Town Hall News

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Domestic flights were cancelled and almost 4,000 people were evacuated as Typhoon Haikui barrelled into southeastern Taiwan on Sunday bringing torrential rain and strong winds. Haikui made landfall in the mountainous and sparsely populated far southeast of Taiwan mid-Sunday afternoon, the first typhoon to directly hit Taiwan in four years. Counties and cities in the region cancelled classes and declared a day off for workers. Taiwan President Tsai […]

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday appeared to shift blame to his top diplomat for the disclosure of a secret meeting with the Libyan foreign minister that has caused a backlash in Tripoli. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen’s office on Aug. 26 went public with his having met Najla Mangoush, his Libyan counterpart, in Italy earlier in the month. The statement came on the heels of […]

PARIS (Reuters) – France plans to ban disposable electronic cigarettes, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on radio station RTL on Sunday. “It’s an important public health issue,” said Borne, adding that the government is drawing up plans for a national programme to fight tobacco use that she said was responsible for 75,000 deaths a year in France. So-called “puff” devices generate habits among young people that can lead to […]

SULAIMANIYA, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraqi security forces deployed in the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk on Sunday to prevent further violence as the death toll in clashes between ethnic groups the previous day rose to four, police and security sources said. Four protesters were shot dead on Saturday in clashes between ethnic groups in Kirkuk that broke out after days of tensions. Police and medical sources said all four […]

By Arpan Chaturvedi and Rupam Jain NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on the United Nations to reform in line with 21st century realities to ensure the representation of voices that matter, according to an interview published on Sunday. A “mid-20th century approach cannot serve the world in the 21st century”, Modi, who will host a summit of the Group of 20 big economies from next […]

(Reuters) -Tens of thousands of revelers attending the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert have been asked to shelter in place and conserve food and water on Saturday after a rainstorm turned the site into mud. Access to and from Black Rock City, the event’s site, was closed “for the remainder of the event,” organizers said in a statement on social media. “Rain over the last 24 hours has […]

SULAIMANIYA, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraqi security forces deployed in the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk on Sunday to prevent further violence as the death toll in clashes between ethnic groups the previous day rose to four, police and security sources said. Four protesters were shot dead on Saturday in clashes between ethnic groups in Kirkuk that broke out after days of tensions. Police and medical sources said all four […]

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin will miss a regional meeting of Asia’s leaders in Jakarta next week, the foreign ministry said on Sunday. Srettha won a parliamentary vote to become prime minister last month and his cabinet was endorsed by the king on Saturday. The prime minister and his cabinet are due to take an oath before an audience with King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Tuesday and […]

BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Three protesters were shot dead and 14 were wounded on Saturday during clashes between ethnic groups in the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk that broke out after days of tensions, security forces and police said. The dispute centres on a building in Kirkuk that was once the headquarters for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) but which the Iraqi army has used a base since 2017. The central government […]