Town Hall News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is preparing to send a large number of additional troops to its base in Djibouti in case of an eventual evacuation from Sudan, a U.S. official said as renewed heavy gunfire erupted on Thursday. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, declined to elaborate. Forces commanded by two previously allied leaders of Sudan’s ruling council began a violent power struggle last weekend that […]

(Reuters) -Alphabet Inc is combining Google Brain and DeepMind, as it doubles down on artificial intelligence research in its race to compete with rival systems like OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot. The new division will be led by DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and its setting up will ensure “bold and responsible development of general AI”, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said in a blog post on Thursday. Alphabet said the teams that are […]

By Khalid Abdelaziz and Nafisa Eltahir KHARTOUM (Reuters) -U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to Sudan’s warring factions to observe a ceasefire over the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday to allow civilians to reach safe areas as rival forces battled for a sixth day on Thursday. Thousands of civilians streamed out of the capital Khartoum to a background of gunfire and explosions. Large numbers also crossed into Chad to flee fighting in […]

By Dave Sherwood HAVANA (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met on Thursday with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez in Havana, the latest in a series of visits to shore up support among Russia’s closest allies in Latin America. Russia, hit by Western sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine, is looking to strengthen political and economic ties with other countries opposed to what it calls […]

By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed on Thursday for a three-day ceasefire in Sudan over the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr to allow trapped civilians to escape to seek medical treatment, food and other essential supplies. Guterres did not specify when the ceasefire should start. The three-day holiday begins in Sudan on Friday. Since fighting broke out between Sudanese troops and paramilitary forces […]

By Amna Karimi and Abhijith Ganapavaram (Reuters) -Union Pacific Corp’s chief executive officer said on Thursday the railroad operator was considering slowing down the pace of hiring in the second half of the year amid a cloudy economic outlook, becoming the latest U.S. company to evaluate its staffing plans. CEO Lance Fritz told Reuters in an interview the outlook was turning a “little cloudier” for consumer-facing companies, which is making […]

By Amna Karimi and Abhijith Ganapavaram (Reuters) -Union Pacific Corp’s chief executive officer said on Thursday the railroad operator was considering slowing down the pace of hiring in the second half of the year amid a cloudy economic outlook, becoming the latest U.S. company to evaluate its staffing plans. CEO Lance Fritz told Reuters in an interview the outlook was turning a “little cloudier” for consumer-facing companies, which is making […]

By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has begun working in earnest to persuade his fellow Republicans to support a $1.5 trillion increase in the nation’s debt ceiling, amid early indications of a possible revolt in his thin majority. McCarthy faces the toughest test of his young speakership with a bill he hopes to pass in the House of Representatives next week — a measure that […]

By Katharine Jackson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a Republican bill intended to ban transgender women and girls from competing in women’s and girls’ school sports, delivering at least a short-term victory to social conservatives. The House passed the measure by 219-203 but it has little chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate. President Joe Biden has also voiced his opposition to the bill, calling it […]