September 16, 2021 (Reuters) – Cigarette maker Philip Morris International (PMI) said on Thursday it had received about 75% of Vectura shares from shareholders as part of a public tender offer process to acquire the British company. “We have reached an important milestone in our acquisition of Vectura and are pleased to have secured over […]
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Australia to build eight nuclear-powered submarines under new Indo-Pacific security pact
September 16, 2021 By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia will build eight nuclear-powered submarines under a new Indo-Pacific security partnership with the United States and Britain that analysts say will likely rile China, which will see the pact as an attempt to contain it. Australia will be only the second country after Britain in […]
Hezbollah brings Iranian fuel into Lebanon, al-Manar TV says
September 16, 2021 BEIRUT (Reuters) – Hezbollah began bringing Iranian fuel into Lebanon via Syria on Thursday, its al-Manar TV said, a move the Shi’ite group says aims to ease a crippling energy crisis but which its opponents have said exposes the country to the risk of U.S. sanctions. Quoting its correspondent, al-Manar TV said […]
China slows game approvals to enforce tough new rules – Bloomberg News
September 16, 2021 (Reuters) – China is reviewing new games to ensure they meet stricter criteria for content and protection of children, Bloomberg News said on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The media watchdog is re-evaluating titles submitted for approval by game developers from Tencent Holdings Ltd to Netease Inc to make sure […]
Factbox-China crackdown wipes hundreds of billions off top companies’ values
September 16, 2021 SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s regulatory crackdown has ensnared sectors from technology to education to property, wiping hundreds of billions off the market capitalisations of some of its largest companies and putting investors on alert over who may be next. Here are some of the largest names that have been affected so far: […]
China Evergrande onshore bond trading suspended after downgrade
September 16, 2021 By Clare Jim and Andrew Galbraith HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) -China Evergrande Group’s main unit, Hengda Real Estate Group Co Ltd, applied on Thursday to suspend trading of its onshore corporate bonds following a downgrade, as the country’s No.2 property developer wrestles with a liquidity crisis. The application follows repeated trading freezes of […]
Investors tense up as fears of post-election gridlock rise in Canada
September 16, 2021 By Fergal Smith TORONTO (Reuters) – Foreign investors are growing more worried that Canada’s federal election on Monday could result in a deadlock that hampers Ottawa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and further slows the economic recovery from the crisis. Polls show Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s center-left Liberals virtually tied with the […]
India’s Vodafone Idea surges 20% after government floats relief package
September 16, 2021 BENGALURU (Reuters) – Shares of Vodafone Idea Ltd surged nearly 20% on Thursday while banks with exposure to the embattled telecom firm also climbed, a day after India’s federal cabinet approved a relief package for the cash-strapped sector. The relief package includes a four-year moratorium on airwaves payments due to the government, […]
UNICEF calls for schools to reopen in pandemic-hit nations
September 16, 2021 MANILA (Reuters) – The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF has urged education authorities to reopen schools as soon as possible in countries where millions of students are still not allowed to return to classrooms 18 months into the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools in around 17 countries remain fully closed, while those in 39 […]
Bulgaria’s president appoints interim government ahead of polls
September 16, 2021 SOFIA (Reuters) -Bulgarian President Rumen Radev re-appointed incumbent caretaker premier Stefan Yanev to lead an interim administration until a new government is formed, the official state gazette showed on Thursday. The European Union’s poorest member state will hold its third parliamentary elections this year on Nov. 14, after inconclusive polls in April […]
Skello raises $47.3 million for its employee scheduling tool
French startup Skello has raised a $47.3 million funding round (€40 million). The company has been working on a software-as-a-service tool that lets you manage the work schedule of your company. What makes it special is that Skello automatically takes into account local labor laws and collective agreements. Partech is leading today’s funding round. Existing […]
Online events platform Delegate Connect gets $10M AUD led by AirTree
Delegate Connect founders Jordan Walsh and Jacob Thomas Delegate Connect is the latest virtual/hybrid events platform to land funding. The Melbourne-based startup announced today it has raised $10 million AUD (about $7.3 million USD) in seed funding led by AirTree Ventures, which wrote Delegate Connect the biggest seed check in the fund’s history so far. […]
Afghan envoys marooned abroad after Taliban’s sudden return
September 16, 2021 (Fixes typo in para 13) By Rupam Jain (Reuters) -The Taliban’s abrupt return to power has left hundreds of Afghan diplomats overseas in limbo: running out of money to keep missions operating, fearful for families back home and desperate to secure refuge abroad. The Islamist militant movement, which swiftly ousted Afghanistan’s Western-backed […]
Golf-Azinger questions Koepka’s Ryder Cup commitment
September 16, 2021 (Reuters) – Former United States captain Paul Azinger has questioned Brooks Koepka’s commitment to the Ryder Cup after the four-times major winner described the biennial event as “a bit odd” and said he might not be cut out for team sports. In an interview with Golf Digest this week, Koepka said the […]
Australian watchdog files charges against CBA for mis-selling insurance
September 16, 2021 (Reuters) – Australia’s securities regulator on Thursday filed criminal charges in the federal court against top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia for mis-selling consumer credit insurance to its customers. (Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) Source Link Australian watchdog files charges against CBA for mis-selling insurance David Barret
Explainer-How China Evergrande’s debt troubles pose a systemic risk
September 16, 2021 By Clare Jim HONG KONG (Reuters) – China Evergrande Group has raised fresh warnings of default risks, as it scrambles to raise funds to pay lenders and suppliers with regulators and financial markets worried that any crisis could ripple through China’s banking system and trigger social unrest. WHAT IS EVERGRANDE? Founded in […]
Australia COVID-19 cases rise but vaccination surge gives hope
September 16, 2021 SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia’s Victoria state reported its biggest one-day rise in COVID-19 cases of the year on Thursday as a surge in vaccinations nationwide raised hope for easing restrictions with almost 70% of the adult population having had a first dose. Victoria, home to the city of Melbourne, detected 514 new infections, […]
UN refugee chief warns ‘greater suffering’ likely in Afghanistan
September 16, 2021 (Reuters) – Afghanistan needs urgent and sustained support from the international community to prevent a larger humanitarian crisis, the head of the U.N. refugee agency said, warning of global implications if that were to happen. “The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan remains desperate,” U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a […]
Iran president selects hardline cabinet to drive hard bargain with U.S.
September 16, 2021 By Michael Georgy DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran, emboldened by the messy U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, is betting that its new hardline cabinet — including Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani — can force concessions in talks on Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Bagheri, a hardline senior diplomat, was named on Tuesday […]
Australia’s new US-UK security pact risks China trade
September 16, 2021 By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s new security pact with the United States and the UK, seen as a move to contain China, may worsen strained ties with its biggest export customer, but China’s insatiable appetite for resources may limit its punitive responses, say analysts. The security pact with the Western […]