September 30, 2021 MANAMA (Reuters) – Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid flew to Bahrain on Thursday on the highest-level Israeli visit to the Gulf state since the countries established formal relations last year. Lapid, who landed at Bahrain’s international airport in an Israir plane with an olive branch painted on its nose, will inaugurate Israel’s […]
N.Korea’s Kim offers to reopen hotline with South; denounces ‘hostile’ U.S.
September 30, 2021 By Hyonhee Shin SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he is willing to restore severed inter-Korean hotlines next month but accused the United States of proposing talks without changing its “hostile policy”, the North’s KCNA state news agency reported on Thursday. Kim made the remarks at the reclusive […]
Qatar urges ‘friendly countries’ not to isolate Afghanistan
September 30, 2021 DUBAI (Reuters) – Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani urged on Thursday “friendly” states not to isolate Afghanistan after the takeover of the country by the Taliban. He was speaking at a news conference in Doha with European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell. (Reporting by Shakeel Ahmad and Maher […]
Russia to host first royal wedding in more than a century
September 30, 2021 MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s former Imperial capital is set to play host to the wedding of a descendant of the Russian royal family in the first such event in more than a century. Grand Duke George Mikhailovich Romanov will tie the knot with Italian fiancée Victoria Romanovna Bettarini at St. Isaac’s Cathedral […]
Fairphone adds a 5G smartphone, touting software support until at least 2025
Dutch social enterprise Fairphone has announced its first 5G smartphone, the Fairphone 4. The ‘greentech’ mobile maker differentiates from almost the entire smartphone industry through a promise of sustainability via repairable modularity. It combines this with a big push around socially responsibility and ethical electronics — touting fairly sourced materials and better conditions for workers […]
VertoFX picks up $10M for cross-border payments play in emerging markets
VertoFX, a global B2B payments platform that allows small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to make payments to their suppliers, today announced that it has closed $10 million in Series A funding. Quona Capital, an emerging fintech-focused venture capital firm, led the round. Other firms also participated, including The Treasury, founded by Betterment’s Eli Broverman and […]
Carrefour CEO exploring options for consolidation -Le Monde
September 30, 2021 PARIS (Reuters) – French supermarket group Carrefour’s CEO Alexandre Bompard is examining options for sector consolidation and talks have taken place with the family behind the Auchan chain of stores, French daily Le Monde reported on Thursday. Le Monde added that both Carrefour and Auchan declined to comment on reports of talks […]
China Evergrande says made 10% repayment of wealth management products due Sept 30
September 30, 2021 BEIJING (Reuters) – China Evergrande’s wealth management unit has made a 10% repayment of wealth management products (WMPs) that are due by Sept 30, the indebted developer said on Thursday. The payment was made on Thursday and relevant funds have been issued to investors’ accounts, Evergrande said in a notice posted on […]
Factbox-Rugby-South Africa v New Zealand – Rugby Championship
September 30, 2021 (Reuters) – Factbox on Saturday’s Rugby Championship test between South Africa and New Zealand: When: Oct. 2, 8.05 p.m. (1005 GMT) Where: Robina Stadium, Gold Coast (capacity: 27,400) Referee: Matthew Carley (England) Assistant referees: Damon Murphy (Australia), Jordan Way (Australia) TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia) SOUTH AFRICA World ranking: 2 Coach: Jacques Nienaber […]
Rugby-All Blacks seek perfection as Argentina limp to finish
September 30, 2021 By Ian Ransom MELBOURNE (Reuters) – New Zealand will look to cement their claim as top dogs in the southern hemisphere when they close the Rugby Championship against South Africa on Saturday after Argentina seek a face-saving win over Australia at the end of a wretched campaign. The undefeated All Blacks have […]
India’s Bharti Airtel to invest $673 million on data centre expansion
September 30, 2021 By Sankalp Phartiyal NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Telecoms group Bharti Airtel said on Thursday it will invest 50 billion rupees ($673 million) in expanding its data centre business to meet customer demand in and around India. Airtel Business chief executive Ajay Chitkara said its Nxtra unit will make the investment by 2025, […]
Thailand to introduce $1.3 billion job support for smaller firms
September 30, 2021 BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand plans to introduce an estimated 45.4 billion baht ($1.34 billion) in stimulus to help smaller businesses retain jobs, its planning agency said on Thursday, as the tourism-dependent country deals with a prolonged coronavirus outbreak. The government will pay firms a total of 9,000 baht ($266) for each worker […]
China issues draft rule on data security for industry, telecoms
September 30, 2021 BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s industry ministry on Thursday published its draft rule on data security for the industry and telecommunications sectors. Authorities in the world’s No.2 economy are stepping up regulation in data handling to protect critical data, which could threaten areas such as politics, military, and China’s overseas interests. (Reporting by […]
Seeking to respin Instagram’s toxicity for teens, Facebook publishes annotated slide decks
Facebook has quietly published internal research that was earlier obtained by the Wall Street Journal — and reported as evidence the tech giant knew about Instagram’s toxic impact on teenaged girls mental health. The two slide decks can be found here and here. The tech giant also said it provided the material to Congress earlier […]
Hong Kong retail sales rise for 7th month, consumption voucher to support sentiment
September 30, 2021 HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s retail sales climbed for the seventh straight month in August, helped by a stabilising COVID-19 situation, an improved labour market and economic recovery and thanks to a boost from a consumption voucher scheme (CVS). Retail sales in August rose 11.9% from a year earlier to HK$28.6 […]
Centeno says ECB needs to keep monitoring inflation, stand ready to act
September 30, 2021 LISBON (Reuters) – Lingering uncertainty about rising inflation requires close monitoring by the European Central Bank, which sees it as a temporary trend, but it must be prepared to act flexibly, ECB Governing Council member Mario Centeno said on Thursday. “Concerning the monetary policy the best answer to uncertainty is to keep […]
Bosnia envoy urges EU to show the Balkans that Europe cares
September 30, 2021 By Sabine Siebold BERLIN (Reuters) – Bosnia’s international peace envoy has urged European Union leaders to send a message of encouragement to the six Balkan countries seeking membership of the bloc when they meet for a summit next week. He issued his appeal as EU member states struggle to agree whether they […]
One in 20 UK workers furloughed ahead of scheme’s closure: ONS
September 30, 2021 LONDON (Reuters) – The proportion of workers still on Britain’s furlough programme, which closes on Thursday, fell to 5% during the two weeks to Sept. 19, down from 6% in the previous two weeks, an official survey of businesses showed. Data from the Office for National Statistics also showed spending on payment […]
Lethal kids games drive viral fame of Netflix series “Squid Games”
September 30, 2021 By Sangmi Cha SEOUL (Reuters) – The hit Netflix series “Squid Game” from South Korea has gone viral across the world and online by morphing childhood games popular before the digital era such as “Red Light, Green Light” into deadly survival challenges. The playground game where players stop and go at a […]
Britain says fuel crisis under control, but some gas pumps still empty
September 30, 2021 By Sarah Young, Kylie MacLellan and Will Russell LONDON (Reuters) -Britain said on Thursday that a gas station crisis caused by an acute shortage of truck drivers was back under control but many pumps remained closed in London leaving motorists searching or queuing for hours to fill their tanks. In a chaotic […]
