Town Hall News

By Soo-hyang Choi and Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) -The United States, South Korea and Japan expressed deep concern over North Korea’s “malicious” cyber activities to support its weapons programmes, in comments released in a joint statement on Friday. Crypto currency funds stolen by North Korean hackers have been a key source for financing the sanctions-stricken country’s weapons programmes, officials and experts in the United States and its allies say. A […]

By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) -Haruhiko Kuroda took a slightly less dovish tack in his farewell as Japan’s central bank chief on Friday, ending a decade of unconventional policy that included a “bazooka” of stimulus aimed at boosting inflation and sustainable growth. Handing the reins of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to academic Kazuo Ueda, Kuroda pointed to progress under his radical easy-money policy, which featured a push to change […]

MILAN (Reuters) – Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi spent a second night calmly in the intensive care unit of Milan’s San Raffaele hospital and is reacting positively to treatment, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Friday. The 86-year-old billionaire media tycoon was rushed to the hospital on Wednesday, heightening concerns over his fragile health. He has suffered from chronic blood cancer for some time and is in intensive care […]

(Reuters) -A United Arab Emirates court has dismissed South Africa’s request to extradite Atul and Rajesh Gupta, brothers who face charges of political corruption, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said on Friday. The brothers are accused of using their connections with Jacob Zuma, president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018, to win contracts, influence cabinet appointments and siphon off state funds. Zuma and the Guptas have denied all wrongdoing. South […]

(Reuters) -A United Arab Emirates court has dismissed South Africa’s request to extradite Atul and Rajesh Gupta, brothers who face charges of political corruption, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said on Friday. The brothers are accused of using their connections with Jacob Zuma, president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018, to win contracts, influence cabinet appointments and siphon off state funds. Zuma and the Guptas have denied all wrongdoing. South […]

(Reuters) – Russian forces have very likely seized the centre of the fiercely contested city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine and are threatening a key supply route for Ukrainian forces to the west, British intelligence said. FIGHTING * Asked to comment on the report, a Ukrainian military command spokesman told Reuters the situation was difficult in Bakhmut and that Russian forces were concentrating all efforts to take the city but […]

By Soo-hyang Choi and Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) -The United States, South Korea and Japan expressed deep concern over North Korea’s “malicious” cyber activities to support its weapons programmes, in comments released in a joint statement on Friday. Crypto currency funds stolen by North Korean hackers have been a key source for financing the sanctions-stricken country’s weapons programmes, officials and experts in the United States and its allies say. A […]

By Henriette Chacar and Nidal al-Mughrabi JERUSALEM/GAZA (Reuters) -Israel’s military hit sites in Lebanon and Gaza early on Friday, in retaliation for rocket attacks it blamed on the Islamist group Hamas, as tensions following police raids this week on the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem threatened to spiral out of control. Loud blasts rocked different areas of Gaza, as Israel said its jets hit 10 targets including tunnels and weapons manufacturing […]

By Liz Lee and Ben Blanchard BEIJING/TAIPEI (Reuters) -China has imposed further sanctions on Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the United States, prohibiting her and family members from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, state media reported on Friday. The sanctions, announced by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, also ban investors and firms related to Hsiao from cooperating with mainland organisations and individuals. They come after Taiwanese President […]