Town Hall News

KYIV (Reuters) – Kyiv said on Monday a U.N.-brokered initiative allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukrainian grain was in danger of “shutdown” after Russia blocked inspections of participating ships in Turkish waters. Ukrainian Black Sea ports were blockaded after Russia’s invasion last year, but access to three of them was cleared last July under a deal between Moscow and Kyiv that was brokered by the United Nations and […]

By Khalid Abdelaziz and Nafisa Eltahir KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan’s army chief on Monday branded the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces a rebellious group and ordered it be dissolved, as the faction battled the army in deadly violence that derailed a shift to civilian rule and prompted U.S. calls for a ceasefire. Both sides claimed they made gains on Monday, in a violent, nationwide power struggle the Central Committee of Sudanese […]

By Greg Torode HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hong Kong’s top Catholic cleric is due to arrive in Beijing on Monday on the first visit to the Chinese capital by a bishop of the former British colony in nearly 30 years, despite signs of new Sino-Vatican tension. The visit by Bishop Stephen Chow and several of his senior priests at the invitation of Bishop of Beijing Joseph Li Shan comes weeks after […]

By Jibran Ahmad PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – A Chinese worker was charged with blasphemy in northern Pakistan after angry workers surrounded his office accusing him of insulting the Prophet Mohammad, then stormed a police station to try to find him, officials said. Police moved in as crowds gathered at the Dasu hydropower project in Kohistan district on Sunday afternoon and officers took the man to a safer location, police official […]

LONDON (Reuters) -The British parliament’s Commissioner for Standards opened an investigation into Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earlier this month, according to a list of open inquiries posted on its website on Monday. The list said the matter under investigation was a “declaration of interest”. The inquiry began on April 13. A spokesperson for Sunak said the investigation was linked to his wife’s shareholding in a childcare firm. The Liberal Democrats, […]

(Reuters) – Legislators from the European Parliament said on Monday that political attention needed to be focused on powerful artificial intelligence (AI), agreeing with an open letter signed by academics, experts and business leaders including Elon Musk on AI regulation. The EU Parliament called on European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen and U.S. President Joe Biden to convene a global summit on AI. (Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; […]

By Victoria Waldersee BERLIN (Reuters) -The group behind a European battery passport project laid out on Monday how companies must prepare to meet increasingly stringent regulations on disclosing the origin of batteries as well as their social and environmental footprints. From 2024, manufacturers in Europe must disclose the carbon footprint of their batteries and from 2027 comply with a carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions limit, regulated by the European Union (EU) […]

By Nell Mackenzie and Dhara Ranasinghe LONDON (Reuters) – World stocks markets steadied near recent highs on Monday ahead of a slew of corporate earnings results this week due to reveal which economic sectors have been helped by higher rates to flourish and which have been hit. U.S. banks including JP Morgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo reaped windfalls from higher interest payments their first quarter earnings reports said on Friday. […]

By Seun Sanni LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigerian aviation employees on Monday blocked roads to the domestic terminal of Lagos airport, slowing traffic and threatening to delay flights as they began a two-day strike in protest over working conditions and wages. The strike is likely to add to problems in a sector that regularly faces jet fuel shortages, which often ground local flights and where international carriers struggle to repatriate revenue […]