Town Hall News

By Joe Cash and Liz Lee BOAO, China (Reuters) – Countries in a relatively stronger position should help vulnerable nations especially those under debt distress, International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday. The IMF chief said such assistance would be particularly important against the backdrop of high interest rates and currency depreciation. “We urgently need faster and more efficient global mechanisms for providing debt treatments to these […]

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan expects a less severe reaction from China to an expected meeting between President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and has not seen any unusual Chinese military movements, a senior Taiwan security official said on Thursday. Tsai arrived in New York on Wednesday on her way to Central America, and will stop off in Los Angeles next week on her way back to Taipei. […]

MANILA (Reuters) – Ten people have died and 230 have been rescued after a passenger ferry caught fire on Wednesday evening in the seas off the southern Philippine province of Basilan, a coast guard official said. Nine people were injured in the fire that started in air-conditioned cabins, Commodore Rejard Marfe, coast guard chief in southern Mindanao, told the DZMM radio station. The ferry has a capacity to carry up […]

By Jonathan Allen and Brendan O’Brien NASHVILLE (Reuters) -First lady Jill Biden joined a memorial vigil in Nashville on Wednesday for the three children and three adults shot to death this week at a Christian day school, including two educators who were close friends of the Tennessee governor’s wife. The outdoor ceremony, attended by several hundred people, began about an hour before sunset in Nashville Public Square Park, outside city […]

MANILA (Reuters) – Ten people have died and 230 have been rescued after a passenger ferry caught fire on Wednesday evening in the seas off the southern Philippine province of Basilan, a coast guard official said. Nine people were injured in the fire that started in air-conditioned cabins, Commodore Rejard Marfe, coast guard chief in southern Mindanao, told the DZMM radio station. The ferry has a capacity to carry up […]

BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro said on Wednesday he will not lead the opposition to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, but will collaborate with his political party, the conservative Liberal Party.     Bolsonaro spoke to a CNN Brasil journalist at an airport in Florida before boarding a flight to Brazil, where he is returning to for the first time since losing reelection in October. “I will not […]

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 statement said the pontiff was taken to Rome’s Gemelli hospital after complaining of breathing difficulties over the past few days. It added that tests showed he had […]

By Michael Church HONG KONG (Reuters) – The Chinese Super League suffered another blow after Guangzhou City announced they are suspending operations and will not take part when the new season makes its expected return next month. City, who finished 15th last year to retain their place in China’s top flight, are one of eight teams who competed in the country’s professional pyramid last season to be disqualified ahead of […]

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Qantas Airways Ltd and Airbus SE will jointly invest A$2 million ($1.34 million) in a biofuel refinery being set up in Australia’s Queensland state that would convert agricultural by-products into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The funds will be used for a detailed feasibility study and early-stage development of the proposed facility jointly developed by Jet Zero Australia and SAF technology firm LanzaJet, Qantas said on Thursday. The […]