter, the government said on Saturday. The emergency management ministry cited damage from several cold spells, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, landslides in Yunnan province…

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Diplomats push for progress on Haiti transition as death toll mounts

By Sarah Morland (Reuters) – Diplomats at a regional Americas body on Wednesday urged Haitian politicians to move forward with a delayed plan to replace Prime Minister Ariel Henry with a transitional council, a move which could trigger the long-awaited deployment of an international security force. The transitional council – agreed with the mediation of…

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Exclusive-Israeli tank strike killed ‘clearly identifiable’ Reuters reporter – UN report

By David Gauthier-Villars, Laila Bassam and Tom Perry ISTANBUL (Reuters) – An Israeli tank killed Reuters reporter Issam Abdallah in Lebanon last year by firing two 120 mm rounds at a group of “clearly identifiable journalists” in violation of international law, a U.N. investigation into the Oct. 13 incident has found. The investigation by the…

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