Town Hall News

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) – The United States, Japan and South Korea said in a joint statement they discussed the regularisation of missile defence and anti-submarine exercises to deter and respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. The announcement was made at the 13th Defence Trilateral Talks held on Friday in Washington D.C. to exchange assessments of the security environment on the Korean Peninsula and broader region, as well as to […]

ALGIERS (Reuters) – Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad will arrive in Algeria on Saturday, Algerian state radio reported late on Friday, a visit that reinforces Damascus’ openness to the Arab world after it was isolated for more than a decade. The Algerian foreign minister, Ahmed Ataf, will receive the visiting minister, state radio said. It is expected that Mekdad will also visit Tunis early next week. Syria and Tunisia agreed […]

By Trevor Hunnicutt (Reuters) – Senior aides to U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday hailed progress toward resolving conflict in Yemen after “constructive” talks in Saudi Arabia with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The meetings included Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, and his Yemen envoy, Tim Lenderking, and took place on Thursday and Friday, said Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council. “Their discussions […]

By Jorgelina do Rosario and Rodrigo Campos WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A committee of Sri Lanka’s international private creditors sent its first debt rework proposal to the country’s authorities regarding over $12 billion in bonds outstanding, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter. It is the first bondholder proposal after the island-nation of 22 million people defaulted on its debt a year ago. It is a first formal step […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Twenty-three U.S. troops in Syria suffered traumatic brain injuries during two attacks in March by Iran-backed militants, the U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East, said on Friday. “We have identified 11 additional cases of mild Traumatic Brain Injury from the March 23rd and 24th attacks in eastern Syria,” it said in a statement. “Twenty-three of those wounded and assessed as mTBI cases. […]

(Reuters) – At least four people died and 13 were injured in a fire at a shelter for children and adolescents in Northeastern Brazil on Friday, the local fire department said. Firemen were called to fight a fire at the Lar Paulo de Tarso charity institution in Recife, capital of the Pernambuco state, at around 4:20 a.m. A boy and a woman died at the site of the fire, the […]

By Joseph Ax (Reuters) – When Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a 15-week abortion ban on April 14, 2022, he held a morning ceremony at a church in front of an enormous “Protect Life” sign, flanked by women and children. On Thursday, exactly one year later, DeSantis – now a likely 2024 Republican presidential candidate – signed a six-week ban with decidedly less fanfare. The bill signing took place at […]

By Tim McLaughlin and Sarah N. Lynch BOSTON (Reuters) -A 21-year-old member of the U.S. Air National Guard accused of leaking top secret military intelligence records online was charged on Friday with unlawfully copying and transmitting classified material. Jack Douglas Teixeira of North Dighton, Massachusetts, who was arrested by heavily armed FBI agents at his home on Thursday, made his initial appearance in a crowded federal court wearing a brown […]

By Kai Pfaffenbach and Manuel Ausloos NEAR BAKHMUT, Ukraine (Reuters) -A Russian missile strike killed eight people in eastern Ukraine on Friday as a British assessment said Ukrainian troops had been forced to withdraw from parts of the city of Bakhmut, the focus of Moscow’s slow advance through the region. Ukrainian troops have been doggedly defending Bakhmut, shattered after months of shelling and bombardment. Ukrainian military commanders this week rejected […]