Town Hall News

By Humeyra Pamuk and Aziz El Yaakoubi JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had an “open, candid” conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the early hours of Wednesday about a wide range of bilateral issues, a U.S. official said. The top U.S. diplomat arrived in Saudi Arabia late on Tuesday for a much anticipated visit amid frayed ties due to deepening disagreements on […]

By Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, is headed to India next week for final preparations ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington later this month, the White House confirmed on Wednesday. Washington is working to deepen ties with the world’s largest democracy, forging military and industrial links with the South Asian country as a key counterweight to China’s dominance, […]

By Krishn Kaushik BAHANAGA BAZAR, India (Reuters) – Few trains stop at Bahanaga Bazar, the sleepy, small rural station in the Balasore district of Odisha state where India’s deadliest train accident in more than two decades happened. Three rooms, topped by a corrugated metal roof, and three platforms make up the station, which serves 14 trains daily, more than half of them to destinations within the state. Less than 10 […]

KABUL (Reuters) – Twenty four people, including 12 women and 8 children, died on Wednesday when the van they were travelling in fell into a ravine in northern Afghanistan, police said. “Due to the neglect of the driver, the vehicle deviated from the road and fell into a ravine. Twenty four people are dead,” said Den Mohammed Nazari, a police spokesman in Sar e Pol province, No further details were […]

(Refiles to fix typo in headline) By Hannah Lang and Manya Saini (Reuters) – Coinbase executives on Wednesday defended the company against a lawsuit brought by the U.S. securities regulator, saying the cryptocurrency sector lacks a clear set of guidelines. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday alleged Coinbase traded at least 13 crypto assets that are securities that should have been registered, including tokens such as Solana, Cardano […]

By Hannah Lang and Manya Saini (Reuters) -Coinbase executives on Wednesday defended the company against a lawsuit brought by the U.S. securities regulator, saying the cryptocurrency sector lacks a clear set of guidelines. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday alleged Coinbase traded at least 13 crypto assets that are securities that should have been registered, including tokens such as Solana, Cardano and Polygon. The agency also said Coinbase […]

By Michael Holden and Sam Tobin LONDON (Reuters) -Prince Harry said on Wednesday he would feel a sense of injustice if London’s High Court did not conclude he was a phone-hacking victim, as he completed more than eight hours giving evidence against a British tabloid newspaper group. Harry, King Charles’ younger son, spent a day-and-a-half in the witness box being grilled over allegations he had been unlawfully targeted by Mirror […]

By Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused Ukraine of destroying the Kakhovka dam at the suggestion of the West, in what he called a “barbaric” war crime that escalated the conflict with Moscow. The vast Soviet-era Kakhovka dam, under Russian control, was breached in the early hours of Tuesday, unleashing floodwaters across a swathe of the battleground in southern Ukraine. Ukraine blamed Russia for […]

By Shrivathsa Sridhar PARIS (Reuters) – Iga Swiatek’s laser focus at Grand Slams means she barely gets to celebrate her wins, but the French Open top seed said she is learning to mix business with pleasure after reaching the semi-finals at Roland Garros on Wednesday. The Polish world number one overcame an early test on a windy centre court to move past sixth seed Coco Gauff 6-4 6-2 and celebrated […]