Town Hall News

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered on Monday a national strategy meeting to boost the competitiveness of the country’s rechargeable battery and semiconductor sectors, a presidential spokesperson said. The spokesperson did not provide further details, but the comment came a day before the country’s central bank is widely expected to leave the interest rates steady for a second consecutive meeting on Tuesday to support the slowing […]

By Ankur Banerjee SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asian shares inched higher, while the dollar started the week on the front foot after U.S. jobs data pointed to a tight labour market, firming up expectations that the Federal Reserve will again raise interest rates at its meeting next month. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.12% higher, while Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.5%. Australian, Hong Kong and European markets are […]

(Reuters) – Daniil Medvedev will head into the Monte Carlo Masters hoping to strike the right balance as the world number four looks to tweak his game for the claycourt swing without compromising on the style that has delivered four titles in 2023. Medvedev has won 18 of his 19 titles, including the 2021 U.S. Open, on hardcourts, the only exception coming at the Mallorca Open when he triumphed on […]

By Laurie Chen BEIJING (Reuters) – A Chinese court sentenced two prominent human rights lawyers on Monday to jail terms of more than a decade each, a relative and rights groups told Reuters, the latest move in a years-long crackdown on civil society by President Xi Jinping. Xu Zhiyong, 50, and Ding Jiaxi, 55, were put on trial behind closed doors in June last year on charges of state subversion […]

By Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee TAIPEI (Reuters) -China’s military carried out aerial and naval blockade drills around Taiwan on Monday, its last scheduled day of exercises, with a Chinese aircraft carrier joining in combat patrols as Taipei reported another surge of warplanes near the island. China announced the three days of drills on Saturday, after Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen returned to Taipei following a meeting in Los Angeles with […]

Israeli Scientists Develop Drought-Resistant Tomatoes To Combat Climate Change Impact New crossbred tomato variety requires half as much water and can cope with extreme weather conditions By Maya Margit/The Media Line Israeli scientists have developed a new variety of tomato that is more drought-resistant, potentially helping farmers deal with the impact of climate change. The tomato, which has yet to be named, was created through crossbreeding a wild variety from […]

Israel’s Karaites Celebrate Passover Amid Renewed Interest in Alternative Forms of Judaism Ancient Jewish movement rejects rabbinic authority, relying instead on Hebrew Bible for religious law By Maya Margit/The Media Line Avi Yefet rolled out the brown dough on a small table as he prepared it for baking in the Old City of Jerusalem. The unleavened bread – made up of flour, coriander seeds, canola oil and salt – is […]

Pakistan Declares Anti-Terror Operation Following Announcement of Terrorist Commander’s Arrest Expert says Pakistan’s ability to face the threat of terrorism may depend on achieving internal stability By Arshad Mehmood/The Media Line [Islamabad] Following the arrest of a top terrorist commander, Pakistan’s National Security Committee has announced a plan to launch an “all-out comprehensive” operation to eliminate the threat of terrorism in the country. “The operation will be launched with the […]

Turkey Risks Tensions With US After Ankara Accused of Strike on Iraq, Analysts Say Baghdad blamed Turkey for a strike on Sulaymaniyah International Airport after planes using the airport in northern Iraq were banned from Turkish air space By Kristina Jovanovski/The Media Line Turkey’s relationship with the US and Iraq could be harmed after Ankara was blamed for an attack on an airport in northern Iraq while American military personnel […]