Town Hall News

By Sinéad Carew NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock indexes rose and the dollar declined on Thursday on easing fears about banking sector troubles, encouraging economic signs from the chip industry and rising oil prices. Two-year Treasury yields rose to a one-week high as investors grew more confident that recent stress in the banking sector would be contained, but remained cautious about the impact that recent bank failures would have on […]

By Julia Harte (Reuters) – Emergency rooms in the U.S. saw a significant rise in the number of patients with gun injuries during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released on Thursday. Of all age groups, those between 0–14 years experienced the largest increase in the proportion of gun injury emergency room visits, the study said. About 40 children and […]

QUITO (Reuters) – Ecuador’s opposition has compelling evidence to present against President Guillermo Lasso at his impeachment hearing, a lawmaker said on Thursday, including irregularities in a crude oil shipping contract overseen by Lasso. The Constitutional Court gave the green light on Wednesday night to begin impeachment hearings for alleged embezzlement in the National Assembly, where Lasso does not have a majority and has clashed with legislators. “The evidence is […]

By Hussein Waaile, Michael Martina and Ben Blanchard NEW YORK/TAIPEI (Reuters) -The U.S. and Taiwan are closer than ever, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen told supporters during a stopover in New York that so far, according to Taipei, has not triggered unusual military actions by China. Tsai arrived in New York on Wednesday on her way to Central America, and on her way back to Taipei next week will stop in […]

By Elizabeth Pineau PARIS (Reuters) – President Emmanuel Macron’s drive to ram through legislation raising France’s retirement age despite mass protests is creating rifts between ministers and his allies amid frustration that the government has not resolved the standoff, insiders say. Ministers and lawmakers are trading blame for the failure to build broader support for Macron’s flagship policy, and some members of his own party are uneasy with his move […]

By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s Prince Harry returned to the High Court in London on Thursday where his lawyer fought an attempt by a newspaper publisher to throw out his and other high-profile figures’ lawsuit that alleged widespread unlawful acts by journalists. Harry, the singer Elton John and five other high-profile people are suing publisher Associated Newspapers, alleging they were the victims of phone-hacking and other serious privacy breaches […]

By Elizabeth Pineau PARIS (Reuters) – President Emmanuel Macron’s drive to ram through legislation raising France’s retirement age despite mass protests is creating rifts between ministers and his allies amid frustration that the government has not resolved the standoff, insiders say. Ministers and lawmakers are trading blame for the failure to build broader support for Macron’s flagship policy, and some members of his own party are uneasy with his move […]

By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) – Indicted FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty on Thursday to new U.S. charges of conspiring to violate campaign finance laws and bribe Chinese authorities. Bankman-Fried, 31, entered the plea to the new, 13-count indictment through his lawyer, Mark Cohen, at a hearing before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan federal court. He had earlier pleaded not guilty to eight […]

By Stephanie van den Berg THE HAGUE (Reuters) -In a partial victory for Iran, judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday ruled Washington had illegally allowed courts to freeze assets of Iranian companies and ordered the United States to pay compensation, the amount of which will be determined later. However, in a blow for Tehran, the World Court said it did not have jurisdiction over $1.75 billion […]