Town Hall News

ZURICH (Reuters) – Germany has asked Switzerland to sell it some of its mothballed Leopard II tanks, Swiss newspaper Blick reported on Friday, a deal that could allow Berlin to increase its military aid to Ukraine. Germany wants Switzerland to sell some of the tanks back to manufacturer Rheinmetall, the paper said, which would allow the company to backfill gaps in the armaments of European Union and NATO members. Germany, […]

By Sudarshan Varadhan and Muyu Xu SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Oil prices fell on Friday, but were poised for a weekly gain as renewed optimism on China’s demand recovery overrode recession worries brought by growing crude inventories in the U.S. and tightening monetary policy in Europe. Brent crude futures dipped 18 cents, or 0.2%, to $84.57 a barrel at 0739 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 16 cents, […]

TEL AVIV (Reuters) – The top U.S. military officer, Army General Mark Milley, has arrived in Israel to discuss regional security issues with his Israeli counterparts, his spokesperson said on Friday. “They will address the many challenges and opportunities facing Israel and the Middle East region,” Colonel Dave Butler said in a statement, without offering further details on Milley’s agenda. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; editing by John Stonestreet) Brought to […]

By Josh Smith SEOUL (Reuters) -The United States and South Korea will conduct more than 10 days of large-scale military exercises in March, including amphibious landings, officials from the two countries said on Friday. The “Freedom Shield” drills will be held from March 13 to March 23 to strengthen the allies’ combined defensive posture, the two militaries said in a statement released at a briefing in Seoul. “Freedom Shield is […]

By Lewis Jackson SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian pension fund client of GQG Partners has asked the U.S. boutique investment firm for more information about its nearly $1.9 billion investment in the embattled Indian Adani group. GQG Partners bought shares worth $1.87 billion in four Adani group companies, marking the first major investment in the Indian conglomerate since a short-seller’s critical report sparked a stock rout. The U.S. firm manages […]

By Steve Gorman (Reuters) -A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule arrived safely at the International Space Station (ISS) after a brief delay early on Friday, carrying two U.S. astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and a United Arab Emirates astronaut on a six-month science mission. The autonomously flying spacecraft dubbed Endeavour docked with the space station shortly after 1:40 a.m. EST (0640 GMT) on Friday, about 25 hours after launching from NASA’s Kennedy […]

By Lewis Jackson SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian pension fund client of GQG Partners has asked the U.S. boutique investment firm for more information about its nearly $1.9 billion investment in the embattled Indian Adani group. GQG Partners bought shares worth $1.87 billion in four Adani group companies, marking the first major investment in the Indian conglomerate since a short-seller’s critical report sparked a stock rout. The U.S. firm manages […]

By Yimou Lee TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan’s government believes China is set to renew a charm offensive targeting “opinion leaders” to win hearts and minds as the island gears up for a presidential election in less than a year, a security agency said in an internal report. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own, has long taken a carrot and stick approach to the island, threatening it with the […]

By Andrius Sytas KOHTLA-JARVE, Estonia (Reuters) -One of Europe’s most staunchly pro-Ukrainian governments faces a challenge in a national election in Estonia on Sunday from a far-right party that is seeking to capitalise on dissatisfaction with the rising cost of living. If, as opinion polls predict, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas’ liberal Reform party wins the election and successfully crafts a coalition it would cement the Baltic nation’s pro-European direction. Estonia […]