Town Hall News

(Reuters) – The New Zealand government said on Sunday it was allocating NZ$1.1 billion ($720 million) to help communities recover from a cyclone and floods that lashed the country this year. The funds from the 2023 budget are to cover “basics” of rebuilding roads, rail and schools, as well as flood protection, it said in a statement. Cyclone Gabrielle devastated parts of the North Island in February, killing 11, after […]

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -A truce between Israel and the militant Islamic Jihad group officially came into effect late on Saturday night, with an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire agreement meant to end the worst episode of cross-border fire since a 10-day war in 2021. As fighting tapered off, streets in Gaza that had largely been deserted filled with Palestinians. Some people cheered and honked car horns while others […]

By Chayut Setboonsarng BANGKOK (Reuters) -Voting was underway in Thailand on Sunday in an election expected to deliver big gains for opposition forces, testing the resolve of a pro-military establishment at the heart of two decades of intermittent turmoil in the coup-prone country. About 52 million eligible voters are choosing among progressive opposition parties – one with a knack for winning elections – and others allied with royalist generals keen […]

By Chayut Setboonsarng BANGKOK (Reuters) -Voting was underway in Thailand on Sunday in an election expected to deliver big gains for opposition forces, testing the resolve of a pro-military establishment at the heart of two decades of intermittent turmoil in the coup-prone country. About 52 million eligible voters are choosing among progressive opposition parties – one with a knack for winning elections – and others allied with royalist generals keen […]

By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) – Squishmallows joined Warren Buffett’s business empire two years after Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian and others helped make the plush stuffed toys a viral sensation on TikTok. For Judd and Laura Zebersky, whose company Jazwares makes the toys, the success of Squishmallows is hardly what they imagined when they met 33 years ago at the University of Miami law school. They married in 1993 and embarked […]

(Reuters) -Newly appointed Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino said in a tweet on Saturday that she has been inspired by owner Elon Musk’s vision to create a brighter future and is excited to help to transform the social media platform. It was the first time Yaccarino has spoken publicly since the news broke Thursday that she was in talks to become the next CEO of Twitter. Musk, who has served as […]

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turks will vote on Sunday in one of the most consequential elections in modern Turkey’s 100-year history, which could unseat President Tayyip Erdogan after 20 years in power and halt his government’s increasingly authoritarian path. The vote will decide not only who leads Turkey, a NATO-member country of 85 million, but also how it is governed, where its economy is headed amid a deep cost of living […]

(Reuters) – Newly appointed Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino said in a tweet on Saturday that she has been inspired by owner Elon Musk’s vision to create a brighter future and is excited to help to transform the social media platform. It was the first time Yaccarino has spoken publicly since the news broke Thursday that she was in talks to become the next CEO of Twitter. Musk, who has served […]

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turks will vote on Sunday in one of the most consequential elections in modern Turkey’s 100-year history, which could unseat President Tayyip Erdogan after 20 years in power and halt his government’s increasingly authoritarian path. The vote will decide not only who leads Turkey, a NATO-member country of 85 million, but also how it is governed, where its economy is headed amid a deep cost of living […]