Town Hall News

By Nick Mulvenney SYDNEY (Reuters) – Wallabies flyhalf Quade Cooper played his first meaningful minutes of rugby for more than nine months in Japan at the weekend, while coach Eddie Jones watched two other contenders for the gold number 10 shirt go head-to-head in Melbourne. Jones has made it clear since his return as coach that Cooper is very much in his plans for the World Cup later this year, […]

(Reuters) – Ukraine’s top military command said on Monday that its forces destroyed all 35 Iranian-made Shahed drones that Russia had launched overnight at different targets around the country. “The Russian Federation (also) launched 16 missile strikes last night, in particular on the cities of Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions,” the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in its daily update. It added that in addition, 61 airstrikes […]

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Winter has come early to Australia with a cold front bringing high winds, snow and hail to the southeast in a cold snap the weather bureau says could last until the middle of the week. Snow fell in Oberon, about 120 km (75 miles) west of Sydney, on Monday, as the weather bureau warned sheep farmers across the southeast and in alpine areas that their animals exposed […]

By Scott Murdoch and Julie Zhu SYDNEY/HONG KONG (Reuters) -Alibaba’s logistics arm aims to raise up to $2 billion via a listing in Hong Kong likely early next year, sources with knowledge of the matter said, bolstering hopes for a capital markets revival in the Asian financial hub. Cainiao Network Technology’s initial public offering (IPO) plan comes after Alibaba flagged in late March it would split its business into six […]

HONG KONG (Reuters) – China wants to work with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to oppose the politicisation of sports, Premier Li Qiang said, after protests over human rights and the playing of a Hong Kong protest-linked song at some events angered Beijing. Premier Li made the comments at a meeting with IOC head Thomas Bach in Beijing over the weekend, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. Li’s comments […]

HONG KONG (Reuters) – China wants to work with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to oppose the politicisation of sports, Premier Li Qiang said, after protests over human rights and the playing of a Hong Kong protest-linked song at some events angered Beijing. Premier Li made the comments at a meeting with IOC head Thomas Bach in Beijing over the weekend, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. Li’s comments […]

By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian shares crept higher on Monday as investors braced for a week where U.S. inflation data will test wagers the next move in interest rates will be down, while worries about a possible credit crunch weighed on the dollar. Friday’s robust U.S. payrolls report has already delivered a setback to easing hopes and any upside surprise on consumer prices would challenge bets for a […]

(Reuters) – Roger Federer said he hopes Rafa Nadal will recover in time for the French Open and that it would be a “brutal” blow for tennis if the 14-time Roland Garros champion is absent this year. Nadal has been dealing with a hip injury he suffered at the Australian Open in January, and fears that the Spaniard may miss the Paris Grand Slam grew after he pulled out of […]

(Reuters) -Cryptocurrency exchange Binance halted bitcoin withdrawals on Monday for the second time in a day, citing large volumes. “Our team is currently working on a fix and will reopen (bitcoin) withdrawals as soon as possible,” the company said in a tweet. “There is a large volume of withdrawal transactions from Binance still pending as our set fees did not anticipate the recent surge in (bitcoin) network gas fees,” Binance […]