Aug 10 (Reuters) - San Francisco-based blockchain payments company Ripple Labs Inc, which is embroiled in a high-profile battle with the U.S. securities regulator, is interested in potentially purchasing assets of bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network, according to a company spokesperson.

"We are interested in learning about Celsius and its assets, and whether any could be relevant to our business,” the spokesperson said, declining to say if Ripple was interested in acquiring Celsius outright.

Ripple has continued to grow through the crypto market turmoil and "is actively looking for M&A opportunities to strategically scale the company," the spokesperson said.

PARIS, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Sweden overtook France as Europe's largest net power exporter in the first half of 2022, as deep-rooted problems reduced French nuclear availability to historic lows, Energy analysts EnAppSys said on Wednesday.

France usually exports more power than it imports, but structural problems with its nuclear fleet, which show no signs of improving, saw exports from the country halve compared to the previous year, while Sweden exported 16 terawatt hours (TWh), the company said.

Most of Sweden's electricity supply comes from nuclear, hydro and biofuels, with wind supply growing in the country as oil-fired generation declines, data from the International Energy Agency showed.

SEOUL, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Using a plastic bowl, Ha In-sik bailed water out of his lower ground apartment in the low-income housing district of Sillim in southwestern Seoul on Wednesday, where flooding caused by torrential rain forced his family to sleep at a nearby park.

The 50-year-old man, along with his wife and daughter had collected home appliances, furniture, books and even cutlery, and put them outside to see what was salvageable.

The scene bore uncomfortable similarities with the sewage-flooded semi-basement flat depicted in the 2020 Oscar-winning South Korean film "Parasite," that was a tale of growing social disparity in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

Aug 9 (Reuters) - Global commodities trader Cargill Inc (CARG.UL) on Tuesday reported that its fiscal year 2022 revenue jumped 23% from a year earlier to a record $165 billion.

The strong result was the latest for a global agricultural commodities trader after rivals Archer-Daniels-Midland Co (ADM.N) and Bunge Ltd (BG.N) reported solid earnings last month amid high farm products prices and robust global demand. Both rival companies also projected strong earnings through the remainder of 2022.

Privately-held Cargill halted public reporting of most of its quarterly and annual financial data in 2020 but reports its full-year sales in an annual report.

OTTAWA, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Canadian police arrested 22 people, seized 27 handguns and drugs worth C$1.3 million ($1 million) during a 10-month investigation into a gun- and drug-trafficking network operating in Canada and the United States, authorities said on Wednesday.

The seized guns were obtained illegally and with criminal intent, Ontario Provincial Police Chief Superintendent Paul Mackey told reporters. He said Canadian authorities worked with U.S. law enforcement officials on the crackdown.

With gun crime on the rise, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has proposed freezing handgun purchases as part of a broader gun control package under consideration in parliament.

Aug 9 (Reuters) - Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) said on Tuesday it had raised $10 billion in its first-ever bond offering, as it looks to fund share buybacks and investments to revamp its business.

The offering would help Meta, the only one among big technology companies without debt on its books, to build a more traditional balance sheet and fund some expensive initiatives, such as its metaverse virtual reality. read more

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Masayoshi Son is thinking the unthinkable at SoftBank Group (9984.T). His $63 billion technology and telecom empire will slash its stake in Alibaba (9988.HK) to 15% from 24%. The long-overdue shrinkage offers a blueprint for what to do next: break up the conglomerate.

This year’s tech selloff has punished the Japanese holding company, pushing it to a $23 billion net loss last quarter. Son’s new watchword is discipline: His Vision Funds, effectively giant venture-capital vehicles, invested just $600 million in the three-month stretch ending in June, compared with some $21 billion a year earlier.

The same focus on cash preservation seems to have informed the decision unveiled on Wednesday to cut the Alibaba holding, which has a totemic significance at SoftBank as one of the world’s most lucrative tech investments. Through derivatives deals with banks, Son could have retained the Alibaba stake by settling so-called prepaid...

BEIJING, Aug 10 (Reuters) - A Beijing court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal by a plaintiff in a high-profile Chinese sexual harassment case involving a well-known host of state broadcaster CCTV, a decision likely to deal a blow to China's #MeToo movement.

Zhou Xiaoxuan, 29, accused one of CCTV's premier entertainment show hosts, Zhu Jun, of groping and forcibly kissing her in 2014 when she was an intern working for him, allegations he denies.

Zhou’s accusations, posted on social media in 2018, quickly went viral and she sued Zhu for damages that year. In September 2021, after two closed-door hearings, Haidian People's Court, a district court in the Chinese capital, rejected her claims due to insufficient evidence.

HONG KONG, Aug 10 (Reuters) - China's Lenovo Group (0992.HK) recorded its smallest revenue growth in nine quarters as the world's biggest PC maker saw sales of the devices ease after a pandemic-fuelled boom, and it was also hit by COVID-19 lockdowns at home.

The results vindicate Lenovo's strategy of emphasising development of its non-personal computer (PC) businesses such as smartphones, servers and information technology services, which together now make up more than a third of its sales.

Lenovo's total revenue during the April-June quarter was $16.96 billion, up 0.2% from the same quarter a year ago though it was in line with an average Refinitiv estimate of $16.87 billion drawn from seven analysts. That was the smallest increase since the March 2020 quarter.

PRISTINA, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Kosovo is prepared to stand against a possible attack by Serbia as worsening strife with minority Serbs could result in a new armed conflict, Prime Minister Albin Kurti told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.

Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo flared again earlier this month when Pristina said it would oblige Serbs living in the north, who are backed by Belgrade and do not recognise Kosovo institutions, to start using license plates issued in Pristina.

The situation calmed after Kurti, under U.S. and European Union pressure, agreed to postpone the car number plates rule until Sept. 1 and NATO peacekeepers supervised the removal of roadblocks set up by Serbs.

BRUSSELS, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Brussels is unlikely to back down on its demand that Poland respect the rule of law to receive post-pandemic recovery funds, officials said, despite threats from Warsaw that it could block decision-making within the European Union.

Poland would be eligible for 24 billion euros in grants and 11.5 billion in very cheap loans from the fund, designed to help member states become greener and more digitalised as their economies recover.

But the money is frozen because Poland's ruling PiS party does not want to roll back changes to the judiciary introduced over the last seven years, even though the EU's top court has declared them incompatible with EU treaties.

“We’ve already seen the impact of rising gas prices on larger firms – with the food and drink industry suffering in particular. Small businesses are also set to feel the consequences, and reduced levels of cash-flow and liquidity will only make things worse for many.”

Alan Thomas, UK CEO at Simply Business, a small business insurance provider

MOSCOW, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed possibly supplying food, fertilisers and fuel to Mali in a phone call with the African country's interim leader Assimi Goita on Wednesday, according to a Kremlin statement.

Goita said on Twitter the two leaders talked about Russia's support for Mali's political transition.

Goita's junta came to power in a coup two years ago and has sparred repeatedly with neighbouring countries and Western powers over election delays, alleged army abuses and cooperation with Russian mercenaries in its fight against an Islamist insurgency.

ROME, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Brothers of Italy leader Giorgia Meloni recorded a video message in three languages on Wednesday to reassure Italy's partners a right-wing government led by her would not threaten financial stability and would stick to Rome's traditional alliances.

Italy's conservative bloc, which also includes Matteo Salvini's League and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia, is well placed to win an outright majority at an election scheduled for Sept. 25, according to a study on Tuesday. read more

Meloni tops the polls and looks on track to become prime minister. However, some analysts have cast doubt over her suitability for the role because her party traces its roots back to a post-fascist movement.

NAIROBI/ELDORET Aug 10 (Reuters) - Preliminary results from Kenya's presidential election showed a tight race between the two main candidates vying to replace President Uhuru Kenyatta, with citizens praying an announcement of a winner would not unleash violence as in years past.

The Tuesday election is an important test for stability in East Africa's biggest economy, where two of the last three elections led to bloodshed and disputes over accusations of rigging.

Tuesday's polls were largely peaceful, although police said they were hunting a legislator who shot dead a rival's aide outside a polling station. In the northern town of Eldas, where clashes prevented elections on Tuesday, polling stations opened peacefully on Wednesday, election officials said.

Aug 10 (Reuters) - Wednesday's consumer price index report showing U.S. inflation didn't accelerate in July was the first "positive" reading on price pressures since the Federal Reserve began tightening policy, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said, even as he signaled he believes the Fed has plenty more work to do.

With consumer prices unchanged last month compared to June, but up 8.5% from a year earlier, inflation is still "unacceptably" high, and the Fed will likely need to lift its policy rate, currently in the 2.25%-2.5% range, to 3.25%-3.5% this year and to 3.75%-4% by the end of next year, Evans said.

The remarks suggest Evans, among the 19 central bankers who set U.S. monetary policy, expects to soon slow what's been the Fed's steepest round of interest-rate hikes in decades. Though he was not explicit on whether he would support a downshift as soon as next month, the Fed would only need to raise rates a percentage point over the course of the next four...

NEW YORK, Aug 9 (Reuters) - American great Serena Williams said on Tuesday she was "evolving away from tennis" and planned to retire from the sport she dominated with 23 Grand Slam titles following the U.S. Open tournament, which begins later this month.

On Monday, Williams played only her second singles match since she returned to action at Wimbledon in June after a year-long absence from competition, beating Spain's Nuria Parrizas Diaz to reach the second round of the Toronto Open.

But the 40-year-old said after the match that she could see the light at the end of the tennis tunnel in her career. read more

BERLIN/LOBITH, Netherlands, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Already bracing for recession and winter energy shortages, German businesses are grappling with the lack of another precious commodity: rain.

Weeks of baking temperatures and scant rainfall this summer have drained the water levels of the Rhine, the country's commercial artery, causing delays to shipping and pushing freight costs up more than five-fold.

A spokesperson for the transport ministry told a government news conference on Wednesday that "we do expect an intensification of the low water level" on the Rhine, but could not say if or when vessels might no longer be able to pass along the river.