Town Hall News

By Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee TAIPEI (Reuters) -China’s military carried out aerial and naval blockade drills around Taiwan on Monday, its last scheduled day of exercises, with a Chinese aircraft carrier joining in combat patrols as Taipei reported another surge of warplanes near the island. China announced the three days of drills on Saturday, after Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen returned to Taipei following a meeting in Los Angeles with […]

Israeli Scientists Develop Drought-Resistant Tomatoes To Combat Climate Change Impact New crossbred tomato variety requires half as much water and can cope with extreme weather conditions By Maya Margit/The Media Line Israeli scientists have developed a new variety of tomato that is more drought-resistant, potentially helping farmers deal with the impact of climate change. The tomato, which has yet to be named, was created through crossbreeding a wild variety from […]

Israel’s Karaites Celebrate Passover Amid Renewed Interest in Alternative Forms of Judaism Ancient Jewish movement rejects rabbinic authority, relying instead on Hebrew Bible for religious law By Maya Margit/The Media Line Avi Yefet rolled out the brown dough on a small table as he prepared it for baking in the Old City of Jerusalem. The unleavened bread – made up of flour, coriander seeds, canola oil and salt – is […]

Pakistan Declares Anti-Terror Operation Following Announcement of Terrorist Commander’s Arrest Expert says Pakistan’s ability to face the threat of terrorism may depend on achieving internal stability By Arshad Mehmood/The Media Line [Islamabad] Following the arrest of a top terrorist commander, Pakistan’s National Security Committee has announced a plan to launch an “all-out comprehensive” operation to eliminate the threat of terrorism in the country. “The operation will be launched with the […]

Turkey Risks Tensions With US After Ankara Accused of Strike on Iraq, Analysts Say Baghdad blamed Turkey for a strike on Sulaymaniyah International Airport after planes using the airport in northern Iraq were banned from Turkish air space By Kristina Jovanovski/The Media Line Turkey’s relationship with the US and Iraq could be harmed after Ankara was blamed for an attack on an airport in northern Iraq while American military personnel […]

By Kevin Buckland TOKYO (Reuters) – The yen sank against major peers on Monday after U.S. payrolls data bolstered the case for further Federal Reserve rate hikes, highlighting a growing disparity with Japan where the central bank continues to pin the benchmark yield near zero. Meanwhile, the risk-sensitive New Zealand and Australian dollars weakened amid heightened U.S.-China tensions over Taiwan, with Beijing a key trading partner for the Antipodean nations. […]

BEIJING (Reuters) – The U.S. Navy said its guided-missile destroyer USS Milius conducted a navigational rights and freedoms mission in the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands on Monday. The announcement came as China’s military simulated precision strikes against Taiwan in military drills around the island amid growing tensions between China and the U.S. in the region. The U.S. Navy said the operation by the destroyer was consistent with […]

(Reuters) – Russia’s forces kept up a barrage of attacks along the front concentrated in two Ukrainian cities in the eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine’s military reported, as Kyiv said it repelled more than 40 enemy strikes over the past 24 hours. Fighting was heaviest along the western approaches to Bakhmut, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said on Sunday, one of the two cities in the east, along with […]

LONDON (Reuters) – Russia’s forces kept up a barrage of attacks along the front concentrated in two Ukrainian cities in the eastern region of Donetsk, Ukraine’s military reported, as Kyiv said it repelled more than 40 enemy strikes over the past 24 hours. FIGHTING * Ukraine’s military reported continued Russian strikes, with the heaviest fighting still focused on two cities in eastern Donetsk region – Bakhmut and Avdiivka. * Russia […]