Venture studio High Alpha launched its third studio Wednesday, continuing to create, launch and scale enterprise cloud companies. The Indianapolis firm typically begins a new studio every three years, and is a model of entrepreneurship that combines startup creation with venture funding. Co-founder and managing partner Scott Dorsey told TechCrunch this is coming at a […]
Kyte wants to build the foundation for autonomous rental car delivery
Kyte, a fleet-logistics platform that allows customers to order rental cars delivered right to their doors, has raised a $30 million Series A round. In the short term, the startup wants to expand into new cities, countries and verticals, but the long-term goal is to build out a platform that can deliver vehicles via teleoperation […]
U.S. security adviser Sullivan and China’s Yang hold talks in Zurich
October 6, 2021 By John Revill and Ryan Woo ZURICH/BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi began talks in Switzerland on Wednesday, in a bid to improve communication despite a deepening strategic rivalry and tensions over hotspots including Taiwan. A source close to the Zurich talks told […]
EU to extend support for wine, fruit and vegetable sectors
October 6, 2021 BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission said on Wednesday it would increase support and extend existing measures for the wine, fruit and vegetable sectors after they suffered from spring frosts, floods and heat waves this year. Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said the sectors’ problems had come on top of a difficult 2020 […]
Indonesia president backs amnesty for professor jailed for WhatsApp message
October 6, 2021 By Stanley Widianto JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo has agreed to pardon an academic jailed last month for defamation under a controversial internet law, a minister said, following an outcry from human rights groups who say the law risks curtailing free speech. Saiful Mahdi, a lecturer from Aceh province, was […]
Special Report-How AT&T helped build far-right One America News
October 6, 2021 By John Shiffman SAN DIEGO (Reuters) – One America News, the far-right network whose fortunes and viewership rose amid the triumph and tumult of the Trump administration, has flourished with support from a surprising source: AT&T Inc, the world’s largest communications company. A Reuters review of court records shows the role AT&T […]
Pinterest launches new ad features to drive shopping
October 6, 2021 By Sheila Dang (Reuters) – Pinterest will roll out new features for brands to promote products and ideas to users, the digital pinboard company said Wednesday, part of an effort to grow online shopping on its site. The features come as social media rivals including Facebook, TikTok and Snap Inc compete for […]
Dam disasters were wake up call for Brazil’s Vale, CEO says
October 6, 2021 By Marta Nogueira RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – After two deadly dam disasters that made Vale SA a pariah of the global green movement, Brazil’s largest mining company is striving to put the environment and climate at the heart of its business, Chief Executive Eduardo Bartolomeo told Reuters. Bartolomeo, speaking in an […]
European Parliament backs ban on remote biometric surveillance
The European Parliament has voted to back a total ban on biometric mass surveillance. AI-powered remote surveillance technologies such as facial recognition have huge implications for fundamental rights and freedoms like privacy but are already creeping into use in public in Europe. To respect “privacy and human dignity”, MEPs said that EU lawmakers should pass […]
Google to invest $1 billion in Africa over five years
October 6, 2021 LAGOS (Reuters) – Google plans to invest $1 billion in Africa over the next five years to ensure access to fast and cheaper internet and will back startups to support the continent’s digital transformation, it said on Wednesday. The unit of U.S. tech company Alphabet Inc made the announcement at a virtual […]
Lufthansa gets strong investor backing for 2.1 billion euro cash call
October 6, 2021 LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German airline Lufthansa received strong investor backing for a 2.14 billion euro ($2.47 billion) rights issue, providing some encouragement for travel companies looking to weather the after effects of the COVID-19 crisis. The company said on Wednesday that its rights issue was 98.36% subscribed by investors and that it […]
U.S. Senate Democrats plan debt-limit vote after Biden hints filibuster could go
October 6, 2021 By Andy Sullivan and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Democrats are set to try again on Wednesday to extend the U.S. government’s borrowing authority to head off a catastrophic default, after President Joe Biden suggested they could change the chamber’s rules to bypass a Republican roadblock. Republicans for months have refused […]
Judge in Vatican corruption trial orders prosecution to share more evidence
October 6, 2021 By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The chief judge at a Vatican trial of 10 people accused of financial crimes, including a cardinal, on Wednesday ordered the prosecution to give the defence more access to evidence and to question defendants who were not given the right to speak earlier. Court president […]
Top EU court rules Poland wrongly transferred critical judge
October 6, 2021 BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The top European Union court ruled on Wednesday that Poland violated a key democratic tenet of judicial independence in forcing the transfer of a judge critical of the government, as well as denying him the right to appeal to an independent court. The ruling by the Luxembourg-based Court of […]
Soccer-UEFA investigating Sparta Prague-Rangers incidents after Kamara jeered
October 6, 2021 (Reuters) – UEFA have opened disciplinary proceedings into “potential discriminatory incidents” during Rangers’ 1-0 Europa League defeat at Sparta Prague last week, European soccer’s governing body said in a statement on Tuesday. Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara was jeered throughout Thursday’s game at the Letna Stadium, which UEFA had initially ordered closed for […]
Soccer-Chiellini ‘ashamed as an Italian’ after Napoli trio abused
October 6, 2021 (Reuters) – Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini said he was ashamed “as an Italian” by the racist abuse directed at Napoli players by Fiorentina fans on Sunday. Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who is Black, said he was abused by Fiorentina fans, while the Gazzetta dello Sport reported his team mates Victor Osimhen and […]
Hiring sprees, worker shortages and wages: Mike Dolan
October 6, 2021 By Mike Dolan LONDON (Reuters) -Much higher wages alone would probably not clear churning and distorted global labour markets at the moment – and for many workers, they may not even be the primary demand. If future pay growth dictates whether this year’s headline inflation spikes persist and booming demand for scarce […]
Analysis-Asian high-yield bond issuers feel Evergrande pain as investors eye better protection
October 6, 2021 By Karin Strohecker and Scott Murdoch LONDON/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Global investors will probably demand more protection from riskier bond issuers in China and Asia by seeking higher returns and more transparency as a result of Evergrande Group’s financial woes. Suffocating under $305 billion in debt and teetering on the brink of […]
If Facebook is the problem, is a social media regulator the fix?
October 6, 2021 By Elizabeth Culliford WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen told Congress on Tuesday that one option for making social media less harmful would be to create a dedicated regulatory agency to oversee companies like Facebook, and could have former tech workers on staff. “Right now, the only people in the world […]
Airlines see sharply lower losses in 2022, recovery in sight
October 6, 2021 By Rajesh Kumar Singh BOSTON (Reuters) -Global airlines on Monday projected a sharp reduction in industry losses next year as a multi-speed recovery from the coronavirus crisis gets under way, but revised up the financial toll inflicted by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The International Air Transport Association, the industry’s main […]