October 6, 2021 SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Fresh coronavirus outbreaks in Southeast Asia have hurt factory activity across industries, threatening the region’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and disrupting global supplies of goods such as apparels, automobiles, and electronics. Coronavirus curbs have led companies to shut factories and suspend or reduce operations at a time when […]
UK’s Ocado invests in Wayve for autonomous grocery deliveries
October 6, 2021 By Nick Carey LONDON (Reuters) – British online grocer Ocado is investing 10 million pounds ($13.6 million) in self-driving technology startup Wayve and a partnership to develop autonomous grocery deliveries that can handle tough traffic on busy city streets. Wayve’s technology will be used in a 12-month autonomous delivery trial using a […]
Russian actor blasts off to attempt a world first: a movie in space
October 6, 2021 MOSCOW (Reuters) -A Russian actress and a film director blasted off for the International Space Station on Tuesday, beating Tom Cruise in the race to shoot the first movie in space. The Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft is set to dock at 1212 GMT at the station, which orbits Earth at an altitude of […]
Ties and high heels out as hybrid office return sparks casual comfy boom
October 6, 2021 By Corina Pons and Clara-Laeila Laudette MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish fashionista Blanca Lorca once swore by high heels and fitted clothes for the office, but the COVID-19 lockdown has transformed her style sense and shopping habits. After months working from her sleek Madrid flat, the 31-year-old pharmaceutical company employee is now dressing […]
Factbox: How COVID-19 in Southeast Asia is threatening global supply chains
October 6, 2021 SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Fresh coronavirus outbreaks in Southeast Asia have hurt factory activity across industries, threatening the region’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and disrupting global supplies of goods such as apparels, automobiles, and electronics. Coronavirus curbs have led companies to shut factories and suspend or reduce operations at a time when […]
Bulgaria sees economic growth, inflation picking up this year
October 6, 2021 SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgaria’s economy is expected to rebound with growth of 4% this year and accelerating to 4.9% in 2022, the finance ministry said in its autumn macroeconomic forecast on Wednesday. The small and open economy contracted by 4.2% in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic hit jobs and businesses. The ministry […]
Nvidia offers EU concessions over $54 billion Arm deal
October 6, 2021 By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Nvidia has offered concessions in a bid to secure EU antitrust approval for its $54 billion acquisition of British chip designer Arm, a European Commission filing showed on Wednesday. The deal announced by world’s biggest maker of graphics and AI chips last year has sparked concerns […]
EU court adviser says Nord Stream 2 can challenge EU rules
October 6, 2021 BERLIN (Reuters) -Swiss-based Nord Stream 2 AG is entitled to challenge EU gas rules, an adviser to the EU’s top court said on Wednesday, saying that the court should annul last year’s ruling against the pipeline operator. The finding, if confirmed by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), would […]
New European taskforce takes on Mali’s elusive militants
October 6, 2021 By Paul Lorgerie ANSONGO, Mali (Reuters) – When the soldiers reached the end of the road, they descended from their trucks and motorbikes and partially deflated the tyres to make it easier going across the soft terrain of eastern Mali. Then they rumbled onwards in the moonlight along a grassy trail that […]
Google confirms $1B investment into Africa, including subsea cable for faster internet
The developing world represents the best chance of growth for large internet companies, and today one of the very biggest set out its strategy for how it plans to tackle that. Google said that it would be investing $1 billion to support “digital transformation” across Africa. This will include landing a subsea cable into the […]
Goldman Sachs spinoff Juven to back African high-growth companies with large checks
Mauritius and U.K.-based investment company Juven went live today with plans to fund growth-stage technology and consumer companies in Africa. The one-year-old firm is looking to invest large checks in companies “that have proven business models, strong revenue traction and large addressable markets,” it said in a statement. Juven is one of the few investment […]
Philippines rights groups denounce presidential bid by Marcos
October 6, 2021 By Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales MANILA (Reuters) – Philippines human rights groups staged protests on Wednesday to denounce an attempt by the son and namesake of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos to return his family to power by vying for the presidency. Marcos, accompanied by wife and two sons, filed his […]
Hundreds throng passport office in Afghan capital
October 6, 2021 By Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam and Jorge Silva KABUL (Reuters) – Hundreds of Afghans flocked to the passport office in Kabul on Wednesday, just a day after news that it would re-open this week to issue the documents, while Taliban security men had to beat back some in the crowd in efforts to […]
Soaring energy prices climb up EU’s political agenda
October 6, 2021 By Kate Abnett BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union said on Wednesday it would scrutinise its power market design and consider proposals to revamp EU regulation, as the bloc seeks to keep its plans to tackle climate change on track amid record-high energy costs. European electricity and gas prices have rocketed higher […]
Pope says ashamed of Church’s inability to centre abuse victims in France
October 6, 2021 VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis said on Wednesday he was saddened and shamed by the Catholic Church’s inability to deal with sexual abuse of children in France and that the Church must make itself a “safe home for everyone”. “I would like to express to the victims my sadness, sorrow for […]
Temples underwater as floods hit historic Thai city
October 6, 2021 AYUTTHAYA, Thailand (Reuters) – Several temples in Thailand’s historic city of Ayutthaya were underwater on Wednesday, as heavy monsoon rains flooded provinces across the country. More than 40 temples in Ayutthaya, home to ancient Buddhist temples, ruins, and monuments, have been affected by the floods, the city administration said. At one of […]
German Greens say want to pursue coalition talks with SPD, FDP
October 6, 2021 BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s Greens said on Wednesday they wanted to move to three-way talks with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and liberal Free Democrats (FDP) on forming a new coalition government following a national election late last month. Greens co-leader Robert Habeck told reporters his party “is proposing to the FDP […]
Wayve, the Lidar-free self-driving startup, raises $13.6M from Ocado
Wayve, a U.K.-based self-driving startup that is notable for its use of deep learning and cameras rather than more-costly Lidar and other sensors to guide vehicles, is gearing up for its next stage of development with a strategic backer in its pocket. Today Ocado — the online grocer that also powers online grocery systems for […]
Chari, a Moroccan startup digitizing mom and pop stores, raises $5M at $70M valuation
If there’s a sector that has seen the biggest uptick in the number of startups and venture capital in emerging markets since the start of last year, it has to be the digitization of mom and pop stores. Today, a new activity takes us to Morocco, where YC-backed company Chari just raised a $5 million […]
Ireland says final global tax text due on Wednesday, hopes to sign up
October 6, 2021 DUBLIN (Reuters) – A final text of a global corporate tax overhaul is due to be circulated to negotiating countries later on Wednesday, Ireland’s foreign minister said, adding that the Irish government hoped to sign up. An updated draft this week dropped “at least” from a proposed minimum global corporate tax rate […]
