Town Hall News

By Philip Pullella ROME (Reuters) -Pope Francis underwent a three-hour surgery in a Rome hospital on Wednesday to repair a hernia most likely caused by scars from an operation in 2021, and the Vatican said the procedure had no complications. The 86-year-old pope was taken to hospital after his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square, where he gave no sign that he was about to enter hospital for planned […]

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – A new Constitutional Council dominated by conservative parties in charge of drafting Chile’s new constitution began its official duties on Wednesday, in the second attempt to replace the current text that dates back to the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship. The new council, elected on May 7, is a sharp shift from the predominantly independent and left-wing assembly that preceded it and produced a draft that was overwhelmingly rejected […]

By Humeyra Pamuk and Aziz El Yaakoubi JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had an “open, candid” conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the early hours of Wednesday about a wide range of bilateral issues, a U.S. official said. The top U.S. diplomat arrived in Saudi Arabia late on Tuesday for a much anticipated visit amid frayed ties due to deepening disagreements on […]

By Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, is headed to India next week for final preparations ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington later this month, the White House confirmed on Wednesday. Washington is working to deepen ties with the world’s largest democracy, forging military and industrial links with the South Asian country as a key counterweight to China’s dominance, […]

By Krishn Kaushik BAHANAGA BAZAR, India (Reuters) – Few trains stop at Bahanaga Bazar, the sleepy, small rural station in the Balasore district of Odisha state where India’s deadliest train accident in more than two decades happened. Three rooms, topped by a corrugated metal roof, and three platforms make up the station, which serves 14 trains daily, more than half of them to destinations within the state. Less than 10 […]

KABUL (Reuters) – Twenty four people, including 12 women and 8 children, died on Wednesday when the van they were travelling in fell into a ravine in northern Afghanistan, police said. “Due to the neglect of the driver, the vehicle deviated from the road and fell into a ravine. Twenty four people are dead,” said Den Mohammed Nazari, a police spokesman in Sar e Pol province, No further details were […]

(Refiles to fix typo in headline) By Hannah Lang and Manya Saini (Reuters) – Coinbase executives on Wednesday defended the company against a lawsuit brought by the U.S. securities regulator, saying the cryptocurrency sector lacks a clear set of guidelines. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday alleged Coinbase traded at least 13 crypto assets that are securities that should have been registered, including tokens such as Solana, Cardano […]

By Hannah Lang and Manya Saini (Reuters) -Coinbase executives on Wednesday defended the company against a lawsuit brought by the U.S. securities regulator, saying the cryptocurrency sector lacks a clear set of guidelines. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday alleged Coinbase traded at least 13 crypto assets that are securities that should have been registered, including tokens such as Solana, Cardano and Polygon. The agency also said Coinbase […]

By Michael Holden and Sam Tobin LONDON (Reuters) -Prince Harry said on Wednesday he would feel a sense of injustice if London’s High Court did not conclude he was a phone-hacking victim, as he completed more than eight hours giving evidence against a British tabloid newspaper group. Harry, King Charles’ younger son, spent a day-and-a-half in the witness box being grilled over allegations he had been unlawfully targeted by Mirror […]