Town Hall News

JAKARTA (Reuters) – A 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia’s Timor island on Thursday, its geophysics agency (BMKG) said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, adding there is no potential for tsunami. The agency said the epicentre of the quake was on land at a depth of 75 kilometres (46.6 miles), adding it was felt in Kupang, a city in the East Nusa Tenggara province on the western side […]

By Alex Lawler and Timothy Gardner LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Iran’s oil output and exports jumped in August despite U.S. sanctions, according to consultants and companies that track tanker shipments, as Tehran sells to buyers including China. Analysts said the higher exports appear to be the result of Iran’s success in evading U.S. sanctions and Washington’s discretion in enforcing them as the two countries seek better relations. The United States has […]

By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A federal judge on Thursday will consider whether to impose the steepest sentences yet on two former leaders of the Proud Boys who stormed the U.S. Capitol seeking to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat, after a jury convicted them of seditious conspiracy. Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to sentence Joseph Biggs to 33 years in prison and they are seeking a […]

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Defence Ministry on Thursday vowed to “crack down on every corrupt official”, when asked about a reshuffle of senior rocket force commanders and the whereabouts of former Defence Minister Wei Fenghe, who has not been seen for months. “We will investigate every case and crack down on every corrupt official,” spokesperson Wu Qian told reporters at a briefing. “The Chinese military governs according to the law, […]

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan World markets are ending a bumpy August in better sharp that the dire first half of the month – but inflation and interest rate uncertainty, China’s economic funk and geopolitics still cloud the horizon. Despite more evidence on Wednesday that the tight U.S. labour market is loosening at last, the interest rate futures market remains undecided […]

By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A federal judge on Thursday will consider whether to impose the steepest sentences yet on two former leaders of the Proud Boys who stormed the U.S. Capitol seeking to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat, after a jury convicted them of seditious conspiracy. Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to sentence Joseph Biggs to 33 years in prison and they are seeking a […]

By Chris Gallagher and Sakura Murakami SOMA (Reuters) -The U.S. ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, visited the Fukushima region on Thursday and told reporters he expected the U.S. to support Japan should China’s ban on Japanese seafood develop into a dispute at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Japan started releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean last Thursday, prompting China, Japan’s biggest […]

By Yiming Woo PARIS (Reuters) – With just under a year to go before the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, campaigners are worried would-be spectators using wheelchairs could feel left out of the Games as only a small number of metro stations are accessible without using stairs. With Paris streets often clogged by traffic, travelling underground is often much quicker but only 9% of metro stations can be accessed without […]

By Noele Illien and Oliver Hirt ZURICH (Reuters) -UBS Group embarked on a sweeping plan to cut more than $10 billion in costs, saying on Thursday it will axe 3,000 jobs in Switzerland alone after it took over its stricken rival Credit Suisse. The plan to cut roughly one in 12 Swiss jobs gives a glimpse of the scale of shake-up at the newly forged banking giant, as it grapples […]