Town Hall News

(Reuters) – American basketball star Brittney Griner, who was freed from a Russian penal colony in a high-profile prisoner exchange last year, will share her “harrowing experience” in a memoir to be released next year, publisher Alfred A. Knopf said on Tuesday. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) All-Star, was arrested in February 2022 at an airport outside Moscow for carrying vape cartridges […]

(Reuters) – American basketball star Brittney Griner, who was freed from a Russian penal colony in a high-profile prisoner exchange last year, will share her “harrowing experience” in a memoir to be released next year, publisher Alfred A. Knopf said on Tuesday. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) All-Star, was arrested in February 2022 at an airport outside Moscow for carrying vape cartridges […]

US Marks National Arab American Heritage Month Arab Americans, who make up about 1% of the US population, have contributed to many areas of American life, but the community still suffers from stereotyping and discrimination Mohammad Al-Kassim/The Media Line On the last day of March, President Joe Biden issued a statement proclaiming April National Arab American Heritage Month. This month marks the seventh annual Arab American Heritage Month since the […]

By Noele Illien and John Revill BERN (Reuters) -Switzerland’s upper house of parliament voted on Tuesday to retrospectively approve 109 billion Swiss francs ($120.5 billion) in financial guarantees used to rescue Credit Suisse after a heated debate. The Swiss parliament had recalled lawmakers for a rare extraordinary session to discuss the rapid rescue of Credit Suisse as well as the government’s open chequebook response. A shotgun marriage which saw Credit […]

(Reuters) – Russian forces pounded front lines in eastern Ukraine, with Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin saying more than 80% of the long-besieged city of Bakhmut had been seized. BATTLEFIELD * Russia is ready to introduce electronic military draft papers for the first time in its history to make it harder for men to avoid the draft. * Nearly 8,500 civilians are confirmed to have been killed in Russia’s invasion […]

ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s government on Tuesday proposed stiffer penalties against those who damage monuments and heritage sites, a statement said, in response to protesters who have targeted artwork and famous landmarks demanding stronger action against climate change. “Those who carry out these acts must also accept financial responsibility,” Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said in a statement after a cabinet meeting, proposing fines of up to 60,000 euros ($65,418.00). The […]

By Noele Illien and John Revill BERN (Reuters) -Switzerland’s upper house of parliament voted on Tuesday to retrospectively approve 109 billion Swiss francs ($120.5 billion) in financial guarantees used to rescue Credit Suisse after a heated debate. The Swiss parliament had recalled lawmakers for a rare extraordinary session to discuss the rapid rescue of Credit Suisse as well as the government’s open chequebook response. A shotgun marriage which saw Credit […]

TBILISI/BAKU (Reuters) -South Caucasus rivals Armenia and Azerbaijan on Tuesday accused each other of opening fire around the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region in a clash that killed a total of seven soldiers. The two neighbours – both formerly part of the Soviet Union – have fought repeatedly over the last 35 years for control of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but home to a mainly ethnic Armenian […]

By Blake Brittain (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court handed Moderna Inc a win on Tuesday, affirming a decision to cancel an Arbutus Biopharma Corp patent related to the companies’ legal fight over Moderna’s blockbuster COVID-19 vaccines. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office tribunal’s ruling that the patent for Arbutus’ lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology was invalid based on an earlier […]