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September 16, 2021 By Foo Yun Chee and Marine Strauss LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) -Belgium on Thursday lost its fight against an EU regulatory ruling that tax breaks granted to Magnetrol, BP and more than 30 other multinationals constituted an illegal aid scheme after Europe’s top court backed competition enforcers. The ruling by the EU Court of […]

September 16, 2021 (Reuters) – Hezbollah began importing Iranian fuel to Lebanon via Syria on Thursday, a move the Shi’ite Islamist group says aims to ease a crippling energy crisis but which its opponents say may expose the country to the risk of U.S. sanctions. Organised by Hezbollah, the shipment L1N2QI0CC marks a significant expansion […]

September 16, 2021 By Alasdair Pal (Reuters) – A U.N. envoy has met Afghanistan’s new interior minister who was for years was one of the world’s most wanted Islamist militants and is now part of a government trying to head off a humanitarian crisis. The meeting between Deborah Lyons, head of the U.N. mission in […]

Less than 3% of genetic material used in global pharmaceutical research is from Africa. The staggering gap is quite surprising because Africans and people of African descent are reported to be more genetically diverse than any other population. Since launching in 2019, African genomics startup 54gene has been at the forefront of bridging this divide […]

The climate crisis is creating massive demand for data capture as industries grapple with how to decarbonize. Put simply, you can’t cut your carbon emissions if don’t know what they are in the first place. This need to gather data is a big opportunity for startups — and a wave of early companies have already […]

September 16, 2021 Fernando Tatis Jr. and Adam Frazier contributed four hits apiece to a 16-hit attack Wednesday night as the visiting San Diego Padres ended the San Francisco Giants’ nine-game winning streak by overcoming four home runs for a 9-6 victory. Jurickson Profar had the Padres’ lone homer, a two-run shot in the seventh […]

September 16, 2021 (Reuters) -American Alberto Salazar, who has coached some of the world’s top long-distance runners, had his four-year suspension for a series of anti-doping rule violations upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), it said on Thursday. The 63-year-old, who guided Britain’s Mo Farah to Olympic titles, was banned by the […]

September 16, 2021 BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s commerce ministry said on Thursday that it would follow through on the consensus reached by Chinese and U.S. leaders during a phone call last week, when asked if there has been any progress on trade. Trade teams from both sides have maintained communications, Shu Jueting, ministry spokesperson told […]

September 16, 2021 (Reuters) – British online fashion retailer ASOS Plc said on Thursday it aimed to become carbon neutral in its direct operations by 2025, as part of its environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. The company would also ensure all of its own-brand products and packaging are made from more sustainable or recycled […]

September 16, 2021 SYDNEY (Reuters) – Virgin Australia said on Thursday it will require all its staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19, in line with domestic rival Qantas Airways Ltd and a growing number of airlines in the Asia-Pacific region. Pilots, cabin crew and airport workers will need to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 15, […]

September 16, 2021 PARIS (Reuters) – France will look to ensure any financial hit to Naval Group from a cancelled Australia submarine deal is limited, French Armed Forces Florence Parly said on Thursday. Parly did not rule out France seeking compensation from Australia. “We are studying all avenues,” Parly told French radio RFI when asked […]

September 16, 2021 LONDON (Reuters) – British retailer, the John Lewis Partnership, on Thursday reported a return to first half profit after a COVID-pandemic hit loss last year. The employee-owned group, which runs John Lewis department stores and upmarket supermarket chain Waitrose, said it made a first half profit before exceptional items of 69 million […]

September 16, 2021 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States will struggle to meet President Joe Biden’s climate goal to decarbonize the power grid by 2035 as technology and policy take time to develop, natural resources consultancy Wood Mackenzie said on Thursday. Biden, who took office in January, has reversed many of his predecessor Donald Trump’s […]

September 16, 2021 By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Olympic gymnast Simone Biles held back tears on Wednesday, as she told lawmakers how the FBI and U.S. gymnastic and Olympic officials failed to stop the sexual abuse that she and hundreds of other athletes suffered from former doctor Larry Nassar. “To be clear, I blame […]

A16z is inching closer to making its first investment in a startup in India, the world’s second largest internet market that has produced over two dozen unicorns this year. The Menlo Park-headquartered firm is in final stages of conversations to invest in Indian crypto trading startup CoinSwitch Kuber, three sources familiar with the matter told […]

Meet Liveblocks, a startup that has been working on a set of APIs so that it’s easier to build a collaborative product. Essentially, it lets you create multiplayer experiences on the web or in your app. The company started with a live presence state API. If you integrate this API in your product, it means […]

September 16, 2021 By Kantaro Komiya TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan cut its economic view for the first time in four months as a surge in COVID-19 cases disrupted manufacturers’ global supply chains and dampened consumer confidence. In a monthly assessment approved by the cabinet on Thursday, the government pointed to domestic and overseas virus situations […]

September 16, 2021 DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ryanair on Thursday raised its long-term traffic forecast and expects to fly 225 million passengers a year by 2026, up from 200 million previously as it eyes a strong recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Irish airline said the planned delivery of 210 Boeing 737 MAX jets over the […]

September 16, 2021 BERLIN (Reuters) – European car registrations dropped in July and August after four months of growth, industry data showed on Thursday, suggesting that a global semiconductor shortage is hitting sales in car dealerships across Europe. New passenger car registrations fell by 23.6% and 18.1% year-on-year in July and August, respectively, in the […]

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 […]