Town Hall News

HAMBURG (Reuters) – Volkswagen is still hashing out where to build its first large battery cell factory outside Europe, a spokesperson for the company said on Friday. “We are still working hard to find a suitable location for our first gigafactory in North America and are in good, constructive talks,” the spokesperson said, adding no decision has been made yet. Volkswagen’s supervisory board is meeting on Friday to discuss a […]

ROME (Reuters) – Rosalia Messina Denaro, the sister of Italy’s recently jailed top mafioso, was arrested on Friday on charges of associating with a mafia organisation, Italian police said. Matteo Messina Denaro was Italy’s most wanted man until his arrest on Jan. 16, after 30 years on the run. He was sentenced to multiple life terms after being convicted of a long list of murders and other crimes. His sister’s […]

By Jessie Pang and Joyce Zhou (Reuters) -Hong Kong’s Greater Bay Airlines (GBA) announced on Friday an order for 15 Boeing 737-9 airplanes, according to a company statement, with these planes to be gradually added to GBA’s fleet between 2024 and 2027. The statement was issued ahead of a signing ceremony in Hong Kong between Stan Deal, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and Bill Wong Cho Bau, the […]

ZURICH (Reuters) – Germany has asked Switzerland to sell it some of its mothballed Leopard II tanks, Swiss newspaper Blick reported on Friday, a deal that could allow Berlin to increase its military aid to Ukraine. Germany wants Switzerland to sell some of the tanks back to manufacturer Rheinmetall, the paper said, which would allow the company to backfill gaps in the armaments of European Union and NATO members. Germany, […]

By Sudarshan Varadhan and Muyu Xu SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Oil prices fell on Friday, but were poised for a weekly gain as renewed optimism on China’s demand recovery overrode recession worries brought by growing crude inventories in the U.S. and tightening monetary policy in Europe. Brent crude futures dipped 18 cents, or 0.2%, to $84.57 a barrel at 0739 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 16 cents, […]

TEL AVIV (Reuters) – The top U.S. military officer, Army General Mark Milley, has arrived in Israel to discuss regional security issues with his Israeli counterparts, his spokesperson said on Friday. “They will address the many challenges and opportunities facing Israel and the Middle East region,” Colonel Dave Butler said in a statement, without offering further details on Milley’s agenda. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; editing by John Stonestreet) Brought to […]

By Josh Smith SEOUL (Reuters) -The United States and South Korea will conduct more than 10 days of large-scale military exercises in March, including amphibious landings, officials from the two countries said on Friday. The “Freedom Shield” drills will be held from March 13 to March 23 to strengthen the allies’ combined defensive posture, the two militaries said in a statement released at a briefing in Seoul. “Freedom Shield is […]

By Lewis Jackson SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian pension fund client of GQG Partners has asked the U.S. boutique investment firm for more information about its nearly $1.9 billion investment in the embattled Indian Adani group. GQG Partners bought shares worth $1.87 billion in four Adani group companies, marking the first major investment in the Indian conglomerate since a short-seller’s critical report sparked a stock rout. The U.S. firm manages […]

By Steve Gorman (Reuters) -A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule arrived safely at the International Space Station (ISS) after a brief delay early on Friday, carrying two U.S. astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and a United Arab Emirates astronaut on a six-month science mission. The autonomously flying spacecraft dubbed Endeavour docked with the space station shortly after 1:40 a.m. EST (0640 GMT) on Friday, about 25 hours after launching from NASA’s Kennedy […]