September 29, 2021 By Ana Isabel Martinez MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Thousands of women demonstrated in several Latin American cities on Tuesday to commemorate the global day of action for access to safe and legal abortion, in a region where the procedure is fully permitted only in a handful of countries. In Mexico City, women […]
News
Quantum computer software startup QC Ware raises $25 million
September 29, 2021 By Jane Lanhee Lee OAKLAND, Calif (Reuters) – QC Ware, a quantum computer software startup based in Silicon Valley with high profile customers like Goldman Sachs Group, Inc, said on Wednesday it raised $25 million. The funding round was led by Koch Disruptive Technologies, an investment arm of Koch Industries, and Covestro AG, […]
Drone images give hope for return of kelp on U.S. West coast
September 29, 2021 By Nathan Frandino GUALALA, Calif. (Reuters) – Tranquil images of the Pacific Ocean taken by a drone show that California’s kelp forests may be making a comeback after years of depletion, bringing good news in the fight against climate change. Kelp, which reduces global warming by soaking up carbon dioxide from […]
Putin to end COVID-19 self-isolation period with Erdogan talks – Kremlin
September 29, 2021 MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will end his period of coronavirus-related self-isolation later on Wednesday when he meets Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, the Kremlin said. Putin said earlier this month that he would have to spend “a few days” in self-isolation after dozens of people in his entourage fell ill […]
EU to tighten visa rules for Belarus officials over migrants
September 29, 2021 By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union will tighten visa rules for Belarusian state officials, Europe’s migration commissioner said on Wednesday, in retaliation for what she called Minsk’s aggressive effort to destabilise the bloc by pushing in irregular migrants. The EU accuses President Alexander Lukashenko of orchestrating a sharp rise […]
Samsung Electronics close to finalising $17 billion Texas chip plant -sources
September 29, 2021 By Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin SEOUL/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is close to finalising the construction of a $17 billion semiconductor factory in Williamson County in the U.S. state of Texas, three people with knowledge of the matter said. Samsung told Reuters that it is continuing due diligence in […]
Search for remains of indigenous children killed in Guatemala massacre blocked by residents
September 29, 2021 By Bill Barreto GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – Residents of a Mayan community in Guatemala prevented experts on Tuesday from beginning to exhume the remains of more than 100 children believed to have been buried clandestinely in a former military garrison during the country’s civil war in the 1980s. The search efforts in […]
Analysis: Auto industry wonders whether Ford-SK battery plants will sport the union label
September 29, 2021 By David Shepardson and Ben Klayman WASHINGTON/DETROIT (Reuters) – The plan for Ford Motor Co and Korean battery partner SK Innovation to build three battery plants in the United States, announced this week, will prompt a furious drive by labor leaders to organize the plants, potentially setting the tone for future union […]
Toronto’s underground PATH mall shops fret about hybrid work in towers above
September 29, 2021 By Nichola Saminather TORONTO (Reuters) – Business is slowly starting to percolate again at the Second Cup coffee shop franchise in Toronto’s PATH shopping mall as workers trickle back to major downtown office buildings above the world’s biggest underground retail hub. The pandemic slashed sales by 80%, said Bryan Archee, who has […]
WeChat blocks China Evergrande messaging groups, some users say
September 29, 2021 By David Kirton ZHUHAI, China (Reuters) – Tencent Holdings’ WeChat platform has blocked at least eight instant messaging groups used by people in China owed money by cash-strapped property giant China Evergrande Group, group members said on Wednesday. The groups, of around 200 to 500 people each, had discussed members’ claims and […]
Clock ticking for U.S. Congress as Friday government shutdown looms
September 29, 2021 By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Congress on Wednesday had just two days left before the federal government begins shutting many of its operations unless Democrats manage to pass a bill providing new funding for the fiscal year that begins on Friday. Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives and […]
Russia opens new criminal case against Kremlin critic Navalny, threatens more jail time
September 29, 2021 By Andrew Osborn and Polina Devitt MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia sharply escalated a campaign against jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on Tuesday, opening a new criminal case against President Putin’s fiercest domestic critic that could allow the authorities to hand him another decade in jail. In a case condemned by the West, Navalny, […]
Indian online learning platform Vedantu becomes unicorn with $100 million funding
Online learning platform Vedantu has raised $100 million in a new financing round and has become the latest Indian startup to become a unicorn following a year of strong growth. Vedantu, which last month refuted rumors of it considering a sale to Byju’s, said on Wednesday it has raised $100 million in its Series E […]
Egypt forges new plan to restore Cairo’s historic heart
September 29, 2021 By Patrick Werr CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt is pushing ahead with a new project to restore historic Cairo, a sprawling but now rapidly crumbling thousand-year-old world heritage site home to many a tale in the Thousand and One Arabian Nights. The plan aims to revitalise and promote Cairo as a tourist attraction […]
Boxing-Pacquiao quits ‘greatest sport in the world’ to contest Philippines presidency
September 29, 2021 By Neil Jerome Morales and Karen Lema MANILA (Reuters) -World boxing icon Manny Pacquiao announced his retirement from what he called the “greatest sport in the world” on Wednesday to focus on a run for the Philippines presidency, the biggest fight of his career. In a 14-minute video posted on Facebook and […]
Lynk demos global satellite connection for ordinary phones and prepares for commercial launch
The days of “no signal” may be behind us with the advent of Lynk’s satellite network that lets any modern phone exchange data directly with a satellite overhead, no special antenna or chip required. The company just demonstrated a two-way data link this week and announced its first network partners in Africa and the Bahamas […]
DroneSeed’s $36M A round makes it a one-stop shop for post-wildfire reforestation
DroneSeed started as a tech-powered alternative to the backbreaking work of large-scale tree-planting, but this important task is only one small part of forest restoration, the infrastructure for which is being pushed to the breaking point by wildfires. Armed with $36M in new funding, the company is reimagining reforestation from root to crown in a […]
Customer success company Totango lands $100M growth investment
Totango, a company that helps SaaS companies track customer engagement to find and fix user flow errors and friction, announced Wednesday that it has raised $100 million in Series D funding, led by Great Hill Partners. Existing investors BGV, Pitango Ventures and Canvas also participated in the round, which gives the company $132 million in […]
UK mortgage lending resumes after tax break blip
September 29, 2021 (Removes extraneous words in second paragraph) LONDON (Reuters) – British lenders increased their mortgage lending last month after the scaling back of a tax break for homebuyers at the end of June led to a rare net repayment by borrowers in July, Bank of England data showed on Wednesday. Net mortgage lending […]
Russia arrests top cybersecurity executive in treason case – court
September 29, 2021 MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia has arrested Ilya Sachkov, the chief executive of top Russian cybersecurity company Group IB, on suspicion of state treason and will hold him in custody for two months, a Moscow court said on Wednesday. Russian law enforcement officers searched the Moscow offices of Group IB on Tuesday, the company […]