Town Hall News

By Shariq Khan BENGALURU (Reuters) -Oil prices rose on Tuesday on forecasts for a tighter gasoline market and a warning from the Saudi energy minister to speculators that raised the prospect of further OPEC+ output cuts. Brent crude futures rose 85 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $76.84 a barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) ended at $72.91 a barrel, up 86 cents, or 1.2%. Both benchmarks […]

KINSHASA (Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday made another formal referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to ensure the court will focus on what it calls the systematic pillaging of its natural resources in eastern Congo by the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) and the M23 rebel group. The ICC already has an ongoing investigation into eastern Congo since 2004 and it is not clear if the new […]

By Mohamed Nureldin and Khalid Abdelaziz KHARTOUM (Reuters) -Artillery fire could be heard in parts of Khartoum and warplanes flew overhead on Tuesday, residents said, though an internationally monitored ceasefire appeared to have brought some respite from heavy fighting in the Sudanese capital. Night-time airstrikes were reported in at least one area after the ceasefire started late on Monday, but residents otherwise reported relative calm. The truce was agreed at […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Justice Department on Tuesday asked an appeals court panel to dismiss its appeal and vacate an April 2021 ruling that declared unlawful a government order requiring masks on airplanes other transportation modes as moot. A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in January heard arguments on the Biden Administration’s appeal of a ruling by a U.S. district court judge in Florida that found […]

By Tyler Clifford (Reuters) – Some 2,000 Illinois children were sexually abused by Roman Catholic clergy between the 1950s and 2010s, the state attorney general said in a report released on Tuesday that also detailed how abuse was often tolerated and concealed by Church leaders. The 696-page report, released by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, substantiated claims of abuse made against 451 Catholic clerics and religious brothers in the state’s […]

By Mike Scarcella (Reuters) – A U.S. jury on Monday awarded nearly $268 million in damages to electronic components distributor Avnet Inc in its lawsuit accusing a leading technology manufacturer of artificially inflating prices as part of a global price-fixing conspiracy. The jury verdict in San Francisco federal court against defendants Nippon Chemi-Con Corp and its Illinois-based subsidiary United Chemi-Con Inc came after two days of deliberation at the end […]

By William James and Elizabeth Piper LONDON (Reuters) -Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been referred to police by the British government over potential breaches of lockdown rules during the COVID-19 pandemic, adding to scrutiny over the ousted leader’s conduct while in office. The Cabinet Office, which is responsible for overseeing the operation of government, said it had made a referral to police based on information discovered while preparing submissions […]

By David Morgan, Steve Holland and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Representatives of President Joe Biden and congressional Republicans ended another round of debt ceiling talks on Tuesday with no signs of progress as the deadline to raise the government’s $31.4 trillion borrowing limit or risk default ticked closer.     The two parties remain deeply divided about how to rein in the federal deficit, with Democrats arguing wealthy Americans and […]

(Reuters) – New York state’s power grid met about 20% of its electricity demand with energy from the sun for one hour last week, marking the highest ever output from solar generation, the grid operator said on Tuesday. A record-setting 3,330 megawatts (MW) of solar power was produced during the noon hour on May 18, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) said. That amount of power could provide electricity […]