Town Hall News

QUITO (Reuters) -Ecuador’s opposition has compelling evidence to present against President Guillermo Lasso at his impeachment hearing, a lawmaker said on Thursday, including irregularities in a crude oil shipping contract, accusations Lasso vehemently denied in a televised message. The Constitutional Court gave the green light on Wednesday night to begin impeachment hearings for alleged embezzlement in the National Assembly, where Lasso does not have a majority and has clashed with […]

By Rozanna Latiff KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -Malaysia’s top court on Friday dismissed a bid by jailed former prime minister Najib Razak to review his corruption conviction over the multi-billion dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB, ending Najib’s judicial efforts to challenge the guilty verdict. Najib was jailed last year after Malaysia’s Federal Court upheld a guilty verdict and 12-year prison sentence handed down to him by a lower court. Najib […]

By Twinnie Siu and Scott Murdoch (Reuters) -E-commerce firm JD.com Inc is planning to spin off its property and industrial units and list them on the Hong Kong stock exchange in deals worth $1 billion each, two people with direct knowledge said on Friday. The plan marks the latest revamp in the Chinese technology sector after a sweeping regulatory crackdown. In a filing on Thurday, JD.com said it would continue […]

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s popular Rugby Sevens tournament kicks off in the financial hub on Friday, with revellers partying for the first time in three years without COVID-19 rules, including face masks. The three-day competition, held from March 31 to April 2, is one of many events the city is holding to attract international tourists and business travellers to revive Hong Kong’s economy and promote it as a […]

BEIJING(Reuters) – China’s manufacturing activity expanded at slower pace in March, official data showed on Friday, suggesting hopes of a strong post-COVID economic recovery are faltering amid weaker global demand and a continued property market downturn. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood at 51.9, against 52.6 in February, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), above the 50-point mark that separates expansion and contraction in […]

By Tim Reid (Reuters) -Senior Republicans in Congress and the party’s 2024 White House hopefuls rallied behind former President Donald Trump after he was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury investigating hush money payments to a porn star, calling the charges a weaponization of the justice system by Democrats. Republicans’ ferocious response to the indictment on Thursday reflected the grip Trump still holds on the party and many of its […]

By Twinnie Siu and Scott Murdoch (Reuters) -E-commerce firm JD.com Inc is planning to spin off its property and industrial units and list them on the Hong Kong stock exchange in deals worth $1 billion each, two people with direct knowledge said on Friday. The plan marks the latest revamp in the Chinese technology sector after a sweeping regulatory crackdown. In a filing on Thurday, JD.com said it would continue […]

(Reuters) -French drugmaker Sanofi has started a process to turn its India consumer healthcare business into a listed entity via a demerger, the Economic Times newspaper reported on Friday. The company is working with Bank of America on the spin-off process, ET reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Sanofi India did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment. About 60% of Sanofi India is owned by Sanofi […]

By Jonathan Allen and Brad Brooks NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) -Protesters flooded Tennessee’s statehouse on Thursday to demand lawmakers stiffen gun laws following a school shooting in Nashville that left six people dead, three of them 9-year-old children. More than a thousand people joined the protest organized by local mothers, packing the building’s rotunda and forcing highway patrol troopers to clear paths in the crowd for lawmakers to walk through. Demonstrators […]