SYDNEY, Aug 18 (Reuters) – Giant lock Will Skelton still has an outside chance to make Australia’s World Cup squad if Rugby Australia can agree a contract with him in the next few days, coach Michael Cheika has said. Skelton is currently contracted to English club Saracens and to be eligible for the Wallabies for… Read More
HONG KONG, Aug 18 (Reuters) – Hong Kong braced for a major anti-government rally planned for Sunday after an unusually calm Saturday night in what has been a summer of violent protests in the Asian financial hub. Demonstrations have lost some intensity since the ugly scenes witnessed during the protesters’ occupation of the city’s airport… Read More
LONDON (Reuters) – The final five minutes of trading have become the busiest time of day for stock market traders in Europe. FILE PHOTO: The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, August 16, 2019. REUTERS/Staff Aside from an initial burst of activity after the open in… Read More
Pretoria, Aug 17 (Reuters) – Coach Mario Ledesma said Argentina’s plans for the Rugby World Cup are still on track even though they slipped to a ninth successive defeat in a 24-18 loss to an under-strength South Africa on Saturday. The Springboks rested 18 players following their Rugby Championship success last weekend, which was achieved… Read More
Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp Chief Executive Masayoshi Son attends a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, November 5, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon (Reuters) – Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) is planning to lend up to $20 billion to its employees, including Chief Executive Masayoshi Son, to buy stakes in its second Vision Fund, the Wall Street Journal… Read More
Russian opposition activists staged a string of pickets in central Moscow on Saturday to call for free elections and for charges against protesters detained at recent rallies to be dropped. Moscow has been rocked by weekly protests for more than a month since the authorities barred opposition candidates from running in an election for the… Read More
AUCKLAND, Aug 17 (Reuters) – All Blacks coach Steve Hansen’s World Cup selections may have just got a little tougher after his side thrashed Australia 36-0 in their Bledisloe Cup clash at Eden Park on Saturday. The All Blacks were coming off a record 47-26 loss to the Wallabies last week in Perth and former… Read More
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s political unrest is posing a dilemma for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) on the timing of its planned $15 billion listing in the city, with sources saying China’s biggest e-commerce company is now considering several timetables. FILE PHOTO: A logo of Alibaba Group is seen at an exhibition during… Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A phone call from U.S. President Donald Trump last week ended a nearly two-month-long review of the nation’s biofuels program, three sources familiar with the matter said, with the White House siding in favor of oil refiners over corn growers. FILE PHOTO: A biodiesel vehicle is seen at Dogpatch Biofuels filling station… Read More
The three injured men arrived at the hospital around 4:30 pm, naked and wrapped in translucent plastic bags. The state of the patients made staff suspect they were dealing with something very serious. But the only information they had at the time was that there had been an explosion at a nearby military site around… Read More
* Rand firms on China stimulus * Stocks tread water * Sasol results delayed on Lake Charles project (Updates prices, adds stocks) JOHANNESBURG, Aug 16 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand firmed on Friday, adding to the previous session’s gains as hopes of further stimulus in China helped developing world currencies hold their ground against the… Read More
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s Truworths International Ltd will close up to 15 of its loss-making Office stores in the UK, its CEO said on Friday, with an overhaul of the remainder of the shoe retailer expected to boost sales and profits. Pedestrians walk past a branch of South African clothing retailer Truworths, in central… Read More
Moscow authorities said they have “discovered” gulls flocking around one of two garbage sites near the airport where a Russian passenger plane made a “miraculous” emergency landing on Thursday. All 234 people on board the Ural Airlines Airbus A321 survived when it landed in a cornfield southeast of Moscow after both of its engines struck a… Read More
MEXICO CITY, Aug 16 (Reuters) – Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday that his government would keep investing in troubled state oil company Pemex, which is on the verge of losing its investment grade rating. Fitch Ratings downgraded roughly $80 billion of bonds to speculative grade – or “junk” status – with… Read More
Welcome to our Friday roll up, where we highlight the most interesting, absurd, and concerning stories we are following this week. New Zealand officially legalizes paying employees with crypto-currency New Zealand issued a tax bulletin this month officially recognizing that it is legal for employers to pay employees with crypto-currencies like Bitcoin. The crypto-currencies just… Read More
PRETORIA, Aug 16 (Reuters) – Argentina have made a late change to their match day squad for Saturday’s test with South Africa at Loftus Versfeld, after experienced hooker Agustin Creevy returned home for personal reasons. Former captain Creevy is likely to be the starting hooker at the World Cup in Japan next month, but was… Read More
A petrol station is seen in Soweto, file. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s Sasol Ltd delayed the release of its annual financial results on Friday due to possible “control weaknesses” at its U.S. ethane cracker project, sending shares in the chemicals and energy company down by more than 15%. Sasol said its auditors… Read More
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, urged people to “love China, love Hong Kong and love yourself” on Friday in his first public comments on the escalating pro-democracy protests that have disrupted the city for weeks and challenged China. FILE PHOTO: Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing announces his retirement in Hong… Read More
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche is seen outside the Shanghai Roche Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. headquarters in Shanghai May 22, 2014. REUTERS/Aly Song (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Roche Holding AG’s personalized cancer treatment, the agency said on Thursday. The treatment, Rozlytrek, is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that… Read More
* Evaluating store closures as leases come to an end * Takes impairment charge for Office of $117 mln * FY profit before tax falls 57.5% due to impairment * Major financial restructure of Office is not being contemplated (Recasts with possibility of Office store closures) By Nqobile Dludla JOHANNESBURG, Aug 15 (Reuters) – South… Read More