Town Hall News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Saturday called on China to stop harassing Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, pledging to stand with the Philippines at a time of simmering geopolitical tension. “We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement. The Philippines on Friday accused China’s coast guard of “aggressive tactics” following an incident during a […]

BARCELONA (Reuters) – Andreas Christensen, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha were on target as Barcelona thrashed 10-man Real Betis 4-0 on Saturday to tighten their grip on top spot and moved a step closer to their 27th LaLiga title. With only six games remaining, Barca moved to 79 points and extended their lead to 11 points over second-placed Real Madrid, while Betis remain sixth on 49 points. Christensen opened the scoring […]

LONDON (Reuters) – The Stone of Scone, the coronation stone upon which monarchs in Britain have been crowned for centuries, reached London on Saturday after a journey from Scotland in a special carrier made from Scottish oak, ahead of King Charles’ coronation next week. Also known as the Stone of Destiny and regarded as a sacred, historic symbol of Scotland’s monarchy and nationhood, it has been moved from its permanent […]

By Nick Starkov LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy carries a pistol and would have fought to the death with his inner circle had the Russians stormed his Kyiv headquarters at the start of the war, he said in an interview shown on Saturday. “I know how to shoot. Could you imagine (a headline like) ‘The President of Ukraine is taken captive by Russians?’ This is a disgrace. […]

(Reuters) – Turkey on Saturday closed its airspace to low-cost Armenian airline FlyOne Armenia without warning, the domestic Armenpress news agency cited the carrier’s board chairman as saying. “For reasons incomprehensible to us and without any visible grounds, Turkish aviation authorities cancelled the permission previously granted to the FlyOne Armenia airline to operate flights to Europe through Turkish airspace,” said Aram Ananyan, FlyOne’s chairman. “Turkish aviation authorities implemented the cancellation […]

By Tom Hals WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) – Now that the year-long war of words between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the Walt Disney Co has landed in the courts, the Republican leader might find his verbal barbs directed at the entertainment giant coming back to bite, legal experts said. Disney on Wednesday sued DeSantis to prevent the state from ending the company’s virtual autonomy in central Florida where it has […]

DUBAI (Reuters) – The United States is an unreliable friend, and Iraq should not allow any U.S. troops on its territory, Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told visiting Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid on Saturday. Iran, which has strong ties with Iraq, opposes the U.S. military presence on its borders in Iraq and the Gulf, saying Western military intervention is the root of insecurity in the region. “Americans are […]

By Chris Prentice, Saeed Azhar, Lananh Nguyen and Paritosh Bansal (Reuters) -U.S. regulators are trying to clinch a sale of First Republic Bank over the weekend, with roughly half a dozen banks bidding, sources said on Saturday, in what is likely to be the third major U.S. bank to fail in two months. Citizens Financial Group Inc, PNC Financial Services Group and JPMorgan Chase & Co are among bidders vying […]

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s second instance appeals court lifted on Saturday the suspension of the encrypted messaging app Telegram, imposed earlier this week for its noncompliance in sharing information about extremist and neo-Nazi groups using the platform. Flávio Lucas, a judge from Brazil’s Federal Regional Court of the 2nd Region, stated in his decision that a complete suspension of Telegram’s service in the country “is not reasonable” due to its […]