Town Hall News

BEIRUT (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund warned on Thursday that Lebanon was in a very dangerous situation a year after it committed to reforms it has failed to implement, and the IMF urged the government to halt borrowing from the central bank. IMF mission chief Ernesto Rigo told a news conference in Beirut that the authorities should accelerate the implementation of conditions set for a $3 billion bailout. “One […]

KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday visited the southern region of Kherson, where he made a pledge to local officials and villagers to repair damage caused by Russia’s invasion. The visit, to a region where Ukraine pushed back occupying Russian forces in a successful counteroffensive late last year, appeared intended to underline the country’s resilience 13 months after Russia’s large-scale invasion. It was Zelenskiy’s second trip outside […]

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Meta Platforms on Thursday voiced its strongest criticism to date of a push by EU telecoms operators to get Big Tech to foot some network cost, saying the plan is not the solution to their financial problems and it also ignores tech companies’ hefty investments. Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica, Telecom Italia and other operators have lobbied for two decades for U.S. tech giants […]

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. […]