Latest news with #Covid
Extra.ie
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
All the Lions hype can be a bit nauseating, but the global game needs a competitive series
It's easy to be cynical about the British and Irish Lions. The whole concept gets hyped up more than a Christopher Nolan movie. You'll hear plenty about 'immortality',' legends' and 'legacy' in the coming weeks. All of it playing out against a background of an epic orchestral soundtrack which belongs in something like Gladiator or Oppenheimer. It can all veer into hysteric at times. And some of the grandiose statements about the Lions can jar a bit, too. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland Yes, it's a long tradition but, make no mistake, this is a brand as well. It's a business venture which is worth a lot of coin. Why else did Warren Gatland's squad depart for South Africa without their famed 'Red Army' in the midst of the Covid pandemic in 2021? It's worth stating that summer series is officially known as the Qatar Airways men's Lions tour of Australia. There are twice as many fans heading for Oz this time around compared to the last tour 12 years ago. Yes, the Lions is a time-honoured tradition but it's also a corporate beast. Again, it's easy to scrutinise up the Lions in the professional era and roll the eyes. Pic: INPHO/Dan Sheridan However, this latest campaign feels a bit different already. It's early days, but we've sensed a slight chance in the vibe around the Lions. There is clearly a buzz in the camp and you could sense that all week from the players and coaches – including Johnny Sexton – who were sent out to speak to the sizeable media presence which has descended on the capital. There is the sense that the Andy Farrell is hoping to bring a bit of old-school back to the Lions. There have been some positive developments on that front. Earlier this week, the Lions media team released the 'Ultimate Test' on Youtube, a behind-the-scenes series which will be released weekly throughout the six-week tour of Australia. Pic: Brian Lawless/PA Wire In terms of raw insight and genuine fly-on-the-wall access, it was hugely encouraging. It was miles away from the bland and ill-fated two-season Six Nations offering on Netflix. If this is a sign of things to come, we could be potentially see the best Lions documentary since the iconic 1997 series chronically the series win in South Africa. A bit of drama and jeopardy would be most welcome on that front. The hosts need to hold up their end of their bargain. The Wallabies – and their Super Rugby sides – were being written off as cannon fodder for most of this current Lions cycle, especially when Eddie Jones was sacked after a disastrous 10-month reign. Joe Schmidt arrived at the 11th hour and the former Leinster and Ireland boss has galvanised the entire operation. The likes of Queensland, the Waratahs and ACT Brumbies have upped their game. Australia are not the near the same class as the Springboks or All Blacks at the moment. But they have more then enough talent to make this series interesting. Everyone involved in the professional game in Australia is acutely aware that this Lions tour is a glorious opportunity to recapture past glories. Rugby union has fallen away behind the likes of AFL and rugby league in the public consciousness. The Aussies are a sport-obsessed nation but rugby union has fallen on hard times. If they can mount a competitive case, or win the series outright, it would have a huge effect on the health of the game across the country. There is also the small matter of a home World Cup in 2027. The Wallabies need to strike while the iron is hot this summer. In truth, every single stakeholder in the game needs this Lions tour to be a success. The professional game is a delicate ecosystem at the moment. Rugby is the sporting equivalent of the Great Barrier Reef at the moment. Professional clubs across the globe are going bust. Big unions such as Wales are struggling to make ends meet. For all the chat about rugby expanding to new markets, breakaway competition and World club competitions, it is paramount that the key nations remains strong. Rugby needs a strong Australian team. There are high hopes that Schmidt's troops can match this potent Lions squad across three compelling weekends. In Joseph-Aukuso Suaali, the 21-year-old rugby league convert who has taken the game by storm, the Wallabies have an attacking weapon which can blow this whole series wide open. Schmidt, as his way, will have every base covered. The Kiwi will have a plan. Again, it all bodes well for a gripping spectacle once this tour gets going. For now, it's about getting the show on the road at Aviva Stadium this evening. This is an early opportunity for this matchday squad to lay down some early selection markers. The sizeable Leinster contingent who only arrived into camp on Monday will already be playing catch-up and Farrell welcomed this development earlier this week. The Lions boss wants every single player to feel the pressure. No doubt, Dan Sheehan, Andrew Porter, James Ryan, Josh van der Flier and Garry Ringrose – amongst other Leinster frontliners – will get their chance to impress against Western Force, Queensland Reds and New South Wales Waratahs in the coming weeks. Right now, this English-heavy selection have a great opportunity to stake a claim for Test spots. Ellis Genge, Ben Earl, Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith could all be set for bit tours. Porter, Jack Conan, Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell are all supposedly ahead in the pecking order but things can change quickly on a Lions tour. A compelling performance against a youthful and fired-up Pumas side will generate plenty of momentum ahead of the long-haul flight to Perth this weekend. No doubt, plenty of big names will be awkwardly shuffling in their seats if the Lions put on a bit of a show in Dublin. Then again, a repeat of the shaky showing against the same opposition back in 2005 – when a late Jonny Wilkinson penalty secured a late draw – will send alarm bells throughout the squad. That dour performance in Cardiff 20 years ago was a grim omen of what was to come in New Zealand. No pressure tonight, lads. The hype machine is cranking up and once Sky Sports began to flex their broadcasting muscles, Lions-mania will be in full flow. It can all be a nauseating but it's best not to fight it. The Lions, at its core, is a bit of fun. An old-school summer tour against a formidable fore on foreign land. And series wines are nothing to be sniffed at. It's worth remembering that the tourists have been victorious on just two occasions since the game went pro: 1997 and 2013 are the sole triumphs since the amateur days concluded 30 years ago. This could be the most enjoyable and captivating tour in a long time. What's not to like about that?
The Star
an hour ago
- Business
- The Star
JD.com billionaire's viral stunt reignites China's food-delivery feud
One unusually warm evening in April, Richard Liu revved his scooter through Beijing's traffic-snarled streets alongside other delivery workers, and then personally handed food orders to surprised customers. Later that night, over spicy hotpot and ice-cold beer, the Inc founder welcomed a pair of riders from two rival delivery firms to his company. The publicity stunt, broadcast on viral online videos, reignited a fight for China's US$80bil (RM340.39bil)-plus food delivery market. In just a few months, JD, China's largest online retailer by revenue, amassed 25 million daily takeout orders across 350 cities, capturing more than half the volume of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's the runner-up to market leader Meituan. Neither saw Liu coming. China's food delivery industry has been in an effective duopoly after brutal price wars forced out many smaller players almost a decade ago. Takeout became more expensive even as merchants and riders complained about making less. Liu is now turning to an old playbook: charging restaurants no commission, generous hiring bonuses for 100,000 new full-time riders, plus a 10bil yuan (RM 5.92bil or US $1.4bil) discounting campaign for consumers. During its flagship shopping festival this month, JD sold coffee and bubble tea for as cheap as 1.68 yuan (RM1). The food delivery war is indicative of the bifurcation in China's mammoth tech industry. On the one hand, players like DeepSeek are spurring major tech firms to invest in innovations like generative AI. On the other, the effects of Beijing's yearslong Covid lockdowns and regulatory campaigns against Big Tech still linger, and many companies are desperately searching for sources of growth in a saturated market. Liu's marketing stunt is also personal. The viral videos of him waiting to pick up boxed lunches and downing beers with other riders mark a surprise return to the public eye for the 52-year-old tech mogul, who faded from the spotlight in 2018 when he was arrested in the US on suspicion of rape, though prosecutors in Minneapolis ultimately declined to press charges. During Beijing's crackdown on the tech sector in 2022, Liu joined a long list of tech founders who stepped down. His departure coincided with some of JD's toughest times since its founding as a tiny electronics outlet in 1998. Its premium online shopping service ran into China's slowing economy, its own bargain app flopped, and an overseas foray was abandoned. That left JD with no growth story, as giants Alibaba and Tencent Holdings Ltd bet big on generative AI and smaller rivals such as Meituan and Didi Global Inc exported their gig-economy models abroad. Even Meituan has begun selling and delivering everything from iPhones to washing machines in a few hours. 'For JD, it's a lost five years, to put it bluntly,' Liu said during a rare news conference at the company's Beijing headquarters Tuesday. 'No innovation, no growth, no progress. It should be considered the most unremarkable and least valuable five years in my entrepreneurial history.' Explaining their rationale of getting into food delivery, Liu said that it's about leveraging JD's battle-tested logistics network to acquire new users, 40% of whom have already been converted into e-commerce customers. 'Our losses are smaller than what we would have spent on advertising,' he said. Not everyone is convinced. JD's takeout business could generate as much as 18bil yuan (RM 10.66bil) in annualised losses, wiping out 36% of its parent's operating profit for 2025, says JPMorgan Chase & Co. Arete Research estimates that as the market leader, Meituan will only need to spend about a quarter of JD's costs to defend its position. JD's loss per order will narrow to 3 yuan (RM1.78) in the second half of 2025 from 8 yuan (RM4.74) this quarter as it pares back subsidies to confront the economic reality, the equity research house predicts. 'We do not think JD will find material success in local services like insta-commerce, but understand management's sense of urgency in needing to diversify its business mix and feeling threatened by Meituan,' Arete analysts Shawn Yang and Richard Kramer wrote in a note in June. Representatives for JD, Alibaba, and Meituan didn't respond to requests for comment for this story. What's clear is that JD has injected new life into a long-dormant market. hardest hit by JD's offensive, gave out 10bil yuan (RM 5.92bil) in subsidies to customers, then another 1bil yuan (RM 592.27mil) to restaurants. Alibaba also integrated the takeout app into its flagship e-commerce platform Taobao in the hope of diverting more traffic to it. Meituan for the first time ever is giving away vouchers on things like smartphones and liquor during the June 18 sales event that JD invented more than a decade ago. Its founder Wang Xing declared to investors in May that it would do 'whatever measure it takes to win the game'. The renewed food-delivery battle is reminiscent of the all-out war in online shopping just years ago, when alleged abuses like forcing merchants into exclusive arrangements helped fuel Beijing's Big Tech crackdown, wiping out trillions in wealth. Though pressure has eased, government scrutiny remains heightened as high youth unemployment drives more and more people to take up gig work. Regulators in May summoned executives from the three takeout firms into meetings on fair competition and protection of riders, among other topics. By 2024, China had more than 10 million delivery riders, official data showed. In Beijing, there were 17,000 riders in the first half of 2024, up 50% from a year ago. And amid growing awareness of how riders often prioritise speed over safety to earn more, said in April that it would gradually phase out a cash penalty system for riders who miss their deadlines. JD is going further in worker benefits by paying social security – a government-sponsored welfare system including pensions and medical insurance – for all of its full-time riders. Meituan and followed suit with similar policies. JD has won over riders like Jiang Xiaoxi, a migrant worker in Shenzhen who joined Meituan before Covid but quit last year to take care of her sick grandfather in her hometown in Hunan province. When the 25-year-old returned to Shenzhen this year, she picked JD instead for regular eight-hour shifts and persuaded her peers to jump ship. 'I signed a contract on day one,' she said. 'Having social security as a full-time employee gives me a sense of belonging.' Others are wary of such promises, with memories of the past delivery price-war still fresh. Tang Zequan, 36, recalls how in 2016 he could make more than 10 yuan (RM5.92) per order as a new driver for Meituan in Guangzhou. After Meituan emerged dominant, his earnings went down to 7 yuan (RM4.15) per order. As a high-school dropout, he acknowledges that no other job could have helped him pay off debts so quickly after his real estate brokerage business went under during Beijing's crackdown on the property market. 'I have great gratitude for the food delivery industry, but I won't pay allegiance to any firm,' Tang said. 'Without choices we are left with a monopoly.' – Bloomberg
Deccan Herald
2 hours ago
- Health
- Deccan Herald
106 fresh Covid cases reported in Karnataka
According to the health department's Covid bulletin, 1,806 patients have recovered since the beginning of this year. There are now 398 active cases of Covid in the state.
Mint
2 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
Insider Trading Siblings Used Lockdown to Make £1 Million
(Bloomberg) -- Before the market opened on Feb. 4, 2020, traders were watching Swiss testing company SGS SA, waiting for its shares to drop. Overnight it had been announced that the Von Finck family were going to sell 2.3 billion francs ($2.8 billion) of their holding. That's a huge chunk of stock for buyers to absorb, and the price fell the most in nearly five years. 'Stay ready,' Janus Henderson Group Plc analyst Redinel Korfuzi wrote in a message to his sister Oerta in their native Albanian, 55 seconds after the bell that day. Two minutes later, from the mutual fund giant's office in Bishopsgate, London, he messaged again: 'Stay ready because we have to close it if needed.' His sister was in the cramped living room of the flat they shared in Marylebone. The day before, she had opened two highly-leveraged short positions. With a little over £10,000 ($13,400) of equity, she had amassed a position with an initial notional volume of more than £150,000, wagering that SGS's stock would fall. With no answer from Oerta, her brother messaged again, and called her, finally getting through at 8:04 a.m. 'Open the platform and stay ready,' he said on WhatsApp shortly after an eight-second call. Finally, his sister responded: 'Gati Ikam' or, in English, 'I have them ready.' The exchange is just one of several that the UK's Financial Conduct Authority argued at a London trial was clear evidence of trading on insider information. On Thursday, a jury at Southwark Crown Court agreed, finding the two guilty of insider dealing and money laundering. Two others, Redinel's personal trainer Rogerio de Aquino, 63, and his partner Dema Almeziad, 40, were acquitted of all charges. At its heart, Redinel's plan was little different to countless other insider trading scandals. As part of his job, he had access to advance information on companies, in this case upcoming large share sales that often lead to price declines when announced. That's what happened with the SGS placing, which Redinel was informed about not long before his sister shorted it. The Korfuzis repeated this trick more than 10 times over the next year or so, continuing as the two worked from home during Covid lockdowns. With the SGS trade, Oerta and her brother made £7,747 in a little over 20 minutes. Before they were stopped by an FCA raid in March 2021, they had made almost £1 million. It was a 'trading club to cheat the market,' according to the prosecution's lawyer, Tom Forster. During the trial, 36-year-old Oerta said she made the trades based on her analysis, without knowing her brother had any insider knowledge. But the jury refused to believe that she was 'subconsciously' influenced by phone conversations across the living room, that she quickly analyzed charts and technical indicators for company names she overheard and placed profitable bets. Redinel, 38, denied involvement in the trades, at one point saying he was too busy saving what he called a 'dying fund' at Janus Henderson. In its case, the FCA presented evidence such as call records, data from phones and laptops, as well as a trove of WhatsApp and Telegram messages. 'Check out the app urgently. Check out the other app,' one of Redinel's translated WhatsApps to his sister said. That was sent less than a minute after he received market sensitive information about a proposed sale of £500 million worth of Hargreaves Lansdown Plc shares in February 2020. Redinel was at Janus Henderson's office at the time and referring to Telegram as the other app, according to the prosecutors. One minute after he got the Hargreaves information, Redinel called Oerta for eight seconds — when the prosecutors say he could've passed on the company's name. Within 15 minutes, Oerta moved money between accounts and began shorting the shares. Other companies traded included vehicle manufacturer Daimler Truck Holding AG, budget airline Jet2 Plc and pharmaceutical firm Dermapharm Holding SE. Janus Henderson wasn't accused of any wrongdoing. 'He was in truth the king of stocks. She the enthusiastic apprentice,' Forster said during the trial. According to prosecutors, British national de Aquino and his Saudi fiance were 'secret proxies' for the trading syndicate and handled 'dirty cash.' Both had pleaded not guilty and maintained they didn't know Redinel had insider information. They didn't testify during the trial. To make the bets, Redinel helped de Aquino and Almeziad open trading accounts. De Aquino had told police that they were 'two idiots' who were hoodwinked by him. Oerta made about £430,000 from the trades, while de Aquino and his girlfriend raked in £135,000. Another trading account controlled by the siblings posted £408,000. The siblings claimed to have never discussed the trading or the massive profits with each other. The prosecution saw it differently. 'The truth is for the residents of Brunswick House there was never going to be enough money,' Forster said. 'Arrogance, pride, entitlement and greed drove them on – and it has ruined them.' More stories like this are available on
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Insider trading siblings used lockdown to make £1 million
Before the market opened on Feb. 4, 2020, traders were watching Swiss testing company SGS SA, waiting for its shares to drop. Overnight it had been announced that the Von Finck family were going to sell 2.3 billion francs ($2.8 billion) of their holding. That's a huge chunk of stock for buyers to absorb, and the price fell the most in nearly five years. 'Stay ready,' Janus Henderson Group Plc analyst Redinel Korfuzi wrote in a message to his sister Oerta in their native Albanian, 55 seconds after the bell that day. Two minutes later, from the mutual fund giant's office in Bishopsgate, London, he messaged again: 'Stay ready because we have to close it if needed.' His sister was in the cramped living room of the flat they shared in Marylebone. The day before, she had opened two highly-leveraged short positions. With a little over £10,000 ($13,400) of equity, she had amassed a position with an initial notional volume of more than £150,000, wagering that SGS's stock would fall. Live Events With no answer from Oerta, her brother messaged again, and called her, finally getting through at 8:04 a.m. 'Open the platform and stay ready,' he said on WhatsApp shortly after an eight-second call. Finally, his sister responded: 'Gati Ikam' or, in English, 'I have them ready.' The exchange is just one of several that the UK's Financial Conduct Authority argued at a London trial was clear evidence of trading on insider information. On Thursday, a jury at Southwark Crown Court agreed, finding the two guilty of insider dealing and money laundering. Two others, Redinel's personal trainer Rogerio de Aquino, 63, and his partner Dema Almeziad, 40, were acquitted of all charges. At its heart, Redinel's plan was little different to countless other insider trading scandals. As part of his job, he had access to advance information on companies, in this case upcoming large share sales that often lead to price declines when announced. That's what happened with the SGS placing, which Redinel was informed about not long before his sister shorted it. The Korfuzis repeated this trick more than 10 times over the next year or so, continuing as the two worked from home during Covid lockdowns. With the SGS trade, Oerta and her brother made £7,747 in a little over 20 minutes. Before they were stopped by an FCA raid in March 2021, they had made almost £1 million. It was a 'trading club to cheat the market,' according to the prosecution's lawyer, Tom Forster. During the trial, 36-year-old Oerta said she made the trades based on her analysis, without knowing her brother had any insider knowledge. But the jury refused to believe that she was 'subconsciously' influenced by phone conversations across the living room, that she quickly analyzed charts and technical indicators for company names she overheard and placed profitable bets. Redinel, 38, denied involvement in the trades, at one point saying he was too busy saving what he called a 'dying fund' at Janus Henderson. Bloomberg In its case, the FCA presented evidence such as call records, data from phones and laptops, as well as a trove of WhatsApp and Telegram messages. 'Check out the app urgently. Check out the other app,' one of Redinel's translated WhatsApps to his sister said. That was sent less than a minute after he received market sensitive information about a proposed sale of £500 million worth of Hargreaves Lansdown Plc shares in February 2020. Redinel was at Janus Henderson's office at the time and referring to Telegram as the other app, according to the prosecutors. One minute after he got the Hargreaves information, Redinel called Oerta for eight seconds — when the prosecutors say he could've passed on the company's name. Within 15 minutes, Oerta moved money between accounts and began shorting the shares. Other companies traded included vehicle manufacturer Daimler Truck Holding AG, budget airline Jet2 Plc and pharmaceutical firm Dermapharm Holding SE. Janus Henderson wasn't accused of any wrongdoing. 'He was in truth the king of stocks. She the enthusiastic apprentice,' Forster said during the trial. 'Two Idiots' According to prosecutors, British national de Aquino and his Saudi fiance were 'secret proxies' for the trading syndicate and handled 'dirty cash.' Both had pleaded not guilty and maintained they didn't know Redinel had insider information. They didn't testify during the trial. To make the bets, Redinel helped de Aquino and Almeziad open trading accounts. De Aquino had told police that they were 'two idiots' who were hoodwinked by him. Oerta made about £430,000 from the trades, while de Aquino and his girlfriend raked in £135,000. Another trading account controlled by the siblings posted £408,000. The siblings claimed to have never discussed the trading or the massive profits with each other. The prosecution saw it differently. 'The truth is for the residents of Brunswick House there was never going to be enough money,' Forster said. 'Arrogance, pride, entitlement and greed drove them on – and it has ruined them.'
