South Korea fighter jet conducts patrol flight over island disputed by Japan

SEOUL (Reuters) – A South Korean fighter jet conducted a patrol flight over an island whose ownership is disputed by Japan, a South Korean Air Force pilot said on Tuesday.

A video of the pilot reporting the patrol flight was played in a ceremony marking the founding of the South Korean military.

The island, called Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan, is claimed by both countries as part of their territory.

Hunters suspected of killing first wild wolf in over 100 years

Hunters are being blamed for the loss of Belgium’s first wild wolf in more than a century, conservationists monitoring the resurgent species claim.

Naya, a she-wolf, has been missing since May.

Those observing the creature since it was first spotted in January last year fear the worst.

The evidence experts cite includes its male companion now exhibiting signs of being a lone wolf once more. The she-wolf was pregnant when last captured on a camera set up in rural Limburg, close to the Dutch border.

ENGIE EPS HY Loss Widens

ENGIE EPS, part of the ENGIE group and specializes in microgrids and storage solutions that enable intermittent renewable sources to be transformed into a stable power source, reported that EBITDA loss were 3.4 million euros for first half 2019 compared to the 2.8 million euros loss in the same period of 2018.

Revenues and Other income for the period were 2.7 million euros, up 81% from last year. Growth was mainly driven by the successful deployment of microgrids in Africa and Asia Pacific such as the Comoros, Somaliland and New Caledonia, reaching as of today a total of 50 customers in 25 countries across the globe, the company said.

NYC’s market can withstand the fallout from WeWork’s failed IPO

Yes, everybody’s worried about WeWork’s problems and how they might rock the commercial leasing scene. Realty Check noted back on Sept. 2 that industry players were “sweating it out” as the company readied its since-aborted IPO.

After all, WeWork, owned by We Co., is not only the city’s largest tenant with over five million square feet, but — as its main business is subleasing all that space to other companies — one of its largest landlords.

And, yes, WeWork has been in unreported talks with some owners to take even more space — including, for example, at SJP Properties’ 470 Park Ave. So. A bigger question mark might hang over the former Lord & Taylor building, which WeWork owns but has yet to lease to a tenant.

Talks with Amazon for 800,000 square feet there, which we first reported in July, haven’t led to a deal.

“An empty, landmarked building on Fifth Avenue is not the signal they want to send to investors as they ready their IPO,” an insider told us at the time.

Meanwhile, speculation that the situation threatens the market’s overall health seem overblown. For one thing, most landlords who leased to WeWork were aware of the risks and took steps not to be over-exposed. Most leases included no free or discounted rents, for example.

What’s more, a Manhattan market with a tolerable 10.5 percent availability rate (according to Cushman & Wakefield) could withstand any WeWork fallout. One powerful industry insider said, “Even if they vanished off the face of the earth it wouldn’t have significant impact on a market of 450 million square feet.”

‘Access Hollywood’ Ups Sibley Scoles To Weekend Co-Host

Eight months after joining Access Hollywood as a correspondent, Sibley Scoles has been promoted to weekend co-host.

The nationally syndicated celeb-news program announced Monday that Scoles will join Scott Evans as co-anchor of Access Hollywood Weekend.

“Since joining ‘Access’ full time in February, Sibley had become an integral part of the team – alongside Mario Lopez, Kit Hoover and Scott Evans – covering the biggest events in Hollywood,” Maureen FitzPatrick, senior executive producer of Access, said in a statement Monday. “Whether reporting from a red carpet, a feature film set or the ‘Access’ stage, Sibley is able to engage viewers with her enthusiasm, humor and positive energy. We are thrilled to have her anchor our weekend show with Scott.”

Scoles will continue as a correspondent for Access and new companion show, All Access.

NBCUniversal’s Access has undergone a series of changes in recent months. Previous host Natalie Morales exited the show in April. She was replaced by entertainment veteran Mario Lopez in July.

Access Hollywood is now in its 24th season.

Rupee rises 12 paise to 70.75 against USD in early trade

At the interbank foreign exchange the rupee opened at 70.75, registering a rise of 12 paise over its previous close.

The Indian rupee appreciated by 12 paise to 70.75 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday as easing crude prices strengthened investor sentiments.

At the interbank foreign exchange the rupee opened at 70.75, registering a rise of 12 paise over its previous close.

On Monday, rupee had settled for the day at 70.87 against the US dollar.

The domestic unit however could not hold on to the gains and was trading at 70.77 against the dollar at 0959 hrs.

Forex traders said investors were optimistic about the US-China trade talks in October.

However, weak opening in domestic equities weighed on the local unit.

Domestic bourses opened on a cautious note on Tuesday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 113.23 points lower at 38,554.10 and Nifty down 20.70 points at 11,453.75.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.11 per cent to 99.48.

Market participants, however, said sustained foreign fund outflows weighed on local currency.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, pulling out Rs 469.40 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.83 % to trade at $60.78 per barrel.

The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.70 % in morning trade.