Town Hall News

(Reuters) -First Citizens BancShares Inc was in advanced talks to acquire Silicon Valley Bank, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday. First Citizens could reach a deal as soon as Sunday to acquire Silicon Valley Bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC), according to Bloomberg News, which first reported the development. First Citizens has around $109 billion in assets and total deposits of $89.4 billion. The […]

(Reuters) – Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, have agreed to meet during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Saudi state news agency SPA said early on Monday. Both ministers spoke by phone for the second time in a few days, SPA said. “During the call, a number of common issues were discussed in light of the tripartite agreement that […]

By Florence Tan SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices climbed in early trade on Monday as concerns over turmoil in the banking sector eased, while comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin over the weekend ratcheted up geopolitical tensions in Europe. Brent crude futures gained 33 cents, or 0.4%, to $75.32 a barrel at 0040 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $69.65 a barrel, up 39 cents, or 0.6%. Brent […]

(Reuters) – The U.N. nuclear watchdog head will not travel to Russia this week, but a visit is possible in the near future, Russian news agency RIA reported early on Monday, citing Moscow’s permanent representative to international organisations in Vienna. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi announced on Saturday that he would visit the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine this week to assess the serious […]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Miami joins Florida Atlantic, UConn and San Diego State in Final Four. It marks the first time in the Final Four with no team seeded better than No. 4. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Darrion Trammell converted a go-ahead free throw after he was fouled on a floater with 1.2 seconds left, and San Diego State muscled its way into its first Final Four, grinding out […]

By Nick Starkov KYIV (Reuters) – Orlando Bloom, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations children’s organization UNICEF and a star of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Lord of the Rings” movies visited a children’s centre in Kyiv on Sunday. It was his first trip to Ukraine since 2016, the British actor said. He also met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. “I would have never expected the war to […]

By Nick Starkov KYIV (Reuters) – Orlando Bloom, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations children’s organization UNICEF and a star of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Lord of the Rings” movies visited a children’s centre in Kyiv on Sunday. It was his first trip to Ukraine since 2016, the British actor said. He also met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. “I would have never expected the war to […]

By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand intelligence agencies are growing more concerned about both foreign interference and malicious cyber activity ahead of elections in October, the country’s intelligence chiefs said on Monday. “It’s fair to say that concern about foreign interference as well as malicious cyber activity is growing,” Andrew Hampton, director general of the New Zealand Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), told media after testifying at parliament. […]

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese public support for the cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida rose to 48%, exceeding the disapproval rate for the first time in seven months, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Sunday, citing a poll it conducted with TV Tokyo. The approval rate increased 5 percentage points from the poll in February, while the disapproval rate slid to 44%, the newspaper said. (Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by […]