Town Hall News

By Lauren Owens Lambert MONHEGAN ISLAND, Maine (Reuters) – An emerging technology to fish for lobsters virtually ropeless to prevent whale entanglements is exciting conservationists, but getting a frigid reception from harvesters worried it will drive them out of business and upend their way of life. Injuries to endangered North Atlantic Right Whales ensnared in fishing gear have fueled a prominent campaign by environmental groups to pressure the industry to […]

By Karolos Grohmann PARIS (Reuters) – Seventh seed Ons Jabeur’s hopes of becoming the first African woman to win a singles Grand Slam lay in ruins on Wednesday after her 3-6 7-6(5) 6-1 defeat by Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia in the French Open quarter-finals. Jabeur was bidding to reach her third Grand Slam semi-final in less than a year but her plans were scuppered by the 14th-seeded left-hander who battled […]

BEIJING (Reuters) -China completed a second phase of joint air patrols with Russia over the Western Pacific on Wednesday, following flights on the previous day over the Sea of Japan and East China Sea, prompting concerns in Japan over national security. Both South Korea and Japan scrambled fighter jets on Tuesday, when the Chinese and Russian joint patrols got underway as part of their militaries’ annual cooperation plan. The flights […]

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Here are some statistics about Pope Francis, 86, who went to hospital on Wednesday for surgery on his abdomen. ELECTION The former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected pope on March 13, 2013. He was the 266th pope and the first from Latin America. He was the first pontiff to take the name Francis. DURATION Francis has reigned longer than the 7.5 years average […]

By Samuel Indyk LONDON (Reuters) – Global stock markets were steady on Wednesday and the U.S. dollar drifted lower as attention turned towards next week’s pivotal inflation data and Federal Reserve meeting, where chances of a rate hike continued to ebb. Meanwhile, Turkey’s lira plunged to a record low against the greenback as authorities appeared to loosen stabilising measures after the government signalled a pivot to more orthodox policies. The […]

(Adds Ashwin’s first name in para 3) LONDON (Reuters) – India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at The Oval on Wednesday. India picked a lone spinner in all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, while KS Bharat retained his place as the wicketkeeper ahead of Ishan Kishan. “It is tough to leave (Ravichandran) Ashwin out,” Rohit said. “He has been […]

By Samuel Indyk LONDON (Reuters) – Global stock markets were steady on Wednesday and the U.S. dollar drifted lower as attention turned towards next week’s pivotal inflation data and Federal Reserve meeting, where chances of a rate hike continued to ebb. Meanwhile, Turkey’s lira plunged to a record low against the greenback as authorities appeared to loosen stabilising measures after the government signalled a pivot to more orthodox policies. The […]

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 […]

By Selena Li HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) -Citigroup’s Jane Fraser said the U.S. bank will continue to expand its Chinese business, China’s new financial regulator said, during her first visit to the country since becoming CEO. As Beijing pushes to attract more foreign capital, the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) said that Fraser held a meeting on Monday with its head Li Yunze. Fraser is the first foreign executive to meet […]