Town Hall News

ALMATY (Reuters) – Kazakhstan’s ruling Amanat party nominated Alikhan Smailov, prime minister since January 2022, for the same position on Thursday, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s office said, meaning he was certain to retain the job. Smailov, 50, and other cabinet members resigned automatically after the March 19 snap parliamentary election, and Tokayev now needs to appoint a new government. (Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Himani Sarkar) Brought to you by […]

By Jody Godoy (Reuters) – U.S. criminal charges should be dropped against two former Societe Generale SA bankers for allegedly trying to rig the London interbank offered rate, prosecutors told a New York court on Wednesday. Muriel Bescond, a former head of Societe Generale SA’s Treasury desk in Paris, and her boss Danielle Sindzingre, who was SocGen’s global head of treasury, were charged in 2017 with preparing inaccurate Libor submissions […]

By Crispian Balmer and Alvise Armellini VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis has a respiratory infection and will need to spend “a few days” in hospital for treatment, the Vatican said in a statement on Wednesday, amid concern for the 86-year-old’s condition. The 86-year-old pontiff was taken to Rome’s Gemelli hospital after complaining of breathing difficulties over the past few days, the statement said. Tests showed he had the infection […]

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian players and fans were left dismayed on Thursday after the country was dropped as host of the under-20 soccer World Cup following outrage among politicians in the predominantly Muslim country about Israel’s participation. International soccer’s governing body FIFA stripped Indonesia of hosting rights on Wednesday over what an Indonesian official said was a failure to honour its commitments to the tournament. FIFA made the decision after […]

Jrue Holiday poured in a career-high 51 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo posted his fifth triple-double of the season to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 149-136 win over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night in Indianapolis. Holiday became the sixth player in Bucks franchise history to record 50 points in a game. Antetokounmpo has also accomplished the feat, as has guard/forward Khris Middleton. Holiday went 20-for-30 from the field on […]

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Ankur Banerjee With sentiment still fragile in the aftermath of the banking crisis, a risk-on rally proved short-lived, leaving the MSCI ex-Japan index swinging between gains and losses on Thursday. The dollar firmed up, continuing its rebound, while gold eased. But as we are at the ‘no news = good news’ stage of the recovery from the banking […]

By Pavel Polityuk (Reuters) -Russian forces have had some success in the eastern frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian military officials said on Wednesday evening, adding that their fighters were still holding on in a battle that has lasted several months. In southern Ukraine, the United Nations nuclear watchdog chief said there had been a significant increase in the number of troops in the region of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia power plant […]

By Pavel Polityuk (Reuters) -Russian forces have had some success in the eastern frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian military officials said on Wednesday evening, adding that their fighters were still holding on in a battle that has lasted several months. In southern Ukraine, the United Nations nuclear watchdog chief said there had been a significant increase in the number of troops in the region of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia power plant […]

QUITO (Reuters) -Ecuador’s constitutional court said on Wednesday that impeachment hearings for embezzlement against conservative President Guillermo Lasso, requested by opposition lawmakers over alleged corruption at state companies, can proceed. The decision may make it more likely that Lasso will dissolve the assembly and call early elections for both his post and legislators’ seats. The government rejects the impeachment leveled at Lasso, the president’s press office said in a message […]