Town Hall News

By Zahra Matarani and Hasnoor Hussain JAKARTA (Reuters) – Muslims in Indonesia and Malaysia gathered in large groups to usher in the Eid al-Fitr festival on Saturday, relieved to be able to celebrate freely after the lifting of most COVID-19 restrictions. In Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, hundreds of worshippers turned up for morning prayers at the historic port of Sunda Kelapa in North Jakarta to mark the […]

(Reuters) – Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said he already has his sights on the next season, urging the team to use their remaining games to build a strong foundation. Liverpool have had a disappointing run in the Premier League this season, with Klopp’s side eighth in the standings with 47 points – nine adrift of the fourth spot that ensures qualification for the Champions League next season. Klopp, whose team […]

(Reuters) – Olympic gold medallist swimmer Kyle Chalmers said he hopes that by speaking out about his struggles over mental health he can inspire the next generation to follow suit. Chalmers, who won Olympic 100 metres freestyle gold in Rio as a teenager and took silver in Tokyo in 2021, took a mental health break last year after a row about his decision to race at the world championships. Last […]

By Sharon Bernstein (Reuters) – Abortion rights supporters expressed relief on Friday after the U.S. Supreme Court preserved access to a widely used abortion pill but warned of a long fight ahead as a legal challenge to the medication continues. The move by the court to halt new restrictions on the drug set by lower courts was welcome news less than a year after its conservative majority upended U.S. abortion […]

By Andrew Chung and John Kruzel WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday blocked new restrictions set by lower courts on a widely used abortion pill, a decision welcomed by President Joe Biden as his administration defends broad access to the drug in the latest fierce legal battle over reproductive rights in the United States. The justices, in a brief order, granted emergency requests by the Justice Department and […]

By Neil Jerome Morales MANILA (Reuters) -The Philippines and China pledged on Saturday to work together to resolve their maritime differences in the South China Sea, where the two have competing claims, and to deepen bilateral ties. Talks between the countries’ foreign ministers mark the latest in a series of high-level meetings of the Philippines with leaders of the United States and China as the two superpowers battle for strategic […]

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Saturday ordered the country’s military to prepare to shoot down a North Korean spy satellite should it fall within Japan’s territory. Hamada ordered the Self-Defense Forces to make necessary preparations as he could potentially “order the destruction of ballistic missiles”, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.     Preparations included making arrangements to deploy troops to the southern prefecture of Okinawa to […]

HANOI (Reuters) – Apple supplier Quanta Computer plans to set up a factory in northern Vietnam, the Vietnamese government said. The company, a MacBook contract manufacturer, on Friday signed an agreement with the authorities of Nam Dinh province, 90 km (56 miles) south of Hanoi, to construct the facility at an industrial park there, the government said in a statement late on Friday. The facility, which would be Quanta’s 9th […]

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Saturday ordered the country’s military to prepare to shoot down a North Korean spy satellite should it fall within Japan’s territory. Hamada ordered the Self-Defense Forces to make necessary preparations as he could potentially “order the destruction of ballistic missiles”, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.     Preparations included making arrangements to deploy troops to the southern prefecture of Okinawa to […]