Town Hall News

By Philip Pullella ULAANBAATAR (Reuters) -Pope Francis, in words that appeared to be aimed at China rather than the neighbouring country he was visiting, said on Saturday that governments have nothing to fear from the Catholic Church because it has no political agenda. Francis, 86, made his comments in Mongolia, which has only 1,450 Catholics and where the tiny Church has good relations with a government that has expressed appreciation […]

By Philip Pullella ULAANBAATAR (Reuters) -Pope Francis, in words that appeared to be aimed at China rather than the neighbouring country he was visiting, said on Saturday that governments have nothing to fear from the Catholic Church because it has no political agenda. Francis, 86, made his comments in Mongolia, which has only 1,450 Catholics and where the tiny Church has good relations with a government that has expressed appreciation […]

By Mubasher Bukhari and Saleem Ahmed LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) – Public markets across Pakistan stayed closed on Saturday due to a strike by retail associations over rising electricity prices and brisk inflation, as the country embarks on a tricky path to economic recovery. A $3 billion loan programme, approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in July, averted a sovereign debt default in Pakistan but reforms linked to the bailout […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday urged authorities to enforce regulations preventing city residents from unlawfully occupying apartment blocks, after scores died in a fire in a Johannesburg building that was occupied illegally. The fire, which killed more than 70 people, has highlighted a housing crisis in a city that is one of the world’s most unequal and where poverty and unemployment are widespread. “Local government […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday urged authorities to enforce regulations preventing city residents from unlawfully occupying apartment blocks, after scores died in a fire in a Johannesburg building that was occupied illegally. The fire, which killed more than 70 people, has highlighted a housing crisis in a city that is one of the world’s most unequal and where poverty and unemployment are widespread. “Local government […]

(Reuters) – Dozens of villagers thronged and cheered Russian President Vladimir Putin during an unannounced visit on Friday to a community near Moscow where he has ancestral ties. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian media that Putin visited the village of Turginovo to see places associated with his family. Video posted by local news sites showed dozens of residents flocking the beaming president after he emerged from a car in […]

By Rosalba O’Brien (Reuters) – Jimmy Buffett, the American singer-songwriter who went from Key West beach bum to billionaire behind the always-on-vacation “Margaritaville” commercial empire, has died at the age of 76. “Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs. He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so […]

By Felix Light TBILISI (Reuters) – The separatist head of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh has resigned amid widespread food and fuel shortages resulting from an almost year-long blockade of the territory by Azerbaijan. Arayik Haratyunyan, who is an ethnic Armenian, said in a statement on Thursday: “Tomorrow I will present to the people of the Artsakh Republic and the national assembly of Artsakh my resignation from the post of […]

By Rami Amichai JERUSALEM (Reuters) – More than 100 people were injured in violent clashes in Tel Aviv between Eritrean government supporters celebrating an Eritrea Day event and opponents of President Isaias Afwerki. Israeli police fired stun grenades to break up the clashes, while some protesters hurled stones at police and set fire to trash bins, Reuters journalists at the scene said. Footage on social media showed Eritrean government supporters […]