Town Hall News

By Laila Bassam and Aziz El Yaakoubi BEIRUT/RIYADH (Reuters) – Syria and Saudi Arabia have agreed to reopen their embassies after cutting diplomatic ties more than a decade ago, three sources with knowledge of the matter said, a step that would mark a leap forward in Damascus’s return to the Arab fold. Contacts between Riyadh and Damascus had gathered momentum following a landmark agreement to re-establish ties between Saudi Arabia […]

By Ankika Biswas and Amruta Khandekar (Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes climbed on Thursday as major rate-sensitive technology and growth stocks advanced after the Federal Reserve hinted it was close to pausing interest rate hikes amid turbulence in the banking sector. The U.S. central bank on Wednesday raised rates by an expected 25 basis points, but its policy statement no longer said “ongoing increases” would likely be appropriate, indicating […]

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – TikTok’s chief executive will face tough questions on Thursday from lawmakers who are convinced the Chinese-owned short video app should be barred for being a potential national security threat to the United States. CEO Shou Zi Chew’s testimony before Congress will also cap a week of actions by the Chinese company aimed at convincing Americans and their lawmakers that the app creates economic value […]

(Reuters) – Turkey’s only listed e-commerce platform Hepsiburada will prioritise profitability over rapid growth and step up efforts to retain customers who are being hit by soaring inflation. Inflation in Turkey hit a 24-year high of 85.5% in October, sharpening consumers’ focus on costs with increasing numbers turning to loans or credit cards to pay for more expensive goods. Investor appetite for fast, and costly, growth has also waned as […]

By Allison Lampert and Abhijith Ganapavaram MONTREAL (Reuters) -Business jet maker Bombardier Inc on Thursday raised 2025 revenue and free cash flow targets at its investor day, and said it would produce more corporate planes, sending shares up 4.9% in morning trade. Corporate jet makers have reported swelling order backlogs on persistent strong demand for private flying in the U.S. But flatter global traffic, supply chain snags and fears of […]

(Refiles to add dropped words ‘to be’ in final paragraph) BEIJING (Reuters) – China and the Philippines should manage their differences properly, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday, after the first in-person meeting between senior diplomats from the countries since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Bilateral tensions have risen recently over naval disputes in contested areas of the South China Sea and the increasing U.S. military presence in the Philippines. […]

By Sumit Khanna and Arpan Chaturvedi AHMEDABAD, India (Reuters) -A lower court in India sentenced opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday to two years in jail on charges of defamation for a 2019 speech in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi. Gandhi will appeal against the order in a higher court, but any jailing for him or his disqualification from parliament would be a blow to […]

SHANGHAI (Reuters) -A Chinese start-up inspired by lockdown isolation has invented a long-distance kissing machine that transmits users’ kiss data collected through motion sensors hidden in silicon lips, which simultaneously move when replaying kisses received.     The MUA – named after the sound people commonly make when blowing a kiss – also captures and replays sound and warms up slightly during kissing, making the experience more authentic, said Beijing-based […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits edged down last week, showing no signs yet that the recent financial market turbulence following the failure of two regional banks was having an impact on the economy. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 191,000 for the week ended March 18, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters […]