Town Hall News

By Peter Hobson LONDON (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates has become a key trade hub for Russian gold since Western sanctions over Ukraine cut Russia’s more traditional export routes, Russian customs records show. The records, which contain details of nearly a thousand gold shipments in the year since the Ukraine war started, show the Gulf state imported 75.7 tonnes of Russian gold worth $4.3 billion – up from just […]

(Reuters) – Former Spain international Andres Iniesta will leave Vissel Kobe midway through the current J.League season, the Japanese club said on Thursday. The former Barcelona midfielder, who turned 39 earlier this month, joined Kobe in 2018 after a glittering career at the Catalan club where he won 30 trophies. He also won the World Cup and back-to-back European Championships with Spain. “We regret to announce the departure of Andres […]

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Software problems are delaying the delivery to Taiwan of 66 advanced new F-16V fighter jets from the United States but the island still expects the full order to arrive by 2026, Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said on Thursday. The United States in 2019 approved an $8 billion sale of Lockheed Martin Corp F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, a deal that would take the island’s F-16 fleet to […]

By Laura Sanicola and Jeslyn Lerh SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Oil prices were little changed on Thursday as uncertainty over whether the United States will avoid a debt default weighed against the prospect of further OPEC+ production cuts. Brent crude futures eased 1 cent to $78.35 a barrel by 04290 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) fell 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $74.23. Some progress had been made but several issues […]

CAIRO (Reuters) -Tugboats are trying to refloat a large ship that has grounded in the Suez Canal, “leaving behind” at least four vessels, shipping agent Leth Agencies said early on Thursday. The company identified the ship as the 190 metre (623 foot) Xin Hai Tong 23, a bulk carrier. There was no immediate comment from Canal authorities. “M/V XIN HAI TONG 23 has grounded in the Suez Canal at KM […]

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Sonali Desai. The U.S. debt ceiling saga continues to hang over global markets, with the White House and Republicans both citing progress in the latest round of talks but no breakthrough yet. Ratings agency Fitch opted not to wait, placing the country’s “AAA” rating on watch for a possible downgrade – the first major agency to do so. […]

By Ankur Banerjee SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asian shares stumbled to a two-month low on Thursday, and the U.S. dollar rose as the impasse in negotiations to raise the U.S. debt ceiling undermined risky assets on worries about the hit to the global economy if the U.S. government defaults. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.84% to 503.93, the lowest since March 21, and was on track for […]

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Software problems are delaying the delivery to Taiwan of 66 advanced new F-16V fighter jets from the United States but the island still expects the full order to arrive by 2026, Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said on Thursday. The United States in 2019 approved an $8 billion sale of Lockheed Martin Corp F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, a deal that would take the island’s F-16 fleet to […]

(Reuters) -A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck in the Gulf of Darien near the border of Panama and Colombia late on Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, with tremors felt across both countries. Nine minutes later, the USGS reported a 4.9 magnitude aftershock at the same location. In Panama, civil protection agency Sinaproc said there had been no immediate reports of damages and they were monitoring the situation. In […]