Town Hall News

YEKATERINBURG, Russia (Reuters) – At least one person was killed and hundreds of people were left homeless when a major fire swept through a village just east of Russia’s Urals mountains. Video footage showed flames raging across the horizon, engulfing houses and trees, while smoke blocked out the sky in Sosva, about 1,400 km (870 miles) east of Moscow. Videos showed dozens of traditional Russian log houses burning to the […]

By Ben Blanchard and Roger Tung TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan’s annual military drills this year take into account China’s recent war games and focus on breaking a blockade, the defence ministry said on Wednesday, as a senior security official said Taiwan now had a “Five Eyes” intelligence link. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military pressure in the past three years to try to […]

By Catherine Schenck and Anait Miridzhanian JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – In a dilapidated block in the business district of Africa’s wealthiest city, Johannesburg, Thulani Cele and 300 others squatting in the building fill buckets with water from the only working tap so they can drink and wash. “We are living in a terrible situation. We need toilets … We need water,” says Cele, a 40-year-old former retail worker, who adds that […]

By Nyasha Chingono and Wendell Roelf HARARE (Reuters) – Ben Gilpin is one of hundreds of commercial farmers who has been offered government compensation for being evicted from their land and farms two decades ago, and found the plan has come up short. Expelled from his 1,000-hectare farm during a land reform campaign led by former president Robert Mugabe, Gilpin, who lives in the capital Harare, is one of many […]

(Reuters) – Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz rode home support to the Barcelona title on Sunday and knows fans will accept nothing less than victory at this week’s Madrid Open but the world number two says he is happy to shoulder the expectations of his compatriots. The 19-year-old, who also won at Buenos Aires and Indian Wells this season and is keen to put another marker down on clay ahead of the […]

By Junko Fujita and Tom Westbrook TOKYO (Reuters) – Investors have dialled down wagers on a policy shift at the Bank of Japan this week, which has opened a window of calm that ironically affords governor Kazuo Ueda a chance to move quickly. For months investors have been doubting policymakers’ assurances that the BOJ isn’t planning to change its ultra-easy settings yet, with speculation hitting fever pitch in January after […]

LONDON (Reuters) -Reckitt Benckiser has named company insider Kris Licht as CEO designate to succeed Nicandro Durante, taking the helm by the end of the year after a transition period. Licht, who has served as president of Reckitt’s health business and as chief customer officer since July 2020, will be appointed to the board as an executive director from June 1. Durante, a former BAT chief executive, will stay with […]

By Junko Fujita and Tom Westbrook TOKYO (Reuters) – Investors have dialled down wagers on a policy shift at the Bank of Japan this week, which has opened a window of calm that ironically affords governor Kazuo Ueda a chance to move quickly. For months investors have been doubting policymakers’ assurances that the BOJ isn’t planning to change its ultra-easy settings yet, with speculation hitting fever pitch in January after […]

By Casey Hall SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Ultra low-cost e-commerce platform Temu, owned by PDD Holdings has started selling to European markets including France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. The Temu.com website now shows all of these markets on its location drop down menu in addition to the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where it had previously already been available. PDD Holdings did not immediately […]