Vodafone sees earnings rise on the back of strong European demand

Telecoms giant Vodafone saw earnings rise to a better-than-expected €7.9bn (£6.8bn, $8.5bn), boosted by improved trading in European markets such as Germany and Italy. Chief executive Vittorio Colao said: "We have further improved our performance during the first half of the financial year with Europe modestly ahead of our expectations – led by Germany and Italy – and good execution in Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific. In the Indian mobile market the three biggest play