Town Hall News

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said on Thursday it had rejected a U.S. embassy request to visit detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in response to Washington’s refusal to grant visas to a group of Russian journalists. The foreign ministry said it had summoned a senior American diplomat to formally protest after reporters assigned to accompany Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the United Nations this week were unable to enter the […]

(Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Thursday it welcomed anything that could bring the end of the Ukraine conflict closer when asked what it thought of a phone call a day earlier between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. But it said it still needed to achieve the aims of its “special military operation” in Ukraine. DIPLOMACY * Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said he had invited […]

(Reuters) – LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will have a chance to wrap up their first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies at home on Friday after squandering the opportunity on the road 116-99 to send the series to a sixth game at 3-2. The four-time MVP James had a withering, expletive-tinged appraisal of his own performance on Wednesday, as he missed 12 of 17 shots -his worst playoff field-goal […]

(Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Thursday it welcomed anything that could bring the end of the Ukraine conflict closer when asked what it thought of a phone call a day earlier between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. But it said it still needed to achieve the aims of its “special military operation” in Ukraine. DIPLOMACY * Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said he had invited […]

(Reuters) -Russian troops tried on Thursday to sever important supply routes into the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut and thereby put more pressure on defending forces, Ukrainian officers said. Russian units have been trying for 10 months to punch their way into the shattered remains of what was once a city of 70,000. Kyiv is pledging to defend Bakhmut, which Russia sees as a stepping stone to attacking other cities. […]

By Adriana Barrera MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Trade consultations requested by the United States on Mexico’s plan to limit the use of genetically modified corn are an “unacceptable violation” of Mexican law and feed the interests of seed “oligopolies,” a top Mexican official said on Thursday. The United States, Mexico’s main trading partner, requested the consultations in early March under the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement, which calls for a science-based […]

(Reuters) – The World Bank has approved a $150 million loan to support sustainable growth and climate resilience in the Central American country of Panama, the lender said in a statement on Thursday. The Development Policy Loan (DPL) represents the first of two operations in Panama, it added. (Reporting by Sarah Morland; Editing by Anthony Esposito) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

By Chavi Mehta, Stephen Nellis and Jane Lanhee Lee (Reuters) -Chipmaker Intel Corp on Thursday said slumping gross margins will improve in the second half of the year, sending its shares higher although a near-term profit forecast missed Wall Street estimates. The PC and data center chipmaker estimated second-quarter earnings below Wall Street forecasts despite its greater sales optimism, a sign that the company is still struggling to make money […]

By Khaled Abdelaziz and Nafisa Eltahir KHARTOUM (Reuters) -Sudan’s two warring factions said on Thursday they would prolong a ceasefire agreement by 72 hours, but violence again rocked the capital Khartoum and the western region of Darfur as the U.S. said ceasefire violations were worrying.  Hundreds have died and tens of thousands of people have fled for their lives in two weeks of conflict between the army and its rival, […]