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☆ Embattled Republican Santos faces new heat over 'Jew-ish' heritage claim
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Republican Jewish Coalition said Santos would not be welcome at the group's future events after misleading its members about his ties to their faith. Santos has vowed to serve out his two-year term in Congress, and House Republican leaders have been silent about the controversy. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background, I said I was 'Jew-ish'," the Post quoted him as saying. I'm sorry," Santos told the Post on Monday. "I am not a criminal here - not here or in Brazil or any jurisdiction in the world," Santos told the Post.

☆ Brazil police investigate suspected bomb threat ahead of inauguration
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/8] A member of the security forces works following a suspected bomb threat in the city's hotel section, close to where President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is staying before his Jan. 1 inauguration, according to the federal district's security department, in Brasilia, Brazil, December 27, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano MachadoBRASILIA, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Police in Brazil's capital, Brasilia, were investigating a suspected bomb threat in the city's hotel section, close to where President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was staying before his Jan. 1 inauguration, the federal district's security department said on Tuesday. A Reuters witness said sirens and helicopters could be heard from the hotel where Lula was staying. Brasilia's military police said a backpack had been found and the bomb squad had been called out of precaution. Reporting by Ricardo Brito and Lisandra Paraguassu; Editing by Leslie Adler and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Arizona governor-elect asks court to sanction election denier Lake
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 26 (Reuters) - Arizona's Democratic Governor-elect Katie Hobbs asked a court on Monday to sanction defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake over her failed effort to overturn the state's election results. Hobbs joined a motion by Maricopa County for sanctions on Lake and her attorneys in which the county's deputy attorney Thomas P. Liddy wrote Lake filed a "groundless" lawsuit for a "frivolous pursuit," court documents showed. Her suit claimed "hundreds of thousands of illegal ballots infected the election" in Maricopa, the state's most populous county. In a separate court filing, Hobbs also asked the Superior Court in Maricopa County to award her over $600,000 to compensate for fees and expenses accrued in defending against Lake's lawsuit. Lake was one of the most prominent of the Trump-aligned Republican candidates who lost battleground state races in the midterm elections.

☆ Tunisia union threatens to 'occupy the streets,' rejects 2023 budget
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Tarek Amara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TUNIS, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Tunisia's powerful UGTT union will hold mass protests and "occupy the streets" soon to show its rejection of next year's austerity budget, the leader of the union said on Monday, in its strongest challenge to the government of President Kais Saied yet. The union, with more than a million members, has proven able to paralyse the economy with strikes. We will not accept it...we will occupy the streets to defend our choices and the interest of the people,” Noureddine Taboubi, the head of UGTT, said. Tunisia has reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF for a $1.9 billion rescue package in exchange for unpopular reforms, including cutting food and energy subsidies, and overhauling public companies. The 2023 budget showed that wage bill in the public sector will drop from 15.1% in 2022 to 14% next year, a main reform demanded by the IMF.

☆ Peru arrests six generals amid graft investigation of ex-President Castillo
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LIMA, Dec 26 (Reuters) - The anti-corruption unit of Peru's attorney general's office on Monday detained six generals amid an investigation into allegations the government of ousted former President Pedro Castillo illegally promoted police and military officers. Police also seized "documents and devices" during a raid of the home of Castillo's former Defense Minister Walter Ayala, the anti-corruption unit said. The proceedings ... include 26 raids nationwide," the attorney general's office said on Twitter. The attorney general's office said on Twitter the detained generals are being investigated for "allegedly having paid to rise in rank in 2021 with the authorization of former President Pedro Castillo." Former Defense Minister Ayala criticized the search of his home and the arrest of the generals.

WASHINGTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed a $1.66 trillion government funding bill that provides record military funding and sends emergency aid to Ukraine, hours before a midnight deadline. "The bipartisan funding bill advances key priorities for our country and caps off a year of historic bipartisan progress for the American people," Biden said. While some of the work was done in a bipartisan manner, that was not the case with Friday's $1.66 trillion funding bill, opposed by House Republican conservatives and some Senate conservatives. They have threatened to oppose any legislation introduced by any of the Senate Republicans who supported the bill. [1/4] The U.S. Capitol is seen as Congress continues work on passing a $1.66 trillion government funding bill in Washington, U.S., December 21, 2022.

PANAMA CITY, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Panama's government is in talks with Canada-based miner First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) over the conditions under which it operates its flagship copper mine, the government's Chief Revenue Officer Publio De Gracia said on Friday. The official from the country's economy and finance ministry said Panama was looking for a "fair" deal in which the company complies with the obligations its large operations demand. Canada's trade minister has been in contact with her counterpart in Panama in an effort to resolve the dispute, a Canadian government source said on Friday. First Quantum has disbursed more than $10 billion in the mine, according to its web page. Reporting by Valentine Hilaire in Panama City and Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Additional reporting by Elida Moreno in Panama City; Editing by Alistair Bell and Diane CraftOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Lawyer urged White House aide to 'downplay' Jan. 6 knowledge -testimony
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Andrew Goudsward | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 22 (Reuters) - A former lawyer for ex-White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson told her to “downplay” her knowledge of events leading to the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, telling her “the less you remember, the better,” according to a transcript of her testimony released on Thursday. “The less the committee thinks you know, the better,” Hutchinson recalled Passantino telling her, the transcript released by the committee showed. She is now represented by law firm Alston & Bird. Passantino’s biography has been removed from the website of Washington, D.C., law firm Michael Best & Friedrich, where he led the firm’s political law practice. Passantino told CNN he was on leave from the firm “given the distraction of this matter,” but remains a partner at the law firm Elections LLC.

☆ Taliban minister defends closing universities to women as global backlash grows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Female university students were turned away from campuses on Wednesday and the higher education ministry said their access would be suspended "until further notice". "They didn't observe Hijab (Islamic female dress code), they were coming with the clothes that mostly women wear to go to a wedding," he said. Dozens of women gathered outside Kabul University on Thursday to protest in the first major public demonstration in the capital since the decision. [1/4] Afghan women chant slogans in protest against the closure of universities to women by the Taliban in Kabul, Afghanistan, December 22, 2022. The backlash towards restrictions on female education is complicating the Taliban-led administration's efforts to gain formal recognition and the lifting of sanctions that are hampering the economy, diplomats say.

☆ Ahead of Zelenskiy address, U.S. Senate backs new ambassador to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lynne Tracy as President Joe Biden's nominee to be ambassador to Russia, hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was to give a rare wartime address to a joint meeting of Congress. Tracy, a career diplomat and current ambassador to Armenia, will be the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to Russia. It was not immediately clear when she will assume the post, because Russia must agree to accept her. Washington has been sending a steady supply of weapons and economic assistance to Zelenskiy's government as Ukraine fights Russian troops. Moscow has an ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Antonov.

☆ Peruvian electoral jury gives provisional OK for late 2023 elections
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Lawmakers meet to vote on a new date for a presidential election, seeking to calm protests following the ouster of Peru's former President Pedro Castillo, in Lima, Peru December 20, 2022. Peru Congress/Handout via REUTERSLIMA, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The head of Peru's electoral jury on Tuesday gave Congress the provisional green light to bring forward a general election to the end of 2023, amid deadly protests over the impeachment of former President Pedro Castillo. Considering the "social urgency", Salas said primary elections could be sacrificed in order to hold a new presidential vote in December 2023. Protesters are demanding immediate elections and the closure of Congress, while some also call for Castillo's release and Boluarte to resign. Earlier on Tuesday, Mexico said it had granted asylum to the family of former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo and that it was negotiating their safe passage from Mexico's embassy in Lima.

☆ Brother of one of Mexico's most wanted drug capos arrested
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The brother of Nemesio Oseguera, one of Mexico's most wanted drug runners, was arrested by Mexican authorities Tuesday morning in the state of Jalisco, representing a blow to the cartel, officials said. Oseguera was detained in the early morning and was taken to a detention center, according to Mexico's security ministry. Nemesio Oseguera is the head of the violent Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) group and arguably the most-wanted kingpin in all of Mexico. The CJNG is accused of smuggling massive quantities of drugs, increasingly including the synthetic opioid fentanyl, into the United States. Nemesio Oseguera's wife was arrested last year for a slew of crimes related to the cartel.

It is a grave federal offense, anchored in the Constitution itself," said Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat on the select committee member, as he announced the charges. "If we are to survive as a nation of laws and democracy, this can never happen again," said Representative Bennie Thompson, the select committee's chairperson, as the meeting began. SEVERAL INVESTIGATIONSThe select committee's work is one of a series of investigations into the riot. The select committee approved its report including the recommendation of charges unanimously, with all of its seven Democrats and two Republicans in favor. Trump was the first presidential candidate in decades to not release his tax returns during either of his campaigns for president.

☆ U.S. Capitol riot panel meets, to ask prosecutors to charge Trump
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] A mob of supporters of then-U.S. President Donald Trump climb through a window they broke as they storm the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021. While potentially damaging to Trump's reputation as he starts a bid for the White House in 2024, any recommendations would be non-binding and the Justice Department itself will decide whether to pursue prosecutions. NBC reported on Monday that the committee believed it had sufficient evidence for criminal referrals against Eastman citing unnamed sources. Some prominent Republicans have urged the party to move on from Trump's focus on 2020 as they select a nominee for 2024. A Reuters/Ipsos poll in October found that two in five Republicans believed Trump was at least partly responsible for the attack.

☆ Colombia ELN leftist guerrilla group declares Christmas ceasefire
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez ViloriaBOGOTA, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Colombian leftist guerrilla group the National Liberation Army (ELN) on Monday declared a nine-day unilateral ceasefire over the Christmas period, as part of a bid to support peace talks with the Andean country's government, which urged other illegal armed groups to follow suit. Colombia's government and the ELN last week completed the first cycle of peace talks between the two parties in Venezuela's capital Caracas. The unilateral ceasefire will only apply to Colombia's military and police, the ELN said in a recorded statement, adding it reserves the right to defend itself if attacked. Following the announcement, Colombia's government called on other armed groups also to call a ceasefire. Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra and Oliver Griffin Writing by Oliver Griffin Editing by Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Blizzard, cold temperatures threaten to disrupt U.S. travel before Christmas
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Tyler Clifford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"It does not look like a good day to be traveling across the Midwest on Friday," said Greg Carbin, chief of forecast operations at the NWS Weather Prediction Center. The biggest risk exists in the states of Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa, as well as parts of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. Southern states could have rainfall and thunderstorms through Thursday, after which temperatures could drop significantly. The NWS also warned of "bone-chilling" cold in parts of Washington state through the Northern Plain states, including Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas. Parts of Montana could see the thermometer register below minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-29 C) on Tuesday, according to the NWS.

☆ Factbox: Jan. 6 riot panel urges prosecution of Trump, allies over U.S. Capitol riot
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The request is non-binding, but may increase pressure on prosecutors to bring a criminal case against Trump and some of his allies. The committee also said several House Republican lawmakers should face an ethics investigation. The committee also referred lawyers John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro, who provided legal justification for Trump's efforts to overturn the election, for possible prosecution under this law. The committee also referred Eastman for possible prosecution under this law. HOUSE ETHICS VIOLATIONSThe Committee also referred several fellow House members, all Republicans, to the House Ethics Committee for possible sanction, for defying a subpoena and refusing to cooperate with their investigation.

☆ As climate change makes wildfires worse, FEMA faced with calls to change
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Sharon Bernstein | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Building at the bottom of a hill would keep the station from experiencing the worst fires, which tend to run uphill. But Mayor Chris Rogers says the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) denied funding in part due to rules designed to protect infrastructure harmed in storms from flood damage, saying the proposed new location was in a flood zone. Devastating fires in Santa Rosa and communities elsewhere in California led survivors to press for changes in the way the agency handles wildfires. In Santa Rosa, a midsized city about 55 miles north of San Francisco, the Tubbs Fire in 2017 raced through established suburban areas, jumping six lanes of highway, destroying homes. But without help from FEMA, it has taken a while to put together rebuilding resources, Rogers said.

☆ Pelosi undecided if U.S. House will take up TikTok government device ban
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Twitter Pelosi "should immediately allow an up-or-down vote" on the TikTok government device bill. It said the Senate bill "will do nothing to advance the national security of the United States." White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre Thursday declined to offer a view on whether Biden would support the TikTok legislation. Republican Senator Marco Rubio on Tuesday unveiled bipartisan legislation to ban TikTok altogether in the United States. At a hearing last month, FBI Director Chris Wray said TikTok's U.S. operations raise national security concerns.

☆ Chief of Mexico's Mifel says it is still in bidding process for Citibanamex
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Mexico's Banca Mifel is still in the bidding process for Citigroup's (C.N) Mexican retail bank Citibanamex, Mifel's head Daniel Becker told Reuters on Wednesday. Speaking at an event hosted by Mexico's banking association, Becker - the bank's chairman and CEO - said the race was not over, but declined to comment further. The competition to buy one of Mexico's biggest retail banks has narrowed to two bidders, with smaller rival Mifel, in conjunction with a band of investors, battling billionaire German Larrea's conglomerate Grupo Mexico (GMEXICOB.MX). The two remaining bidders are now conducting further due diligence on the business, sources told Reuters late last month. Reporting by Valentine Hilaire; Writing by Isabel Woodford; Editing by Anthony Esposito and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ North Korea says it tested 'high-thrust solid-fuel motor' for apparent ICBM development
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] A view of a "high-thrust solid-fuel motor" test to develop a new strategic weapon, at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in Tongchang-ri, North Korea, December 15, 2022, in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERSSEOUL, Dec 16 (Reuters) - North Korea has tested a "high-thrust solid-fuel motor", state media reported on Friday, as the isolated country seeks to develop a new strategic weapon and speeds up its nuclear and missile programmes. The static firing test proved the motor's reliability and stability, providing a "guarantee for the development of another new-type strategic weapon system", KCNA added. North Korea has been working to build more solid-fuel missiles, which are more stable and can be launched with almost no warning or preparation time. North Korea has conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests this year, including an ICBM capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, despite international bans and sanctions.

☆ Peru diplomatic spat grows as envoys in Mexico, Argentina summoned home
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Marco Aquino | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Supporters of Peru's former President Pedro Castillo gather outside the police prison where he is being held, in Lima, December 15, 2022. REUTERS/Sebastian CastanedaLIMA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - A diplomatic spat over Peru deepened on Thursday as the new foreign minister formally summoned ambassadors home from countries including Mexico and Argentina, which have criticized the recent ouster of former president Pedro Castillo. On Monday, four nations led by leftist presidents - Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Mexico - signed onto a joint statement declaring Castillo "a victim of undemocratic harassment." Gervasi wrote in a post on Twitter that the consultations "relate to interference in the internal affairs of Peru." Boluarte's week-old administration, which she has said will be a transition government, has been recognized by Chile's leftist president, plus by Uruguay, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Canada and the United States.

☆ Peru protests grind on despite state of emergency, court mulls prison for former president
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Supporters of Peru's former President Pedro Castillo gather outside the police prison where he is being held, in Lima, December 15, 2022. REUTERS/Sebastian CastanedaLIMA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Protesters blocked roads in Peru again on Thursday, despite the government's enactment of a state of emergency, while judicial authorities mulled giving ousted former president Pedro Castillo a year and a half of preventive detention. Peru announced a nationwide state of emergency on Wednesday, granting police special powers and limiting freedoms including the right to assembly, after Castillo's removal fueled a week of protests that have left at least eight dead. Prosecutors are seeking 18 months of pretrial detention for Castillo, who has been charged with rebellion and conspiracy. Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Valentine Hilaire; Editing by Anthony Esposito and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Police testify about attack on U.S. House Speaker Pelosi's husband
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 14 (Reuters) - A San Francisco police officer testified on Wednesday that he witnessed the attack on U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband when the suspect attacked Paul Pelosi with a hammer in late October. The suspect, demanding to see the House speaker, had broken into her San Francisco home and attacked her husband in an assault that had stoked fears about political violence in the United States in the days leading to the midterm elections. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen Murphy conducted the hearing on Wednesday to establish if there was enough evidence to bring the suspect to trial. After the attack, Paul Pelosi, 82, underwent surgery for a skull fracture and injuries to his right arm and hands. DePape threatened to take the House speaker hostage, prosecutors said.

☆ U.S. ready to help China on COVID-19 surge if Beijing asks - White House
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - The United States is prepared to help China deal with a surge of COVID-19 infections if Beijing requests assistance, the White House said on Wednesday. John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, told reporters that China has not requested help at this stage. "We have made that point that we are prepared to help in any way they might find acceptable. China began shifting away from the "zero COVID" policy just this month, after protests against the economically-damaging curbs that had been championed by President Xi Jinping. The change has spurred concerns about a surge in COVID cases.

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