UNHCR: Refugees face rights abuses in their Mediterranean journey

The UN refugee agency is warning thousands of refugees and migrants are dying, while others face harrowing abuse in their attempts to reach Europe’s Mediterranean coast in search of a better life.

Thousands of refugees and migrants trying to reach the Mediterranean are facing extreme rights abuses, including torture, sexual assault and even death.

And the UNHCR is warning nearly half of the violence is perpetrated by those supposed to enforce the law.

Al Jazeera’s Alexi O’Brien reports.

Ukraine makes every effort to maximise compensation for downed plane: minister

KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine will make every effort to maximise compensation for a Ukrainian jet shot down by Iran on Jan. 8, but the talks with Iran, which started on Thursday, would not be easy, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

“We will achieve justice, no matter how much time and effort it costs,” Kuleba said in a statement published by the ministry after the two delegations met in Kyiv.

Xylem Q2 Results Down; Adj. EPS Tops Consensus

Xylem Inc. (XYL) reported second-quarter net income of $31 million or $0.17 per share compared to $139 million or $0.77 per share last year.

Adjusted net income was $73 million or $0.40 per share compared to $143 million or $0.79 per share in the prior year period.

Revenue for the quarter declined to $1.16 billion from $1.35 billion generated a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.39 per share and revenue of $1.1 billion. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

Oil Prices Slip On Demand Worries As Virus Cases Rise

Oil prices fell on Thursday amid demand concerns as coronavirus infections continued to rise around the world, raising the prospects for lockdowns to be reimposed.

Benchmark Brent crude dropped 46 cents, or 1 percent, to $43.63 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 58 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $40.69.

Both benchmark contracts posted modest gains on Wednesday after official data showed a much larger than expected decline in U.S. crude inventories in the week ended July 24.

China’s Covid-19 cases have crossed the 100-mark for the second consecutive day, sparking fears of a second wave of the virus attack in the country.

Elsewhere in India, the single-day increase of coronavirus cases crossed the 50,000-mark for the first time, pushing the country’s Covid-19 caseload to 15,83,792.

The three most populous U.S. states set one-day records for Covid-19 deaths on Wednesday, while Brazil, with the world’s second-worst outbreak, set new daily records of confirmed cases and deaths.

Elsewhere, data of Europe showed Europe’s biggest economy Germany had shrunk by a record 10.1 percent in the second quarter, underscoring how fast the economic outlook has deteriorated.

China says U.S. wants a new Cold War because of the presidential election

• China's ambassador to London Liu Xiaoming has claimed the United States is trying to trigger a new Cold War with the Communist state.
• "We have all seen what is happening in the United States, they tried to scapegoat China," he said. "We all know this is an election year."

China's ambassador to London said on Thursday that the United States was trying to trigger a new Cold War with the Communist state because it was searching for a scapegoat ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.

"It is not China (that has) become assertive. It's the other side of the Pacific Ocean who want to start new Cold War on China, so we have to make response to that," China's ambassador to London Liu Xiaoming told reporters. "We have no interest in any Cold War, we have no interest in any war."

"We have all seen what is happening in the United States, they tried to scapegoat China, they want to blame China for their problems," he said. "We all know this is an election year."

"They want to do anything including treating China as an enemy," Liu said. "Probably they think they need an enemy, they think they want a Cold War but we have no interest, we keep telling America, China is not your enemy, China is your friend, your partner."

Stock Alert: Qorvo Shares Hit 52-Week High

Qorvo Inc. (QRVO) hit a 52-week high of $128.45 Thursday morning, after the company issued upbeat guidance for the second quarter, while reporting first-quarter results. The stock has been trading in the range of $67.54 – $128.45 for the past one year, and is currently trading at $125.10, up $9.82 or 8.52%.

For the second-quarter, the company expects non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.90 at the midpoint of guidance; revenue in the range of $925 million to $955 million. Analysts expect the company to report earnings of $1.44 per share and revenue of $802.77 million for the second-quarter.

Q1 Results

The company’s first-quarter net income rose to $96.9 million or $0.83 per share from $39.5 million or $0.33 per share in the previous year.

On a non-GAAP basis, earnings per share was $1.50 compared to $1.36 in the prior year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.13 per share for the quarter. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude certain special items.

Revenue for the quarter increased to $787.5 million from $775.6 million last year. Analysts expected revenue of $730.17 million for the quarter.

PDL BioPharma To Divest Noden Pharma Business To Stanley Capital For $48.25 Mln Cash

PDL BioPharma, Inc. (PDLI) announced Thursday the signing of a definitive agreement for the sale of 100% of the outstanding stock in its wholly owned subsidiaries Noden Pharma DAC and Noden USA to Stanley Capital for up to $48.25 million in cash.

After taking into account the expected adjustments for transaction expenses, indebtedness and working capital, payments to PDL are expected to be approximately $12.0 million in connection with the closing of the transaction. The agreement provides for an additional $33 million to be paid to PDL in twelve equal quarterly installments from January 2021 to October 2023. The agreement also provides PDL with the potential for two additional contingent payments totaling $3.25 million.

The transaction is expected to close in August 2020 and is subject to certain customary closing conditions.

The acquisition of Noden is the culmination of years of thematic research into the specialty pharmaceuticals sector, which identified the company as a strong buy and build platform.