Town Hall News

By Rae Wee SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar was eyeing its first weekly gain in more than a month on Friday as bets for another rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve in May firm, though its gains were capped by soft economic data pointing to a slowing economy. In Asia, Japan’s consumer inflation held steady above the central bank’s target in March, with a key index hitting a four-decade […]

By Leika Kihara and Takahiko Wada TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s consumer inflation held steady above the central bank’s target in March and an index excluding fuel costs rose at the fastest annual pace in four decades, data showed, indicating broadening price pressure in the world’s third-largest economy. The data may keep alive market expectations that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) could phase out later this year a massive stimulus programme […]

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chilean President Gabriel Boric said on Thursday he would nationalize the country’s lithium industry and create a separate state-owned company to produce the metal used to make electric vehicle batteries. Boric said future lithium contracts would only be issued as public-private partnerships with state control. Chile holds the world’s largest lithium reserves and is currently the world’s second-largest producer. “This is an opportunity for economic growth that […]

By Yuka Obayashi TOKYO (Reuters) – Oil prices eased on Friday, extending losses from the two previous days and heading for a weekly decline, as softening U.S. economic data and a rise in U.S. gasoline inventories raised concerns about a recession and slower global oil demand. Brent futures for June delivery were down by 14 cents, or 0.2%, at $80.96 a barrel at 0101 GMT. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) […]

(Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos on May 1 at the White House to discuss deepening economic cooperation and the Indo-Pacific, a White House spokesperson said on Thursday. The two leaders will also discuss further economic cooperation, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. “During the visit, President Biden will reaffirm the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of […]

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chilean President Gabriel Boric said on Thursday he would nationalize the country’s lithium industry and create a separate state-owned company to produce the metal used to make electric vehicle batteries.    In announcing his long-awaited national lithium policy, Boric said that future lithium contracts would only be issued as public-private partnerships with state control. He added that the government would not terminate existing contracts with SQM and Albemarle […]

PA, Fatah and Abbas’ Popularity Declining Palestinians site corruption, lack of governance, diplomatic failures By Mohammad Al-Kassim/The Media Line Two incidents that took place this week at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem have raised concerns among Palestinian officials and followers of the oldest and largest Palestinian faction. Many fear that Fatah is on the decline. A woman attending Tarawih prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque last week took out the yellow Fatah flag, […]

By Khalid Abdelaziz and Nafisa Eltahir KHARTOUM (Reuters) -The Sudan capital Khartoum was rocked by bombing and artillery shelling on Friday, despite reports that warring forces had welcomed a proposal for a truce during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. “There are still clashes between army forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), leaving buildings, facilities and public property destroyed,” said a doctors’ committee. A coalition of civil groups said […]

SYDNEY (Reuters) -More than 100,000 current and former customers have joined a class action lawsuit against Australian telecommunications giant Optus over a cybersecurity breach last year that compromised roughly 1.2 million customers, lawyers said on Friday. Starting with the Optus breach in September, a spate of cyber attacks on Australia’s corporate sector has exposed data from tens of millions of customers online and led the government to set up a […]