Reuters

(Reuters) - German industrial orders unexpectedly fell in April, marking the fourth month in a row of decreases, due to a significantly smaller number of large-scale orders compared with the previous month, according to federal statistics office data on Thursday.

New orders were down by 0.2% month on month on a seasonally and calendar-adjusted basis. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a rise of 0.5%.

"The negative trend that has... (continue reading...)

TAIPEI (Reuters) - The high level of bipartisan political support for Taiwan in the United States gives hope eventually a free trade deal could be signed, especially given progress on current talks, the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan's chairman said on Thursday.

Taiwan, a major semiconductor producer, has long campaigned for such a deal, in what would be a strong show of support for the Chinese-claimed island in the face of unrelenting... (continue reading...)

By Lisa Baertlein and Lisa Barrington

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -A new U.S. crackdown on customs brokers handling billions of dollars in inexpensive online shopping orders from giants like China-linked Shein and Temu is likely to cause delivery delays and bottlenecks, industry experts said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced late last week it suspended "multiple" brokers from an expedited clearance program for those duty-free,... (continue reading...)

COLOMBO (Reuters) -Sri Lanka has given Elon Musk's Starlink, the satellite unit of SpaceX, preliminary approval to provide internet services there, the president's office said on Thursday.

Sri Lanka fast-tracked the approval process after Musk met with President Ranil Wickremesinghe last month in Indonesia on the sidelines of the 10th World Water Forum.

Sri Lanka's telecommunications regulator gave preliminary approval after a public... (continue reading...)

By Tanvi Mehta

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Lack of jobs, high inflation and falling income in India led voters to rein in support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the general election where his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to win a majority, according to a survey.

However, Modi's leadership was a strong attraction in giving his alliance another term, it said. He was named the leader on Wednesday of the National Democratic Alliance... (continue reading...)