Town Hall News

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s defense ministry has begun preparations to evacuate its citizens from Sudan amid deadly fighting, a top government spokesperson said on Wednesday. Japan’s foreign minister asked the defense minister to use the Self-Defense Forces’ plane for the evacuation, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno. “The government will continue to do its utmost to ensure the safety of Japanese residents in Japan, including the safety and evacuation of […]

BEIJING (Reuters) -The death toll rose to 29 on Wednesday from a fire at a Beijing hospital that was one of the Chinese capital’s deadliest in at least two decades, killing 26 patients and wounding dozens. Social media showed dramatic videos of people using tied bed sheets to climb down the walls to escape smoke and flames after the fire broke out at Changfeng Hospital on Tuesday. Broken and burned […]

BEIJING (Reuters) -The death toll rose to 29 on Wednesday from a fire at a Beijing hospital that was one of the Chinese capital’s deadliest in at least two decades, killing 26 patients and wounding dozens. Social media showed dramatic videos of people using tied bed sheets to climb down the walls to escape smoke and flames after the fire broke out at Changfeng Hospital on Tuesday. Broken and burned […]

By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. real estate stocks are struggling this year after a rough 2022, as fears that banks will tighten lending standards pile pressure on a sector already hit by higher interest rates. After slumping 28% last year, the S&P 500 real estate sector has gained about 1% in 2023, lagging an 8% rise for the overall S&P 500. Real estate is the only one […]

By Joanna Plucinska LONDON (Reuters) – Strikes across Europe have led to a spike in flight cancellations, delays and driven down bookings to cities like Paris, data from travel firms show, despite efforts by airlines to avoid a repeat of last year’s disruptions. Flight cancellations and delays of over three hours in Europe were up over 2022 and 2019 over the Easter holiday weekend from April 5-11, most markedly in […]

By Khalid Abdelaziz and Nafisa Eltahir KHARTOUM/CAIRO (Reuters) -Residents in an affluent district of Khartoum feared there would be trouble when they found their new neighbour was a commander from a paramilitary force that protesters blamed for cracking down on them in the past. Those concerns proved well-founded this week when people were forced to hunker down in their homes as gunfire, shelling and airstrikes raged across the city in […]

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Tom Westbrook Traders are scaling back bets on U.S. rate cuts, but dialling up expectations for British hikes. On Tuesday, it was bigger-than-expected pay rises that strengthened expectations for the Bank of England to lift rates next month and to continue doing so thereafter. Sterling rose. Ten-year gilt yields climbed for a sixth straight session. On Wednesday, British […]

(Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin met his commanders in two regions of Ukraine that Moscow claims to have annexed, while Russian forces stepped up artillery bombardments and air strikes on the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. POLITICS/DIPLOMACY * The U.S. and its NATO allies must remain alert for signs Putin could use a tactical nuclear weapon in a “managed” escalation of his war in Ukraine, the second-highest U.S. […]

By Soo-hyang Choi SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said preparations for the planned launch of the country’s first spy satellite should go ahead to counter what he called threats from the United States and South Korea, state media reported on Wednesday. Analysts say the military satellite is part of the reclusive, nuclear-armed state’s efforts to advance surveillance technology, including drones, to improve its ability to strike […]