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☆ Hasbro, Mattel shares rise as toymakers announce multiyear licensing agreement, increased IP focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Natasha Piñon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Barbie maker Mattel posted first-quarter results after markets closed on Wednesday that beat revenue expectations but fell short of expectations on the bottom line. Other toy stocks, including Hasbro competitor Mattel and pop culture consumer company Funko , also jumped on Thursday. Toymaker stocks rallied Thursday after rivals Hasbro and Mattel posted quarterly results and offered optimistic comments about how their intellectual property will boost their businesses. Amid the challenging toy and game market, both Hasbro and Mattel are eyeing a future increasingly focused on intellectual property. Hasbro's "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" from Paramount is slated for a June 9 release, while Mattel's much-hyped "Barbie" movie from Warner Bros. is scheduled for a July 21 release.

☆ South Africa to try to withdraw from ICC again - Ramaphosa
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Carien Du Plessis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] South African President Cyril Ramaphosa responds to a parliamentary debate on his state of the nation address in Cape Town, South Africa, February 16, 2023. Only two days earlier, South Africa's parliament announced that it would abandon a seven-year-long legislative process to pull South Africa out of the ICC's Rome Statute. The process was abandoned because the governing party in December decided that South Africa should rather remain in the ICC and try to effect changes from within, a decision that has now been reversed. The international arrest warrant against Putin was issued after he had already received his invite from South Africa to the BRICS summit in August, and it would oblige South Africa to hand him over to the International Criminal Court in The Hague if he set foot in the country. "He has been invited by President Ramaphosa and Russia has indicated attendance," South Africa's official in charge of the relationship with BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries, Anil Sooklal, told Reuters.

☆ Explainer: Why Lesotho parliament is debating reclaiming land from South Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Carien Du Plessis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Even if the motion passes, its economically and militarily more powerful neighbour South Africa - which completely envelops Lesotho - is unlikely to cede the land. In fact, there are around twice as many Basotho in South Africa as in Lesotho. Historically, the seizure of Basotho land by Dutch settlers -- whose descendents, Afrikaners, now own most of the land in Free State -- is well-attested. Lesotho became a British protectorate in 1868, after the then king Moshoeshoe I appealed to British imperial authorities to prevent any more land being seized. Eswatini's King Mswati III has in the past similarly claimed that big parcels of neighbouring South African land were historically part of his kingdom and should be returned, but has never realised them.

☆ South African authorities arrest 87 ahead of anti-government protest
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, March 20 (Reuters) - South African security forces said on Monday that 87 people had been arrested in the last 12 hours across the country over public violence ahead of planned protests by the Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party. The EFF has called for a national shutdown to protest crippling power cuts and demand the resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa. The party's main constituency are the poor and working class Black South Africans who feel left out of the country's prosperity since the governing African National Congress (ANC) ended white minority rule in 1994. Parliament said in a statement on Sunday that the South African military would deploy 3,474 troops for a month until April 17 to prevent and combat crime in cooperation with the police. "Law enforcement officers are on high alert and will continue to prevent and combat any acts of criminality," NatJOINTS said.

☆ South Africa's EFF marches to demand president's resignation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Members of the political party, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), gather at Church Square after calling for a "National Shutdown" and demanding resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria, South Africa March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Alet PretoriusJOHANNESBURG, March 20 (Reuters) - Thousands marched through the streets of South Africa's cities on Monday to demand that President Cyril Ramaphosa resign, as security forces guarded malls and roads to prevent violence and looting. The Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, whose supporters are mainly poor and working class Black South Africans who feel marginalised since the governing African National Congress (ANC) ended white minority rule in 1994, had called for a national shutdown. South African security forces said on Monday that 87 people had been arrested in the last 12 hours over public violence ahead of planned protests. Parliament said in a statement on Sunday that the South African military would deploy 3,474 troops for a month until April 17 to prevent and combat crime in cooperation with the police.

[1/5] Locals in the Chiradzulu district look at the damage on a road after mudslides and rockfalls in the area caused by the aftermath of Cyclone Freddy in Blantyre, Malawi, March 15, 2023. Most people heeded the warnings, knowing from bitter experience the damage such storms could inflict: 600 people had died in Cyclone Idai in 2019. The storm was far more deadly in neighbouring Malawi, where at least 447 were killed as Freddy tore through the country's southern tip and inundated the main commercial hub of Blantyre. Mozambique and Malawi are among the poorest 8% of countries in the world, according to United Nations data. In the case of Freddy, this extra energy allowed the storm to pick up strength again and circle back to strike again.

[1/3] Branches of trees sway as cyclone Freddy hits, in Quelimane, Zambezia, Mozambique, March 12, 2023, in this screen grab taken from a handout video. It pummelled central Mozambique on Saturday, ripping roofs off buildings and bringing widespread flooding around the port of Quelimane, before moving inland towards Malawi with torrential rains that caused landslides. At least six people died in Mozambique's Quelimane, which was struck hard by the storm, authorities told the public broadcaster on Monday. The total number killed by storm Freddy in Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar since it first made landfall last month is now nearing 100. Malawi has been battling the deadliest cholera outbreak in its history, and U.N. agencies have warned the situation could now get worse.

☆ Record-strength cyclone Freddy pounds Mozambique after making second landfall
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JOHANNESBURG, March 12 (Reuters) - Cyclone Freddy battered central Mozambique on Sunday after making landfall for a second time in a month and breaking records for duration and strength of tropical storms in the southern hemisphere. More than 171,000 people were affected after the cyclone swept through southern Mozambique last month, killing 27 people in Mozambique and Madagascar. More than half a million people are at risk of being affected Mozambique this time, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). At least one person was killed there on Saturday when his house collapsed on him as the storm swept onshore, state TV reported. Two weeks ago, 27 died when the storm first made landfall, after first being spotted near Indonesia on Feb. 6.

☆ Floods and high winds hit Mozambique as record-breaking cyclone Freddy nears
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MAPUTO, March 11 (Reuters) - Cyclone Freddy was settling off the coast of Mozambique on Saturday, bringing flooding and high winds to Quelimane two weeks after killing at least 27 people in southern Africa when it first made landfall last month. After swirling for 34 days straight, the weather system is likely to have broken the record for the longest-lasting tropical cyclone. The cyclone is slow-moving, which meteorological experts say means it will pick up more moisture off the sea, bringing heavy rainfall. More than 171,000 people were affected after the cyclone swept through southern Mozambique last month, bringing heavy rains and floods that damaged crops and destroyed houses, with OCHA putting its death toll at 27 so far -- 10 in Mozambique and 17 in Madagascar. More than half a million people are at risk in Mozambique this time, especially around in Zambezia, Tete, Sofala and Nampula and Zambezia provinces.

☆ Six Nigerian states challenge election in Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Camillus Eboh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ABUJA, March 3 (Reuters) - Six opposition-led Nigerian states have asked the Supreme Court to throw out the result of last weekend's presidential vote, saying the electoral body broke the law and its own rules during the count, court papers showed. Six of Nigeria's 36 states - Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Sokoto - said in court papers dated Feb. 28 that the election commission had failed to transmit results through an electronic system meant to show transparency. They sought a court declaration that all presidential election results announced by the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) "were invalid, null and void, and of no effect whatsoever". Those materials included ballot papers and voting machines, the order from the appeals court showed. There have been numerous legal challenges to the outcome of past Nigerian presidential elections but none has succeeded.

☆ Nigeria's Obi says he, not Tinubu, won presidential election
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Camillus Eboh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Summary Presidential election marred by technical problemsWinner Tinubu says vote was credibleChallenger Obi vows to overturn result in courtAfter vibrant campaign, turnout was record lowABUJA, March 2 (Reuters) - Nigerian presidential candidate Peter Obi said on Thursday he had won Saturday's election, called Bola Tinubu's victory fraudulent and promised to claim the top job through legal means. Tinubu, the ruling party candidate, was declared president-elect of Africa's most populous nation on Wednesday, having won 37% of the vote. He said the election was credible and the reported problems had had no impact on the overall outcome. "We won the election and we will prove it to Nigerians," he said. While neither generated the visible enthusiasm directed at Obi, both had powerful political machines and decades of networking behind them.

☆ Nigeria's Tinubu defends win in disputed presidential poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said Tinubu garnered 8.79 million votes in the weekend election, ahead of main opposition challenger Atiku Abubakar's 6.98 million votes. Peter Obi, an outsider popular with younger and more educated urban voters, garnered 6.1 million votes. "I am very happy I have been elected the president of the federal republic of Nigeria," Tinubu said to cheers in Abuja. Nigeria's election was meant to be its fairest and most open contest to date. As Lagos governor, Tinubu won praise for partially fixing some of the cities problems, including reducing violent crime, waste collection and traffic.

☆ Bola Tinubu: From godfather of Lagos to Nigeria's president-elect
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Tim Cocks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

And since he bowed out as Lagos governor in 2007, Tinubu has picked every subsequent winning candidate to run Africa's biggest city. That power will now be tested as Tinubu attempts to tackle Nigeria's crises and improve on Buhari's lacklustre record. Many of these problems worsened under Buhari, on whose party ticket Tinubu ran. A spokesman for Tinubu's campaign did not respond to repeated requests for comment. A biography on his campaign website says Tinubu was born in Lagos in 1952, to a Muslim family from the Yoruba ethnic group, the majority in southwest Nigeria.

☆ Nigeria's Tinubu has unassailable lead in provisional election results - Reuters tally
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LAGOS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Nigeria's ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu has an unassailable lead in the presidential election held over the weekend, a Reuters tally of provisional results from all 36 states and the federal capital Abuja showed on Tuesday. Tinubu of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) of outgoing president Muhammadu Buhari got about 35% of the vote, trailed by Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) with 30%. Peter Obi of the Labour Party, an outsider popular with the youth and educated voters, got 26%. Tinubu's potential victory extends the All Progressives Congress party's (APC) grip on power in Africa's top oil producer and most populous nation, though he inherits a litany of problems from outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari. Reporting by Hamza Ibrahim in Kano, Ahmed Kingimi in Maiduguri, Anamesere Igboeroteonwu in Onitsha Tife Owolabi in Yenagoa, Tim Cocks and Macdonald Dzirutwe in Lagos; Writing by Tim CocksOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Partial results of disputed Nigeria election show Tinubu in lead
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LAGOS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Provisional results from Nigeria's disputed presidential election over the weekend showed Bola Tinubu from the ruling party in the lead, a Reuters tally of votes in 25 of the country's 36 states showed on Tuesday. Electoral commission results from the states showed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress party (APC) was ahead with about 36% or 7 million of valid votes counted, with Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) trailing close behind with 30% or nearly 6 million valid votes. Peter Obi of the smaller Labour Party got 20% or about 3.8 million votes. More results were expected to show the winner later on Tuesday. INEC had promised to upload results directly from each polling unit to its website in the election to replace outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari, but most were unable to do so immediately.

☆ Nigeria's Peter Obi wins in Lagos state in presidential election
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LAGOS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Nigerian presidential candidate Peter Obi, whose campaign attracted young people and urban voters fed up with corrupt politics, won most votes in the commercial hub of Lagos state, where Africa's biggest city is located. Nigeria's electoral commission began announcing state-by-state results in the national elections on Sunday, though it is not expected to name a victor in the race to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari for several days. Obi of the Labour Party got 582,454 votes, just ahead of 572,606 for former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu for the governing All Progressives Congress party, electoral commission data showed on Monday. He was most popular with the youth, but especially urban, relatively educated voters with access to smartphones and social media. Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: Results so far from Nigeria's presidential election
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LAGOS, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Nigeria's electoral commission has announced the following results following the country's presidential election, with the final tally expected within five days of the close of voting on Sunday. Below are tallies for the top three candidates - Bola Tinubu from the All Progressives Congress party (APC), main opposition leader Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Labour Party's (LP) Peter Obi. EKITI STATEBola Tinubu (APC) 201,494Atiku Abubakar (PDP) 89,554Peter Obi (LP) 11,397Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Tim Cocks; Editing by Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Gang attacks Nigerian electoral counting centre in Lagos, video shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LAGOS, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Soldiers were forced to intervene on Sunday after 15 men pretending to be electoral officials stormed a voting collation centre in the Alimosho neighbourhood of Lagos, attacking party agents with knives and sticks, video obtained by Reuters TV showed. "Hoodlum boys ... just came and started coming out with daggers and hitting everybody that are Labour Party agents," the party's ward secretary Jacob Sulemain said after soldiers repelled the attack. The presidential vote is expected to be the closest in Nigeria's history, with candidates from two parties that have alternated power since the end of army rule in 1999 facing an unusually strong challenge from a minor party nominee popular among young voters. Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Nigerians wait to finish voting in some places as election count underway
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Tife Owolabi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People wait for results during the counting process of Nigeria's presidential election, at a polling unit in Awka, Anambra state, Nigeria February 25, 2023. A Reuters reporter saw voters arriving at polling stations in Yenagoa city, which will open at 10 a.m. (0900 GMT) so electoral commission officials can complete Saturday's presidential and parliamentary election. Voting was also expected to continue in some parts northeastern Borno state, where voting machines failed to work. He is stepping down after winning two previous elections and serving the maximum eight years permitted by the constitution. Whoever wins will face a litany of crises in the country of more than 200 million, Africa's most populous nation.

☆ Voting scheduled to start in Nigeria election, delays seen
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LAGOS, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Voting was scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) in Nigeria's presidential and parliamentary election, though Reuters reporters in several locations across the country saw polling stations that did not open on time, and in some cases queues of voters with no election officials in sight. In past Nigerian elections, voters in some areas complained that polling stations opened hours late or did not materialise at all. Reporting by Abraham Achirga and Hamza Ibrahim in Kano, Temilade Adelaja and Seun Sanni in Anambra, Tim Cocks, James Oatway and MacDonald Dzirutwe in Lagos Writing by Estelle Shirbon Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Nigerians vote for new president, delays seen at some polling stations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Anamasere Igboereteonwu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/8] People looks for their names on voters list put up on a wall at a polling unit, during Nigeria's Presidential election in Agulu, Anambra state, Nigeria February 25, 2023. Polling stations were scheduled to open at 8:30 a.m. (0730 GMT), though Reuters reporters at locations across the country saw a mixed picture, with delays of several hours in some places while voting got underway more swiftly at others. In the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the vice presidential candidate from the ruling party, Kashim Shettima, arrived to cast his ballot but was unable to do so as his designated polling station had not opened. In another northeastern city, Yola, opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar was able to vote, surrounded by a chaotic scrum of media and supporters. Vote-counting will begin as soon as polls close and results will be posted outside polling stations, according to the Independent National Election Commission (INEC).

☆ Supply-Chain Headaches Ease for Many Companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Paul Berger | Liz Young | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Supply-chain snarls are fading from among the top challenges facing some U.S. companies as freight congestion eases, shipping costs fall and factories in Asia are freed from Covid-19 lockdowns. The rising costs and lengthy transit times pushed some companies to cut back on slower-selling products and raise prices. Today, freight congestion has cleared and ocean shipping costs have fallen close to prepandemic levels. Mr. Bergman said the decline was “partially offset by 40 basis points of favorable supply-chain impact driven by lower freight costs, which more than offset product cost headwinds during the quarter.”Some companies said they still have a way to go before supply-chain challenges are resolved. And Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Jim Farley told a virtual town hall on Feb. 9 that supply-chain problems were continuing to hamper the company’s progress.

[1/6] Godwin Nnamdi, 27-year-old fitness trainer and first-time voter, poses for a portrait at a gym in Lagos, Nigeria February 15, 2023. But his active social media campaign and promises to break with Nigeria's gerontocratic past have endeared him to many younger voters. The young and tech-savvy, first-time voters rallying around Obi call themselves the "Obi-dients" - a somewhat incongruous choice for an anti-establishment movement. The former banker has promised jobs, skills training and funding to young Nigerians, but so too have Tinubu and Atiku. If Obi loses, Ndukwe said he would join the wave of skilled Nigerians leaving the country in its perpetual brain drain.

☆ Hasbro 2023 forecasts disappoint as inflation hits toy demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Deborah Mary Sophia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The Hasbro, Inc. logo is seen on the Star Wars Galactic Snackin Grogu toy in the FAO Schwarz toy store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 24, 2021. The overall revenue is projected to be down low-single digits, while Wall Street analysts were expecting a 2.5% increase to $6 billion. "It's a cautious outlook...(but) what I'm most concerned about is that Hasbro doesn't lose sight of the consumer products segment," said James Zahn, Editor-in-Chief of trade magazine "The Toy Book". "Consumer products is what Hasbro is rooted in as a business." Hasbro expects 2023 adjusted per-share earnings in the range of $4.45 to $4.55 compared with estimates of $4.88 per share.

☆ Hasbro 2023 profit forecast disappoints as toy demand drops sharply
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The Hasbro, Inc. logo is seen on the Star Wars Galactic Snackin Grogu toy in the FAO Schwarz toy store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 24, 2021. Toy demand has typically remained resistant to economic uncertainties, but it fell sharply in the holiday season, with Hasbro rival Mattel Inc (MAT.O) earlier this month projecting 2023 profit below expectations. For Hasbro, Walmart accounted for around 13% of sales, while Target made up for roughly 8% of sales in 2021. The toymaker said it will take a nearly $300 million hit to 2023 revenue from the licenses and brands that it exited. Hasbro said it expects 2023 adjusted earnings in the range of $4.45 to $4.55 per share, well below analysts' average estimate of $4.88 per share, according to Refinitiv data.

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