Town Hall News

By Gloria Dickie LONDON(Reuters) – Countries are racing to prepare for extreme weather later this year as the world tips into an El Nino — a natural climate phenomenon that fuels tropical cyclones in the Pacific and boosts rainfall and flood risk in parts of the Americas and elsewhere. On Thursday, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) declared that an El Nino is now underway. The past three […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Cryptocurrency operator Circle Internet Financial said on Thursday it has hired Heath Tarbert, former chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as the its chief legal officer and head of corporate affairs, effective July 1. Circle’s hiring of Tarbert, who headed the CFTC from July 2019 until January 2021, comes as cryptocurrency firms face increasing U.S. regulatory scrutiny and uncertainty around whether the CFTC or the […]

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine could lose several million tons of crops because of flooding caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in the south of the country, the Ukrainian agriculture ministry said on Thursday. “Without a source of water supply, it is impossible to grow vegetables. Grain and oilseeds will be grown using an extensive model with low yields,” the ministry said in a statement. The ministry said the dam’s […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Cryptocurrency operator Circle Internet Financial said on Thursday it has hired Heath Tarbert, former chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as the its chief legal officer and head of corporate affairs, effective July 1. Circle’s hiring of Tarbert, who headed the CFTC from July 2019 until January 2021, comes as cryptocurrency firms face increasing U.S. regulatory scrutiny and uncertainty around whether the CFTC or the […]

MADRID (Reuters) -U.S. electric car manufacturer Tesla is in talks with the leaders of the regional government of Valencia in Spain to make an automotive investment, a source close to the discussions has told Reuters. A spokesperson for Valencia’s regional government told Reuters it had held meetings and conversations with an unidentified company about a “large automotive investment”, but declined to give more details, citing the confidentiality of the negotiations. […]

By Angelo Amante ROME (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday she would travel to Tunisia at the weekend with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, highlighting EU concern over the situation there. Meloni visited Tunisia on Tuesday looking to make progress in unblocking loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the north African state. Speaking to reporters after […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China has reached a secret deal with Cuba to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island roughly 100 miles from Florida, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing U.S. officials familiar with classified intelligence. Such a facility would allow Beijing to gather electronic communications from the southeastern United States, which houses many U.S. military bases, as well as monitor ship traffic, the newspaper reported. The […]

GENEVA (Reuters) – The Israeli government’s proposed judicial overhaul poses a threat to Palestinians, an independent body set up by the United Nations said on Thursday, adding to foreign scrutiny of the now-suspended reforms. The proposals, which would curb some Supreme Court powers and increase government sway over judicial appointments, have set off unprecedented protests in Israel and Western worries for the independence of Israel’s judiciary. As part of a […]

By Viktoriia Lakezina and Max Hunder KHERSON, Ukraine (Reuters) – Ukrainians abandoned inundated homes on Wednesday as floods crested across the south after the destruction of a huge hydroelectric dam on front lines between Russian and Ukrainian forces, with their presidents trading blame for the disaster. Residents slogged through flooded streets carrying children on their shoulders, dogs in their arms and belongings in plastic bags while rescuers used rubber boats […]