Town Hall News

By Tatiana Gomozova and Alexander Marrow MOSCOW (Reuters) – Former KFC restaurants in Russia will begin reopening as Rostic’s on Tuesday, as the new owners revive a brand born soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union as Russia transitioned abruptly from communism to capitalism in the 1990s. KFC’s U.S. parent company Yum! Brands Inc last week finalised its exit from Russia, transferring master franchise rights to Smart Service, a […]

By Samuel Indyk LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar edged higher as risk sentiment soured in Europe on returning banking worries, while the euro slipped even as policymakers left the door open to a 50 basis point rate hike at next week’s European Central Bank meeting. The U.S. dollar index was last up 0.2% at 101.48 in a flight to safety as worries about the health of the financial system resurfaced […]

By James Mackenzie and Hannah Confino JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel celebrates its 75th anniversary this week in a fractious and uncertain mood, overshadowed by a battle over the judiciary that has opened up some of the deepest social divisions since the foundation of the country in 1948. Memorial Day on Tuesday, honouring the country’s military dead, and Independence Day a day later have traditionally served as markers of unity in […]

By Olena Harmash KYIV (Reuters) – Ukrainian forces based on the western side of the River Dnipro are frequently carrying out raids on the eastern bank near the city of Kherson to try to dislodge Russian troops, a regional official said on Tuesday. Russian forces have held the eastern side of the Dnipro near Kherson since retreating from the southern city in November after months of occupation, but Ukraine is […]

By Jesús Aguado MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s Santander on Tuesday beat forecasts with a 1% rise in first-quarter net profit as a strong performance in Europe offset weaker trade in Brazil and the United States. Its net profit rose to 2.57 billion euros helped by higher lending income and despite a hit of 224 million euros from a new tax in Spain. That topped the 2.45 billion euros expected by […]

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) -A former JPMorgan Chase & Co executive who befriended Jeffrey Epstein urged a U.S. judge to throw out the bank’s lawsuit against him, accusing JPMorgan of deflecting blame for its own failures in working with the late sex offender. In a Monday night filing in Manhattan federal court, Jes Staley said the largest U.S. bank had no viable claims against him over its relationship […]

(Reuters) – North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum on Monday signed into law a bill that would ban most abortions, creating an exception for rape and incest victims but only during the first six weeks of pregnancy. The law, which makes it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion, provides other exceptions including to save the life of the mother or in cases where her health is at serious […]

MOSCOW (Reuters) – An ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the world was probably on the verge of a new world war and the risks of a nuclear confrontation were rising. “The world is sick and quite probably is on the verge of a new world war,” Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Putin’s powerful security council, told a conference in Moscow. He said such a new […]

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis leaves on Friday on a three-day trip to Hungary, where the war in Ukraine, migration and Europe’s Christian roots are expected to top the agenda in his public addresses and private talks with nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Francis is going there to keep a promise of an official visit after a stop of only seven hours to close a Church […]