Town Hall News

By John Irish and Andrew Gray BULBOACA, Moldova (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pressed his case for Ukraine to be part of the NATO military alliance as he joined European leaders on Thursday in Moldova close to his nation’s border ahead of an expected counter-offensive against Russia’s invasion. Meeting Moldovan President Maia Sandu, Zelenskiy reiterated calls for Western fighter jets and said his government was preparing a future meeting to discuss […]

By John Irish and Andrew Gray BULBOACA, Moldova (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pressed his case for Ukraine to be part of the NATO military alliance as he joined European leaders on Thursday in Moldova close to his nation’s border ahead of an expected counter-offensive against Russia’s invasion. Meeting Moldovan President Maia Sandu, Zelenskiy reiterated calls for Western fighter jets and said his government was preparing a future meeting to discuss […]

KAMPALA (Reuters) -Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has defended signing one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ laws, with punishments up to and including the death penalty, saying it was needed to prevent LGBTQ community members he said were “disoriented” from “recruiting” others. His comments were the first since he signed the bill into law, triggering widespread Western criticism including threats by U.S. President Joe Biden and others to cut aid to […]

By Paul Lorgerie KINSHASA (Reuters) – Three weeks after giving birth to twins, 16-year-old Annaelle felt like a hostage: the hospital would not let her leave until she’d paid her medical bills, but she had no money. Her mother was doing shifts there as a cleaner to stump up the cash. Then a woman Annaelle had never met called Grace Mbongi Umek entered the maternity ward at Bethesda clinic in […]

By Jason Xue and Tom Westbrook SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Shares in some Chinese temple operators and lottery sellers surged for a second day on Thursday amid a weak post-COVID recovery, as despondent young people rush to pray or gamble amid greater economic uncertainty. Data showed Chinese temple visits more than quadrupled this year compared with 2022, while sales of lottery tickets jumped in April to their highest in a decade. […]

KAMPALA (Reuters) – Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has defended signing one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ laws, with punishments up to and including the death penalty, saying it was needed to prevent LGBTQ community members he said were “disoriented” from “recruiting” others. His comments were the first since he signed the bill into law, triggering widespread Western criticism including threats by U.S. President Joe Biden and others to cut aid […]

CHISINAU (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said during a trip to Moldova on Thursday that Ukraine was ready to be in the NATO military alliance, and that Kyiv was waiting for the bloc to be ready to admit his country. He also reiterated Ukraine’s desire to join the European Union after arriving in Moldova, which borders Ukraine, for a summit bringing together more than 40 European leaders. The summit is […]

By Junko Fujita and Ankur Banerjee TOKYO/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – As foreigners pile into Japan’s steepest stock market rally in years, local investors have been furiously cashing out or even betting against what many see as the beginning of a long-overdue era of profitability and returns. The Nikkei share average’s closed out its best month in 2-1/2 years on Wednesday, riding a wave of foreign cash and optimism for corporate reform […]

By David Morgan, Richard Cowan and Moira Warburton WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A divided U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling on Wednesday, with majority support from both Democrats and Republicans to overcome opposition led by hardline conservatives and avoid a catastrophic default. The Republican-controlled House voted 314-117 to send the legislation to the Senate, which must enact the measure and get it to […]