Town Hall News

By Mark Trevelyan (Reuters) – A leading Russian lawmaker said on Wednesday he had filed a complaint about an online art tool promoted by the country’s largest bank, saying it consistently generated negative images of Russia. Lender Sberbank features the “Kandinsky 2.1” design tool on its website, with versions in Russian and English. Visitors are invited to type in a word or phrase and get the “neural network” to produce […]

By Dan Peleschuk and Ethan Wang KYIV/BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy by telephone on Wednesday for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, fulfilling a longstanding goal of Kyiv which had publicly sought such talks for months. Zelenskiy immediately signalled the importance of the chance to open closer relations with Russia’s most powerful friend, naming a former cabinet minister as Ukraine’s new ambassador […]

By Dan Peleschuk and Ethan Wang KYIV/BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy by telephone on Wednesday for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, fulfilling a longstanding goal of Kyiv which had publicly sought such talks for months. Zelenskiy immediately signalled the importance of the chance to open closer relations with Russia’s most powerful friend, naming a former cabinet minister as Ukraine’s new ambassador […]

By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. clean technology subsidies are sucking capital from Europe, making it more urgent to improve London as a global financial centre, business bosses told UK lawmakers on Wednesday. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which offers $369 billion of tax credits, research loans and grants for clean technology investments in the United States, is making it harder to persuade companies to list in London, they […]

By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) -Decorated U.S. Air Force veteran Brian Kolfage, an ex-associate of Donald Trump’s former adviser Steve Bannon, was sentenced on Wednesday to more than four years in prison after admitting to conspiring to defraud donors to a campaign to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border promised by the former president. Kolfage, 41, pleaded guilty last year to misappropriating funds meant for the “We Build […]

By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. clean technology subsidies are sucking capital from Europe, making it more urgent to improve London as a global financial centre, business bosses told UK lawmakers on Wednesday. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which offers $369 billion of tax credits, research loans and grants for clean technology investments in the United States, is making it harder to persuade companies to list in London, they […]

By Alan Baldwin (Reuters) – AlphaTauri’s Franz Tost, Formula One’s second longest serving team principal, will step down at the end of the 2023 season and be replaced by Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies. Red Bull-owned AlphaTauri announced the change in a statement on Wednesday ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, saying it was aimed at ensuring continuity and securing long-term stability. Austrian Peter Bayer, who was previously […]

By Alan Baldwin (Reuters) -AlphaTauri’s Franz Tost, Formula One’s second longest serving team principal, will step down at the end of the 2023 season and be replaced by Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies. Red Bull-owned AlphaTauri announced the change in a statement on Wednesday ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, saying it was aimed at ensuring continuity and securing long-term stability. Austrian Peter Bayer, who was previously F1 […]

By Jonathan Stempel and Jack Queen NEW YORK (Reuters) -The writer suing Donald Trump for allegedly raping her nearly 30 years ago told jurors at a civil trial on Wednesday that the former U.S. president sexually assaulted her and defamed her by lying about it. “I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he lied and said it didn’t happen,” E. Jean Carroll said in […]