Putin clears out deputy defence ministers, appoints his relative

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday sacked four deputy defence ministers and appointed a relative, Anna Tsivileva, to fill one of the vacancies. Putin sacked deputy defence ministers Nikolai Pankov, Ruslan Tsalikov, Tatiana Shevtsova and Pavel Popov, according to Kremlin decrees. He appointed Tsivileva, who Russian media said is the daughter of…

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US questions China’s no-first-use nuclear call given buildup

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China has not responded to U.S. nuclear-weapons risk-reduction proposals and Washington has questions about Beijing’s call for no-first-use talks while China continues to build up its arsenal, the top U.S. arms control official said on Wednesday. Under Secretary of State Bonnie Jenkins told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the U.S. estimates China…

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AmEx lifts 2024 profit forecast on robust spending by affluent customers

(Reuters) -Credit card giant American Express raised its full-year profit forecast on Friday, as its wealthy customers persisted in splurging on travel, dining and entertainment. The company also reported better-than-expected second-quarter profit, underscoring the benefit it has enjoyed by focusing on a premium customer base. AmEx’s affluent cardholders have somewhat insulated it from weakness in…

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