Town Hall News

(Reuters) – In a further attempt to rein in the increasing number of women defying Iran’s compulsory dress code, authorities are installing cameras in public places and thoroughfares to identify and penalise unveiled women, the police announced on Saturday. After they have been identified, violators will receive “warning text messages as to the consequences”, police said in a statement. The move is aimed at “preventing resistance against the hijab law,” […]

(Reuters) – Australian consumer finance firm Latitude Group Holdings Ltd will not pay a ransom to those behind a cyber attack last month, saying it will be detrimental to customers and cause harm to the broader community by encouraging further attacks. “We will not reward criminal behaviour, nor do we believe that paying a ransom will result in the return or destruction of the information that was stolen,” Latitude said […]

By Sandra Stojanovic and Omar Younis NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) -Tennessee state Representative Justin Jones returned to the state House on Monday, pumping his fist and declaring “power to the people” as a Nashville-area council restored him to office following his expulsion over a gun protest. Republican lawmakers ousted Jones and another young, Black legislator last week over their gun control protest on the House floor, capturing national attention with Democrats’ […]

(Reuters) – In a further attempt to rein in the increasing number of women defying Iran’s compulsory dress code, authorities are installing cameras in public places and thoroughfares to identify and penalise unveiled women, the police announced on Saturday. After they have been identified, violators will receive “warning text messages as to the consequences”, police said in a statement. The move is aimed at “preventing resistance against the hijab law,” […]

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) -A U.S. judge rejected requests to sever JPMorgan Chase & Co’s lawsuit accusing former executive Jes Staley of concealing what he knew about Jeffrey Epstein from two related lawsuits over its work for the late sex offender. Monday’s decision by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan is a defeat for Staley, who said the scheduled Oct. 23 trial for all three cases left […]

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) -A U.S. judge rejected requests to sever JPMorgan Chase & Co’s lawsuit accusing former executive Jes Staley of concealing what he knew about Jeffrey Epstein from two related lawsuits over its work for the late sex offender. Monday’s decision by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan is a defeat for Staley, who said the scheduled Oct. 23 trial for all three cases left […]

By Sandra Stojanovic and Omar Younis NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) -Tennessee state Representative Justin Jones returned to the state House on Monday, pumping his fist and declaring “power to the people” as a Nashville-area council restored him to office following his expulsion over a gun protest. Republican lawmakers ousted Jones and another young, Black legislator last week over their gun control protest on the House floor, capturing national attention with Democrats’ […]

By Dietrich Knauth and Mike Spector (Reuters) -Johnson & Johnson’s second attempt to resolve talc lawsuits in bankruptcy should be dismissed as an unprecedented fraud designed to deny plaintiffs just compensation, lawyers representing cancer victims argued in a Monday court filing. The attorneys contend J&J defied a January appeals court rejection of its first attempt to settle the litigation, noting that a J&J subsidiary refiled for Chapter 11 about two […]

By Sarah Wu and Yew Lun Tian TAIPEI/BEIJING (Reuters) – Taiwanese are rushing to buy patches being worn by their air force pilots that depict a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh – representing China’s President Xi Jinping – as a defiant symbol of the island’s resistance to Chinese war games. China began three days of military drills around Taiwan on Saturday, a day after the island’s president, Tsai […]