Town Hall News

BERLIN (Reuters) – Luxury carmaker Porsche’s return on sales in the first quarter was on par with last year’s at 18.2%, but revenue and operating profit jumped by a quarter after the carmaker’s deliveries hit a record high, the company reported on Wednesday. The carmaker, which reported an 18% rise in deliveries in the first quarter boosted by a large increase in China, reaffirmed its targets for 2023 of hitting […]

By Panu Wongcha-um and Chayut Setboonsarng BANGKOK (Reuters) – One of Thailand’s leading prime ministerial candidates Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Wednesday said she would next week resume campaigning after giving birth a few days ago, and remains confident of a landslide election win. Paetongtarn, 36, the frontrunner in many opinion polls for the May 14 election, made her first public appearance in a month to unveil her second child Prutthasin, nickname […]

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -German police arrested dozens of people across the country on Wednesday in an investigation of the Italian ‘Ndrangheta organised crime group, German public prosecutors and state police said. The ‘Ndrangheta is based in the southern region of Calabria, the toe of Italy’s boot, and has surpassed Cosa Nostra to become the most powerful mafia group in the country – and one of the largest crime networks in the […]

By Parisa Hafezi DUBAI (Reuters) -Wary of re-igniting Iran’s worst political turmoil in years, the country’s rulers are resorting to new, less obtrusive tactics to punish women who refuse to wear the obligatory Islamic hijab. The methods, introduced following nationwide anti-government protests last year, combine use of security cameras with denial of state services to violators, replacing the morality police whose actions were the flashpoint for the months of unrest. […]

By Ankur Banerjee SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar eased on Wednesday, with investors expecting a hike in U.S. interest rates later in the day, but unsure how long the Federal Reserve will keep policy tight considering the latest gloomy jobs data and U.S. debt ceiling and banking sector risks. U.S. job openings fell for a third straight month in March and layoffs increased to the highest in more than two […]

KIGALI (Reuters) -Around 55 people have been killed in western Rwanda after heavy rains triggered flooding, with others wounded and trapped in their houses, a senior government official said on Wednesday. “It rained heavily all night, causing immense suffering in the districts of Ngororero, Rubavu, Nyabihu, Rutsiro, and Karongi,” Habitegeko François, Governor of the Western Province, told Reuters. “We have lost many lives and families. Around 55 people have died, […]

(Reuters) – Former FIFA Council member Moya Dodd has criticised Gianni Infantino’s threat of a Women’s World Cup broadcast blackout in Europe this year and said the governing body is responsible for the tournament being historically undervalued. FIFA is selling TV rights to the women’s tournament separately from the men’s for the first time and president Infantino said Europe’s ‘Big 5’ nations face a blackout unless broadcasters improve on their […]

MILAN (Reuters) – UniCredit on Wednesday raised its financial targets for the year, after posting much stronger than expected first quarter earnings. Solid results by Italy’s only bank that regulators deem of global systemic relevance are the latest evidence of strength for a sector where a string of failures this year has shaken investors’ confidence. UniCredit forecast a 2023 profit above 6.5 billion euros ($7.2 billion), improving the guidance it […]

By Anne Kauranen HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finland’s largest daily Helsingin Sanomat on Wednesday took its struggle against Russian media restrictions to a popular online videogame to mark world press freedom day. Editor-in-chief Antero Mukka said the paper had to get creative in trying to breach the restrictions and decided to hide articles about Russia’s war in Ukraine in Russian in the shooter game Counter-Strike, which is popular worldwide and among […]