Town Hall News

By Kate Lamb JAKARTA (Reuters) -Rebels in Indonesia’s Papua region threatened to shoot a New Zealand pilot they took hostage in February if countries do not comply with their demand to start independence talks within two months, a new video released by the group on Friday showed. Guerrilla fighters in Papua’s central highlands, who want to free Papua from Indonesia, kidnapped Phillip Mehrtens after he landed a commercial plane in […]

By Sergiy Voloshin KYIV (Reuters) – If the United States fails to back Ukraine enough in the war against Russia, that would send a signal to China that it could take Taiwan, a senior Senator said on a visit to Kyiv on Friday. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, said after meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that U.S. President Joe Biden should send more weapons to Ukraine in addition to the more than […]

By Jorge Garcia LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Unions representing teachers, truck drivers and other workers who will be headed soon to the bargaining table turned out in downtown Los Angeles on Friday to support Hollywood’s striking film and television writers. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) began a work stoppage on May 2 after failing to reach an agreement for higher wages with media companies including Walt Disney Co, Netflix […]

By David Alire Garcia MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – A massive stone sculpture carved by Olmec artists more than 2,000 years ago that evokes ancient religious beliefs has returned to Mexico after decades in the United States in a homecoming cheered by officials and scholars. Known today as the “Earth Monster,” the sculpture was likely taken from central Mexico during the 1960s, spending time in the hands of private collectors as […]

By David Alire Garcia MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – A massive stone sculpture carved by Olmec artists more than 2,000 years ago that evokes ancient religious beliefs has returned to Mexico after decades in the United States in a homecoming cheered by officials and scholars. Known today as the “Earth Monster,” the sculpture was likely taken from central Mexico during the 1960s, spending time in the hands of private collectors as […]

(Reuters) – Australia captain Meg Lanning has pulled out of the Women’s Ashes tour in England that begins next month due to medical reasons, with Alyssa Healy set to lead the team instead, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Saturday. CA said Lanning was asked to stay at home to manage the issue and gave no time frame on her return. It marks the second time the 31-year-old has missed the […]

By Josh Smith and Sudev Kiyada SEOUL (Reuters) – For North Koreans, the country’s northern frontier long offered rare access to outside information, trade opportunities, and the best option for those seeking to flee. But as the pandemic gripped the world in 2020, Kim Jong Un’s regime embarked on a massive exercise to seal its borders with China and Russia, cutting off routes plied by smugglers and defectors. Since then, […]

By Josh Smith and Sudev Kiyada SEOUL (Reuters) – For North Koreans, the country’s northern frontier long offered rare access to outside information, trade opportunities, and the best option for those seeking to flee. But as the pandemic gripped the world in 2020, Kim Jong Un’s regime embarked on a massive exercise to seal its borders with China and Russia, cutting off routes plied by smugglers and defectors. Since then, […]

By Josh Smith and Sudev Kiyada SEOUL (Reuters) – For North Koreans, the country’s northern frontier long offered rare access to outside information, trade opportunities, and the best option for those seeking to flee. But as the pandemic gripped the world in 2020, Kim Jong Un’s regime embarked on a massive exercise to seal its borders with China and Russia, cutting off routes plied by smugglers and defectors. Since then, […]