Town Hall News

BEIJING (Reuters) – China has arrested the former head of its religious affairs regulator on suspicion of taking bribes, the official news agency Xinhua said on Monday, becoming the latest official felled in President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive. The decision to arrest Cui Maohu, the former official, was made a few days ago, the agency said, without giving further details. His downfall comes as Xi’s signature anti-graft campaign has widened […]

By Antonia Cimini PARIS (Reuters) – The city of Paris plans to expand an urban cooling system that draws on water from the Seine river as it seeks to meet rising demand for air conditioning while curbing carbon emissions, its secretary general Raphaelle Nayral said. Europe’s largest cooling network serves sites across the city, including buildings that will be used for the Paris Olympics next summer, like the Grand Palais, […]

By Scott Murdoch and Poonam Behura (Reuters) – Shares of Australia’s Liontown Resources shot up 11.5% after the lithium developer’s board backed on Monday a refreshed A$6.6-billion ($4.3-billion) bid from Albemarle Corp, the world’s biggest producer of the battery material. Emerging Australian lithium companies are experiencing a surge in buyouts as their lower valuations and cash needs lure some of the world’s top producers of lithium and others racing to […]

KYIV (Reuters) -A Russian drone strike on a Ukrainian grain exporting port damaged warehouses and set buildings on fire on Monday, Kyiv said, hours before scheduled talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan. The attack on the Danube River port of Izmail in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region hit warehouses and production buildings, and debris from drones that were shot down set ablaze several civilian infrastructure buildings, […]

BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. automaker Tesla sold 84,159 China-made electric vehicles (EVs) in August, a 9.3% rise from a year earlier, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Monday. Sales of China-made Model 3 and Model Y cars rose 30.9% from a month earlier. Chinese rival BYD, with its Dynasty and Ocean series of EVs and petrol-electric hybrid models, recorded deliveries of 274,086 passenger vehicles in August, […]

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine said on Monday Russian drones fell and detonated on the territory of NATO member Romania during an overnight attack on Ukrainian port infrastructure on the Danube River, but Bucharest categorically denied the report. Reuters could not independently verify either account of what could represent a dramatic turn in Russia’s 18-month-old war in Ukraine. Moscow has regularly conducted long-range air strikes on targets in Ukraine, which borders Romania. […]

By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY (Reuters) – Vanuatu’s parliament elected Sato Kilman as the nation’s new prime minister on Monday after a court upheld a vote of no-confidence in the nation’s former leader and amid China-US rivalry in Pacific Islands. Kilman, a former prime minister and leader of the People’s Progressive Party, was elected prime minister 27/23 in a secret ballot by lawmakers. Vanuatu was plunged into political crisis last month […]

By Philip Pullella ULAANBAATAR (Reuters) -Pope Francis on Monday wrapped up a historic trip to Mongolia which took on international connotations because of his overtures to its neighbour China over freedom of religion. At the end of a Mass on Sunday, the pope sent greetings to China, calling its citizens a “noble” people and asking Catholics in China to be “good Christians and good citizens”. On Monday, China’s foreign ministry […]

(Corrects paragraph 8 to show Kilman had four previous stints as prime minister, not two) By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY (Reuters) -Vanuatu’s parliament elected Sato Kilman as the nation’s new prime minister on Monday after a court upheld a vote of no-confidence in the nation’s former leader and amid China-US rivalry in Pacific Islands. Kilman, a former prime minister and leader of the People’s Progressive Party, was elected prime minister 27/23 […]