Town Hall News

(Reuters) – The lower house of Russia’s parliament said on Wednesday it had voted to give its initial backing to legislation that will allow the Defence Ministry to sign contracts with suspected or convicted criminals to fight in Ukraine. More than 15 months into what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine, Moscow – whose forces have suffered heavy losses – is trying to recruit more soldiers for what […]

ENSCHEDE, Netherlands(Reuters) – Italian football has been given a boost after three of the country’s clubs reached European finals this season, said national team coach Roberto Mancini ahead of this week’s Nations League campaign in the Netherlands. Although Inter Milan lost to Manchester City in the Champions League on Saturday, AS Roma were edged by Sevilla on penalties in the Europa League final and Fiorentina were beaten by a last-gasp […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday after having raised it 10 straight times to combat high inflation. But in a surprise move, the Fed signaled that it may raise rates twice more this year, beginning as soon as next month. The Fed’s move to leave its benchmark rate at about 5.1%, its highest level in 16 years, suggests that it believes the much […]

By Jody Godoy (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday partly revived a shareholder lawsuit against Prudential Financial Inc alleging the insurer concealed a shortfall with its individual life insurance policy reserves in 2019. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said investors had a plausible claim the insurer falsely downplayed mortality among policyholders as “normal” on June 5, 2019, less than two months before Prudential had to increase […]

By Howard Schneider and Michael S. Derby WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday but signaled in new economic projections that borrowing costs will likely rise by another half of a percentage point by the end of this year as the U.S. central bank reacted to a stronger-than-expected economy and a slower decline in inflation. In an effort to balance risks to the economy with a […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is seeking more information from the Israeli government about the decision that soldiers will not be criminally prosecuted over the death of a Palestinian-American man, the State Department said on Wednesday. Israel’s military advocate general said on Tuesday that soldiers who left Omar As’ad outside overnight after detaining him, and who was later found dead, will not be criminally prosecuted, but will face disciplinary […]

By Daniel Wiessner (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday revived a lawsuit by a white former employee of Indian IT services company Tech Mahindra Ltd’s U.S. subsidiary, alleging that the company discriminates against non-South Asian workers. A unanimous three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the judge who dismissed Lee Williams’ 2020 proposed class action applied the wrong standard in determining that he had […]

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – A Guatemalan court on Wednesday sentenced Jose Zamora, a well-known journalist whose work has criticized successive governments, to six years in prison for money laundering in a case rights groups have branded an attack on free speech. Zamora was also issued a 300,000 quetzal ($38,339) fine, the court said. He was absolved of charges of blackmail and influence peddling, of which he had also been accused. […]

By Daniel Wiessner (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday revived a lawsuit by a white former employee of Indian IT services company Tech Mahindra Ltd’s U.S. subsidiary, alleging that the company discriminates against non-South Asian workers. A unanimous three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the judge who dismissed Lee Williams’ 2020 proposed class action applied the wrong standard in determining that he had […]