Town Hall News

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 over-rode recession worries brought by growing crude inventories in the U.S. and tightening monetary policy in Europe. Brent crude futures fell 31 cents, or 0.4%, to $84.44 a barrel at 0412 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 29 cents, […]

By Joyce Zhou and Jessie Pang HONG KONG (Reuters) -About 170 people were evacuated from a Hong Kong shopping area after a fire broke out in a skyscraper late on Thursday night, the government said. Firefighters battled the blaze at a redevelopment project in the Tsim Sha Tsui district throughout the early hours of Friday, the flames visible from the other side of Victoria Harbour. Several upper floors of the […]

By Prak Chan Thul PHNOM PENH (Reuters) -Prominent Cambodian opposition figure Kem Sokha was on Friday sentenced to 27 years of house arrest after being found guilty of treason, in a case condemned by the United States as politically motivated. Judge Koy Sao also told the court in the capital, Phnom Penh, that Kem Sokha would be barred from running for political office or voting in elections. He was arrested […]

By Leonardo Bennasatto and Lisi Niesner CHASIV YAR, Ukraine (Reuters) -Ukrainian forces clinging to the eastern city of Bakhmut dug new trenches in an attempt to hold back Russian attackers, as the United States said new military aid for Ukraine would be discussed at a meeting with Germany’s leader on Friday. Russian forces have been attacking Bakhmut in Donetsk province for months, sometimes in waves and the site has become […]

By Andreas Rinke, Sarah Marsh and David Brunnstrom BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will hold confidential talks on Friday in Washington with U.S. President Joe Biden about the war in Ukraine amid growing concerns that China may provide weapons to Russia as its invasion of Ukraine grinds into a second year. Scholz set off on the one-day trip, which unusually will not include a press delegation, late on Thursday. […]

By Ann Saphir and Howard Schneider (Reuters) -A virtual event with Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller was canceled on Thursday after the Zoom video conference was “hijacked” by a participant who displayed pornographic images. “We were a victim of a teleconference or Zoom hijacking and we are trying to understand what we need to do going forward to prevent this from ever happening again. It is an incident we deeply […]

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Prominent Cambodian opposition figure Kem Sokha was on Friday sentenced to 27 years in detention under house arrest after being found guilty of treason, in a case condemned by the United States as politically motivated. Judge Koy Sao also told the court in the capital Phnom Penh that Kem Sokha would be barred from running for political office or voting in elections. He was arrested in […]

By David Shepardson and Brad Brooks WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The investigation into the Ohio train derailment has found that aluminum parts on three tank cars may have melted and caused pressure relief devices not to function, contributing to the release of toxic chemicals last month, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Thursday. The Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern-operated train in East Palestine, Ohio, caused cars carrying toxic […]

By Nathan Layne (Reuters) -A South Carolina jury on Thursday found Richard “Alex” Murdaugh guilty of killing his wife and son, convicting the once-influential attorney of murder in a case that has gripped the nation’s attention for nearly two years. The 12-person jury declared Murdaugh, 54, guilty on two counts of murdering his wife Maggie, 52, and youngest son, Paul, 22, who were executed at close range near the dog […]