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Russian support for Myanmar junta ‘destabilising’ Southeast Asia – U.S envoy

By Poppy McPherson BANGKOK (Reuters) -Russia’s backing for Myanmar’s military rulers is unacceptable and destabilising, with its supply of weapons helping to fuel a conflict that has become a catastrophe for the country, a top U.S. official said on Thursday. The United States is concerned about the wider impact of the escalating crisis in Myanmar …

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U.S. House panel on China highlights abuse of Uyghurs in second hearing

By Michael Martina WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A new U.S. congressional committee on China held its second hearing on Thursday, highlighting what Washington says is an ongoing genocide against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China’s Xinjiang region. Rights groups accuse Beijing of abuses, including forced labor, mass surveillance and having placed 1 million or more Uyghurs …

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Latest California storm leaves 5 dead from fallen trees in Bay area

By Steve Gorman and Brendan O’Brien LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The latest bout of harsh, wintry weather to lash California drifted into neighboring states of the Desert Southwest on Wednesday as authorities reported at least five storm-related deaths in and around San Francisco, all from fallen trees. As California’s onslaught of rain, wind and mountain …

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Ukraine says Russia’s Bakhmut assault loses steam, counterstrike coming soon

By Mike Collett-White WEST OF SOLEDAR, Ukraine (Reuters) – Ukrainian troops, on the defensive for four months, will launch a long-awaited counterassault “very soon” now that Russia’s huge winter offensive is losing steam without taking Bakhmut, Ukraine’s top ground forces commander said on Thursday. The remarks were the strongest indication yet from Kyiv that it …

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Yellen tries to assuage investor fears as bank stocks slide

By David Lawder, Kanishka Singh and Sinéad Carew (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sought to reassure jittery investors that American bank deposits were safe and promised policymakers had more firepower to battle any crisis even as bank stocks resumed their slide on Thursday. Investors have dumped banking stocks globally over the past two weeks, …

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Wall St ends higher as Yellen vows actions to safeguard deposits

By Stephen Culp NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street closed higher on Thursday as market participants were reassured by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s reassurances that measures will be taken to keep Americans’ deposits safe. All three major U.S. stock indexes reversed an earlier rally, turning red before clawing their way back to positive territory …

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Violence hits France in day of anger over Macron’s pension changes

By Horaci Garcia, John Irish and Ingrid Melander PARIS (Reuters) -Police fired tear gas and fought with violent black-clad anarchists in Paris and across France on Thursday as hundreds of thousands of protesters marched against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the pension age. The ninth day of nationwide protests, mostly peaceful, disrupted train and …

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Ethiopia scraps bid to end UN-ordered Tigray abuses probe early – sources

By Emma Farge GENEVA (Reuters) – Ethiopia has dropped a draft motion that sought to bring an early end to a U.N. mandated investigative probe into the Tigray war, diplomats and observers told Reuters, after pressure from Western countries. The International Commission on Ethiopia, the only independent probe into the two-year conflict which pitted Ethiopia’s …

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