U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive aboard Air Force One at Orly airport near Paris, France, July 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Washington

In an exclusive interview with Reuters, U.S. President Donald Trump said he did not fault his son for meeting with a Russian lawyer during the 2016 presidential election campaign,  writing it off as a decision made in the heat of an upstart, non-traditional campaign. Trump said he was unaware of the meeting until a few days ago.

Trump supporters dismiss uproar over Donald Jr.

Trump's pick to head the FBI, Christopher Wray, said he would refuse to pledge loyalty to Trump, rejected his description of the probe into Russian election meddling as a "witch hunt," and vowed to quit if asked by the president to do something unlawful.

Trump, escaping domestic troubles, visits France's Macron

Russia

Two more gas turbines appear to have been delivered to Russian-controlled Crimea, according to two Reuters reporters who saw the equipment at the port of Feodosia. Siemens said earlier this week that at least two of a total of four turbines it sold to Russian state firm Technopromexport had been delivered to Crimea against its wishes and without its knowledge. Russia seized the region from Ukraine in 2014 and it is now subject to European sanctions on energy technology.

Kremlin says turbines being installed in Crimea are of Russian origin

A Russian court sentenced a man convicted of murdering opposition leader Boris Nemtsov to 20 years in jail and handed terms of between 11 and 19 years to four other men convicted of being his accomplices. Nemtsov, one of President Vladimir Putin's most vocal critics, was murdered in 2015. He had been working on a report examining Russia's role in the conflict in Ukraine.

A shopkeeper hangs footwear at his road side footwear stall under a flyover in Kolkata, India, July 12, 2017. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri

Environment

Rio Tinto's proposed Resolution Copper Mine in Arizona would tunnel 7,000 feet underground, where rocks radiate heat from the earth’s molten core. It would suck up enough water to supply a city and leave a crater a mile and a half wide and 1,000 feet deep. Planned for more than a decade, the project would be a prototype for a looming era of more invasive U.S. mines as companies run out of easy-to-reach deposits, geologists say.

U.S.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will unveil a new version of Republican legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare today. The revision is a bid to unite disparate Republican factions and deliver on his party's signature issue in the 2016 elections. Several of the Senate's 52 Republicans said they were waiting to see the revised legislation before deciding whether to back it. McConnell’s aiming for a vote next week.

Commentary: Trump’s plan to make voters older, wealthier and whiter

Health

A novel cell treatment that saved the life of a 9-year-old was given the green light by U.S. regulatory advisers and doctors hope it can save the lives of more children with the most common type of childhood cancer, B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Business

President Trump's pick to lead bank supervision at the Federal Reserve benefited from the government bailing out or rescuing two banks during the 2008 financial crisis, but that may not prevent his confirmation by a U.S. Senate controlled by a business-friendly Republican party, policy analysts told Reuters in recent days.

Goldman Sachs relaxes dress code for techs in fight for talent

The French government said on it would appeal against a court ruling in Google's favor, saying the company was not liable for the tax demand, in line with a court adviser's recommendation made in June.

Breakingviews: Why Europe can’t beat Google on corporate taxes

Brazil

The corruption conviction of former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a front-runner for next year's presidential election, opens the door for an outsider to take power in Latin America's largest country, political experts said. Lula said he wants to run for president again next year. But if his nearly 10-year sentence is upheld on appeal, Lula would be barred from seeking office again for eight years, beginning after any jail time is complete.