Town Hall News

By Chen Lin SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Top officials from Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Britain said on Saturday that their 52-year-old Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) pact helped keep things in balance amid regional tensions. “The longstanding FPDA… always been an important part of ensuring signalling collective defence in this region,” New Zealand defence minister Andrew Little said at a media briefing on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue […]

PARIS (Reuters) – Stefanos Tsitsipas said he is getting back to his best by easing the burden on his shoulders and playing without any expectations as he cruised into the fourth round of the French Open with a 6-2 6-2 6-3 victory over Diego Schwartzman on Friday. Once considered the rising star to take on the mantle as the “Big Three” – Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic – […]

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – South Korea’s defence minister said on Saturday that some countries were “ignoring North Korea’s unlawful behaviour”, which he said threatens to weaken U.N. sanctions against its missile and nuclear programmes. China and Russia on Friday ignored a U.S. call for the U.N. Security Council to condemn North Korea for a recent attempt to launch a satellite and instead blamed the United States for increasing tension on the […]

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – South Korea’s defence minister said on Saturday that some countries were “ignoring North Korea’s unlawful behaviour”, which he said threatens to weaken U.N. sanctions against its missile and nuclear programmes. China and Russia on Friday ignored a U.S. call for the U.N. Security Council to condemn North Korea for a recent attempt to launch a satellite and instead blamed the United States for increasing tension on the […]

By Kanupriya Kapoor SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Indonesia’s defence minister on Saturday proposed a peace plan for the war in Ukraine, calling for a demilitarised zone and a United Nations referendum in what he called disputed territory. Prabowo Subianto called on defence and military officials from around the globe gathered at the Shangri-La Dialogue defence meeting in Singapore to issue a declaration calling for a cessation in hostilities. He proposed a […]

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China “strongly opposes” NATO repeatedly labelling it a threat, China’s embassy to Norway said on Saturday, referring to remarks by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a recent visit to the Scandinavian country. “China urges NATO to stop stirring up regional conflicts and creating divisions and unrest,” the embassy said in a statement. Stoltenberg had accused China of threatening neighbouring countries and suppressing countries that do not […]

By Jatindra Dash and Abinaya V BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) – The death toll from the collision of two Indian passenger trains in Odisha state has surged to 288 and more than 850 are injured, a state government official told AFP on Saturday, making the rail accident the country’s deadliest in more than two decades. Sudhanshu Sarangi, director general of Odisha Fire Services, also said that “rescue work is still going […]

By Kanupriya Kapoor SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Indonesia’s defence minister on Saturday proposed a peace plan for the war in Ukraine, calling for a demilitarised zone and a United Nations referendum in what he called disputed territory. Prabowo Subianto called on defence and military officials from around the globe gathered at the Shangri-La Dialogue defence meeting in Singapore to issue a declaration calling for a cessation in hostilities. He proposed a […]

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China “strongly opposes” NATO repeatedly labelling it a threat, China’s embassy to Norway said on Saturday, referring to remarks by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a recent visit to the Scandinavian country. “China urges NATO to stop stirring up regional conflicts and creating divisions and unrest,” the embassy said in a statement. Stoltenberg had accused China of threatening neighbouring countries and suppressing countries that do not […]