Town Hall News

By Sabine Siebold SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY (Reuters) – In a remote German wood away from prying eyes, around 40 Ukrainians are taking a crash course on one of the West’s most advanced air defence systems, already confident it will enable them to better ward off Russian strikes once they return home. Boasting a range of some 40 kilometres (25 miles) and a 360 degree view, the IRIS-T SLM system is […]

JAKARTA (Reuters) – An Indonesian labour party said on Friday its members will protest against a controversial court ruling that this week ordered the country’s poll body (KPU) to delay the 2024 presidential and general elections. The Central Jakarta district court ruled on Thursday that KPU must halt all election preparations for more than two years and effectively delay the February, 2024 elections. The decision, which has drawn widespread criticism, […]

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – A Malaysian court on Friday acquitted former Prime Minister Najib Razak and the former chief executive of scandal-linked state fund 1MDB of corruption charges linked to a 2016 government audit into the fund, their lawyers said. The acquittal comes amid renewed scrutiny on government corruption with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who took office in November last year, ordering a review into the previous administration’s projects in […]

Seventh-seeded Mayar Sherif of Egypt saved two match points while rallying for a 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4 win over China’s Xinyu Wang on Thursday in the second round of the Abierto GNP Seguros in Monterrey, Mexico. Wang served for the match at 6-5 of the second set, but Sherif broke to force a tiebreaker. Wang then jumped ahead 6-4 before Sherif took the final four points of the tiebreaker to […]

Seventh-seeded Mayar Sherif of Egypt saved two match points while rallying for a 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4 win over China’s Xinyu Wang on Thursday in the second round of the Abierto GNP Seguros in Monterrey, Mexico. Wang served for the match at 6-5 of the second set, but Sherif broke to force a tiebreaker. Wang then jumped ahead 6-4 before Sherif took the final four points of the tiebreaker to […]

By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Daniel Ellsberg, the whistleblower who leaked the “Pentagon Papers” about the Vietnam War and exposed years of related U.S. government lies, said on Thursday that terminal pancreatic cancer had been diagnosed in him. “On February 17, without much warning, I was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer,” Ellsberg, 91, said in a statement on Twitter. “I’m sorry to report to you that my doctors have […]

By Sudarshan Varadhan and Muyu Xu SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Oil prices fell on Friday, but were poised for a weekly gain as renewed optimism on China’s demand recovery over-rode recession worries brought by growing crude inventories in the U.S. and tightening monetary policy in Europe. Brent crude futures fell 31 cents, or 0.4%, to $84.44 a barrel at 0412 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 29 cents, […]

By Joyce Zhou and Jessie Pang HONG KONG (Reuters) -About 170 people were evacuated from a Hong Kong shopping area after a fire broke out in a skyscraper late on Thursday night, the government said. Firefighters battled the blaze at a redevelopment project in the Tsim Sha Tsui district throughout the early hours of Friday, the flames visible from the other side of Victoria Harbour. Several upper floors of the […]

By Prak Chan Thul PHNOM PENH (Reuters) -Prominent Cambodian opposition figure Kem Sokha was on Friday sentenced to 27 years of house arrest after being found guilty of treason, in a case condemned by the United States as politically motivated. Judge Koy Sao also told the court in the capital, Phnom Penh, that Kem Sokha would be barred from running for political office or voting in elections. He was arrested […]