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BEIJING, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Chinese cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global said on Sunday it had stopped taking new mainland customers from Friday and would end contracts with mainland clients by the end of the year to comply with local regulations. China's regulators intensified a crackdown on Friday, banning cryptocurrency transactions and mining, clarifying that overseas exchanges are barred from providing services to mainland investors via the internet. Huobi Global said in a statement it will conduct an orderly exit of its existing mainland clients on the premise that safety of their assets is guaranteed. Reporting by Cheng Leng, Samuel Shen and Ryan Woo; Editing by William Mallard Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. …

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WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed confidence on Sunday that the $1 trillion infrastructure bill will pass this week but said she may not bring it to the floor on Monday as she previously pledged. In an interview with This Week's George Stephanopoulos on ABC, Pelosi also said that the final value of President Joe Biden's larger $3.5 billion reconciliation bill involving social spending might end up being smaller. "Let me just say that we're going to pass the bill this week," Pelosi said, referring to the smaller of the two measures that would help fund road, bridge, airport, school and other construction projects. The Senate passed that bill with bipartisan support on Aug. 10. But she indicated the bill may not be brought to the floor on Monday, which was the timeline she told reporters on Friday. "I'm never bringing a bill to the floor that doesn't have the votes," she said, but then added that it may still be on Monday. …

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RAMALLAH, West Bank, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Israeli troops killed five Hamas militants in gun battles during raids on Sunday against one of the group's cells in the occupied West Bank, an Israeli military spokesperson said. Two soldiers - including an officer - were critically wounded in one of the incidents, the spokesperson added. The shootouts marked the deadliest violence between Israel and Hamas since an 11-day Gaza war in May and threatened to raise tensions along the Israeli border with the coastal enclave and in the West Bank. An uncle of one of the Palestinians killed said he was a 16-year-old walking to school when he was shot. A military spokesperson said, "as far as we are concerned, all those killed were armed Hamas operatives, taking part in firefights", but added he was checking the relative's information. Israeli officials have long voiced concern that Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, intends to gain strength in the West Bank and challenge its rival there, the …

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BOGOTA, July 13 (Reuters) - An ex-soldier recruited to join a group of Colombians accused of involvement in last week's assassination of Haiti's president added his voice to a chorus of family and colleagues who say the men were contracted to provide security, not to kill. Haitian authorities said President Jovenel Moise was murdered early on Wednesday by foreign, trained assassins: 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans. Eighteen of the men have been captured, while three others were killed. read more Matias Gutierrez, a retired special forces sniper and father of four, would have traveled to Haiti with the group last month if he had not tested positive for COVID-19. "If I had traveled, I would possibly be involved in the same thing that the commandos there are, unfortunately," Gutierrez told Reuters late on Monday. Gutierrez, who now works as a security guard, said he knows the men were not involved in Moise's killing because they are honorable and also well-trained in how …

[Read more...] about Colombian ex-soldiers went to Haiti for security not assassination -colleague

Социал-демократическая партия Германии (СДПГ) и блок Христианско-демократического и Христианско-социального союзов (ХДС/ХСС) получили примерно равное количество голосов на прошедших в воскресенье выборах в Бундестаг, но при этом намечается небольшое преимущество СДПГ. Как свидетельствуют опубликованные в воскресенье после закрытия избирательных участков данные экзитпола телеканала ZDF, социал-демократы побеждают, набирая 26% голосов. По версии телеканала, за блок ХДС/ХСС отдали голоса 24% избирателей. В то же время, по данным экзитпола телеканала ARD, социал-демократы и консерваторы получают равное количество голосов - по 25%. Всего в Бундестаг нового, 20-го, созыва проходят шесть политических объединений: СДПГ, ХДС/ХСС, "Зеленые", которые заняли третье место с 14-15% голосов, Свободная демократическая партия (11-12% голосов), правопопулистская "Альтернатива для Германии" (10-11%), Левая партия с примерно 5%. В Германии проходят парламентские выборы, которые определят …

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MUZAFFARNAGAR, India, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of farmers gathered in India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, the biggest rally yet in a months-long series of demonstrations to press Narendra Modi's government to repeal three new agricultural laws. More than 500,000 farmers attended the rally in the city of Muzaffarnagar, according to local police. The demonstration in Uttar Pradesh, a predominantly agricultural state that's home to 240 million people, will breathe fresh life into the protest movement, said Rakesh Tikait, a prominent farmers' leader. "We'll intensify our protest by going to every single city and town of Uttar Pradesh to convey the message that Modi's government is anti-farmer," he added. Over the past eight months, tens of thousands of farmers have camped on major highways to the capital, New Delhi to oppose the laws, in India's longest-running farmer' protest against the government. The measures, introduced last September, allow …

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LUCKNOW, India, Aug 26 (Reuters) - India's most populous state will drop legal proceedings against farmers accused of burning crop waste, a major source of pollution, as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party tries to placate growers ahead of elections next year to the state assembly. The action comes at a time when some states have stepped up punishments for crop residue burning to avert an expected spike in air pollution that brings smog every year during the low temperatures of winter. The predominantly agricultural northern state of Uttar Pradesh, which is home to more people than Brazil, is also considering waiving fines imposed on farmers, an influential voting bloc, for burning crop stubble. "The idea was not to punish farmers but to spread awareness about crop stubble burning and its effect on the environment," Navneet Sehgal, the top official in the state's information department, told Reuters. Shiv Kant Dixit, chief of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, or Indian Farmers' …

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NEW DELHI, Sept 9 (Reuters) - A group of influential farmer leaders ratcheted up pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to roll back three new farm laws by organising a mammoth rally in India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh last week. After the successful mass meeting - the biggest rally yet in a months-long series of demonstrations to press for repeal of the laws - farm union leaders now plan to step up protests in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the state assembly election next year. Protesting farmers say the laws, introduced in September last year, would erode a longstanding mechanism that ensures farmers a minimum guaranteed price for their rice and wheat, but the government says this will help growers get better prices. read more HOW DID FARMERS' PROTEST TURN INTO A PAN-INDIA MOVEMENT? Almost immediately after parliament cleared the farm laws late last year, tens of thousands of farmers from grain-growing Punjab and Haryana states trudged towards the capital …

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Voters in the German capital, Berlin, alongside casting ballots for the makeup of the new German parliament and for their local legislature, also took part in a referendum on whether to force large real estate companies to sell off most of their housing units . With Berliners casting more votes in a day than the city ever had, there was chaos and delays at several polling stations . About 34,000 helpers were working at more than 2,250 polling stations across the city. Therefore, final results on the nonbinding referendum are not expected until Monday. After counting 27% of the ballots, a clear margin was already emerging: 56.9% had voted in favor and only 39% against the proposal. "This is just an extrapolation, we won't get the final results until tomorrow! But even this number shows that Berliners have had enough of speculation and mad rents," the movement to expropriate Berlin housing corporations said on Twitter. The measure required a simple majority to pass as well …

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