Town Hall News

By Alan Baldwin MANAMA (Reuters) – Red Bull’s Sergio Perez set the pace in the first practice session of the Formula One season in Bahrain on Friday with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso denying the champions a one-two on the timesheets. Perez lapped the Sakhir circuit with a best time of one minute 32.758 seconds on soft tyres, 0.438 quicker than Spaniard Alonso, with reigning champion Max Verstappen third and a […]

By Paul Lienert MARYSVILLE, Ohio (Reuters) – Honda Motor Co is moving rapidly to catch up with electric-vehicle competitors in global markets, but the company’s top executive said combustion engines could last through 2040 and beyond. Regarding the Japanese automaker’s accelerating transition to EVs, Chief Executive Toshihiro Mibe said, “I’ve been in the engine development business for more than 30 years, so personally it’s a little threatening. But I have […]

By Philip O’Connor (Reuters) – Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones returns to the octagon on Saturday in Las Vegas after a three-year absence seeking to re-state his claim to be the greatest fighter of all time, despite his many troubles. It speaks volumes about his stature in the sport that the 35-year-old will get an immediate shot at the heavyweight title against France’s Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, […]

By Sarah Marsh and Andreas Rinke BERLIN (Reuters) – Ukraine’s envoy to Berlin said Germany is taking more of a leadership role in organising deliveries of arms to Kyiv and has stopped making what he called excuses to avoid sending weapons. Germany was initially reluctant to send heavy arms to Ukraine to help it confront Russia’s invasion, fearing it might escalate the fight. But in January Berlin agreed to send […]

By Saurabh Sharma and Sakshi Dayal NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Indian police on Friday arrested three employees of a pharmaceutical firm whose cough syrups were linked to the deaths of 19 children in Uzbekistan, a police officer said, as the country looks to recover from recent setbacks to the industry. The arrests were made after tests by an Indian government laboratory found 22 drug samples of Marion Biotech Pvt Ltd, based […]

By Bart Biesemans and Clement Rossignol BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Farmers from Belgium’s northern region of Flanders drove thousands of tractors into Brussels on Friday in a protest against a new regional government plan to limit nitrogen emissions. Local police estimated the amount of tractors clogging the streets of Brussels at 2,700. Many were decorated with big plaques reflecting the farmers’ anger. “Proud to be a farmer,” read one such plaque. […]

(Reuters) – Futures for Canada’s commodity-heavy stock index rose on Friday, as a rise in gold prices and hopes of a pause in monetary tightening aided investor sentiment. March futures on the S&P/TSX index were up 0.3% at 7:12 a.m. ET. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed at its highest in nearly two weeks on Thursday, underpinned by gains in technology and industrial shares. Canada’s independent budgetary watchdog […]

(Reuters) – Verizon Communications Inc Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Matt Ellis will leave the wireless carrier in May, it said on Friday amid several senior leadership changes. Senior Vice President Tony Skiadas will replace Ellis. The company also appointed Sowmyanarayan Sampath, who leads Verizon Business Group, as executive vice president and chief executive of its consumer group. (Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur) […]

By Ariba Shahid KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) – The Pakistani rupee on Friday strengthened 2.38% in interbank closing at 278.46 rupees against the dollar, a day after the central bank raised its policy interest rate by 300 basis points (bps) to 20%, trading data showed. The rupee, which fell more than 6% on Thursday, was trading at 275.5 against the dollar during the day, up nearly 3.5%, after the opening session. “The rupee may have appreciated […]