Trio win Nobel Chemistry Prize for developing lithium-ion battery

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – John Goodenough of the US, Britain’s Stanley Whittingham and Japan’s Akira Yoshino on Wednesday (Oct 9) won the Nobel Chemistry Prize for the development of lithium-ion batteries, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.

“This lightweight, rechargeable and powerful battery is now used in everything from mobile phones to laptops and electric vehicles… (and) can also store significant amounts of energy from solar and wind power, making possible a fossil fuel-free society,” the jury said.

EU's Oettinger rejects time limit to backstop, veto by N.Ireland

BRUSSELS, Oct 9 (Reuters) – The backstop in Ireland cannot be subject to a time limit or be at risk of being vetoed by a third party, which Northern Ireland would be from the EU’s point of view after Brexit, the bloc’s top budget Commissioner Guenter Oettinger said.

Hays Travel to buy Thomas Cook's UK stores, government agency says

Britain's insolvency agency said on Wednesday that Hays Travel had reached an agreement with Thomas Cook Group Plcto buy 555 stores of the collapsed travel firm in the UK.

The travel agency will also re-employ some former employees from Thomas Cook's retail operations, the British agency said in a statement.

The world's largest travel firm, Thomas Cook, collapsed last month, stranding hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers around the globe and sparking the largest peacetime repatriation effort in British history.

UK travel firm Hays to buy stores from defunct Thomas Cook

LONDON British firm Hays Travel says it will buy all 555 U.K. stores operated by defunct tour company Thomas Cook, which collapsed last month.

David Chapman, the official receiver handling the winding up of Thomas Cook, said Wednesday that the deal “represents an important step in the liquidation process, as we seek to realize the company’s assets.”

The debt-laden, 178-year-old company collapsed last month, leaving hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded around the world and 21,000 employees, including 9,000 in the U.K., facing unemployment.

Some 150,000 British travelers were flown home at government expense in the biggest repatriation effort since World War II.

Analysis: Could Turkey's military moves destabilise north Syria?

Analysts fear Turkish operations could weaken regional security if Ankara moves into northeast Syria.

Turkey says it is ready to clear Kurdish fighters from the Syrian border.

In northeast Syria, Kurds are holding thousands of captured fighters and their families from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS) group.

Turkey says the military incursion aims to create a “safe zone and peace corridor”.

This operation would be Turkey’s third cross-border intervention in Syria.

Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford reports live from Akcaklae, near the Turkish-Syria border.

Sharp Decline In Alcohol Consumption In Russia: WHO

Alcohol consumption in Russia has declined 43%, according to a report published on Tuesday by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Russia has been on the top of the list among the highest consumers of alcohol during 1990 and early 2000s. Alcohol was a major contributor to death among young people in the country.

The drop in alcohol consumption is attributed to the various control measures taken by the Vladimir Putin government at the beginning of the 2000s. They included ban on the sale of alcohol during certain hours, raising taxes on alcohol, prohibition of drinking in public places, and encouraging a lifestyle based on healthy habits. Drop in demand for illegally produced alcohol also contributed to the decline in booze consumption, the study revealed.

These initiatives have increased the life expectancy in Russia, that reached its peak in 2018 – 68 years for men and 78 years for women. Male life expectancy was 57 years in the early 1990s.

Earlier research by WHO showed that Russian adults drink less alcohol than their German and French counterparts.

Last week, Russia also announced an initiative to ban smoking in apartment balconies. The ban took effect on October 1.

Sensex surges over 600 points, Nifty ends above 11,300

Equity benchmark BSE Sensex surged over 645 points to close at 38,177.95 on Wednesday, propelled by gains in banking, financial and metal stocks.

After opening on a cautious note, the 30-share index gained momentum in afternoon trade. It finally closed at 38,177.95, showing a rise of 645.97 points or 1.72%.

Similarly, the 50-share NSE Nifty zoomed 186.90 points or 1.68% to finish at 11,313.30.

On the Sensex chart, IndusInd Bank was the biggest gainer, spurting 5.45%, followed by Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, SBI, M&M, Kotak Bank, Tata Steel and HDFC Bank.

On the other hand, Yes Bank was the biggest loser with 5.26% decline. Other laggards were Hero Motocorp, HCL Tech, ITC, TCS, Infosys, ONGC and Bajaj Auto, falling up to 2.65 to%.

Stock markets were closed on Tuesday on account of ‘Dussehra’

The rupee was trading 3 paise lower at 70.98 against the US dollar (intra-day).

Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.08% to USD 58.77 per barrel.

Asian markets were mixed following concerns over the US-China trade negotiations.

Monness Crespi Hardt becomes latest to slash its Netflix price target on competition concerns

Monness Crespi Hardt became the latest house to slash its stock price target for Netflix Inc. NFLX, -1.36% on Wednesday, when it shaved $100 off its target to lower it to $340. Analyst Brian White reiterated his buy rating on the stock in a note to clients ahead of the streaming company’s third-quarter earnings next week. "In light of the weakening macro environment since Netflix last provided guidance, combined with more details last month from Apple AAPL, -1.17% around its planned launch of Apple TV+ and incremental data points around increasingly fierce competition for content, we are adjusting our estimates for Netflix accordingly and lowering our 12-month price target to $340 from $440," White wrote. Evercore analyst Vijay Jayant slashed his Netflix price target to $300 from $380 on Monday, also citing concerns about coming competition from providers including Disney DIS, -1.86%. Netflix shares were up 0.4% premarket but have fallen 24% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 SPX, -1.56% has gained 0.4%.