Town Hall News

(Reuters) – Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, the parent of Australian telecoms provider Optus, said on Thursday its planned software update was not the root cause for an outage last week, contradicting Optus’ claims earlier this week. More than 10 million Australians were hit by the 12-hour network blackout at the Singapore Telecommunications-owned (SingTel) telecom firm on Nov. 8, frustrating customers and raising wider concerns about its telecommunication infrastructure. Optus had earlier […]

By David Morgan and Moira Warburton WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate took the risk of an impending partial government shutdown off the table on Wednesday as it passed a stopgap spending bill and sent it to President Joe Biden to sign into law before a weekend deadline. The 87-11 vote marked the end of this year’s third fiscal standoff in Congress that saw lawmakers bring Washington to the brink of […]

By Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s new home prices fell for the fourth straight month with dozens of cities hit by declines, the most since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, suggesting a broader weakening in the sector that could drag on the country’s overall recovery. New home prices in October dropped 0.3% month-on-month after a 0.2% dip in September, according to Reuters calculations based […]

BEIJING (Reuters) – A fire at an office building in China’s northern Shanxi province has killed 11 people and injured at least 51, Chinese state media said on Thursday, the latest in a recent spate of deadly accidents. The fire broke out at 6:50 a.m. at the four-story Yongju Coal Industry Joint Building in China’s top coal-producing hub of Shanxi, state broadcaster China Central Television reported. The cause of the […]

(Reuters) – Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said her side were robbed of a win against Real Madrid in their Champions League opener after the Women’s Super League (WSL) champions had to settle for a 2-2 draw on Wednesday following two controversial decisions. Niamh Charles put Chelsea level after Olga Carmona’s 10th-minute goal for the hosts, with Sam Kerr doubling Chelsea’s lead in the second half, only for Madrid to be […]

(Reuters) – Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said her side were robbed of a win against Real Madrid in their Champions League opener after the Women’s Super League (WSL) champions had to settle for a 2-2 draw on Wednesday following two controversial decisions. Niamh Charles put Chelsea level after Olga Carmona’s 10th-minute goal for the hosts, with Sam Kerr doubling Chelsea’s lead in the second half, only for Madrid to be […]

MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ foreign ministry on Thursday called on China to remove illegal structures, cease reclamations and be accountable for environmental damage in the South China Sea. The Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that resupply missions to the Second Thomas Shoal located within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) are legitimate activities, and it will not give prior notification to China. The Philippines was responding […]

By Francis Tang TOKYO (Reuters) -A car crashed into a barricade near the entrance of the Israeli embassy in Tokyo on Thursday and a man in his 50s was detained on the spot, local media reported. One police officer was injured, Fuji TV said. An official at the embassy was not immediately available to comment when contacted by Reuters. A police spokesperson said they were unable to comment at this […]

By Jeff Mason and Trevor Hunnicutt WOODSIDE, California (Reuters) -Chinese President Xi Jinping told U.S. President Joe Biden during their four-hour meeting on Wednesday that Taiwan was the biggest, most dangerous issue in U.S.-China ties, a senior U.S. official told reporters. The official quoted Xi as saying China’s preference was for peaceful “reunification” with the Chinese-claimed island of Taiwan, but that he went on to talk about conditions in which […]