BANGKOK, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's former president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, is expected to arrive in Thailand on Thursday and stay temporarily in a second Southeast Asian country since fleeing his island nation last month in the midst of mass protests.

Rajapaksa fled to Singapore on July 14 and resigned from office shortly afterwards, following unprecedented unrest over his government's handling of the worst economic crisis in seven decades, and days after thousands of protesters stormed the president's official residence and office. read more

The former military officer, who is the first Sri Lankan head of state to quit mid-term, is expected to travel from Singapore to Thailand's capital of Bangkok on Thursday, two sources said. It was unclear what time he would arrive.

WASHINGTON, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission rejected SpaceX's Starlink and LTD Broadband's applications for more than $2 billion in internet service subsidies, the FCC said on Wednesday.

In December 2020, the FCC tentatively awarded $9.2 billion to over 300 bidders to deploy high-speed broadband from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. LTD Broadband won $1.32 billion and SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet network won $885.5 million in the 2020 auction.

SpaceX, which is run by billionaire Elon Musk, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

OLENIVKA, Ukraine, Aug 11 (Reuters) - The head of the Russian-backed separatist administration in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region said on Wednesday that a trial of captured personnel from Ukraine's Azov Regiment would take place by the end of the summer, likely in the city of Mariupol.

The Azov Regiment, a unit of Ukraine's national guard with far-right and ultranationalist origins, garnered international attention for its resistance to the Russian siege of Mariupol's vast steelworks.

After fighting for weeks from the bunkers and tunnels below the steel works, hundreds of Azov fighters surrendered in May to Russian-backed forces.

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

Aug 10 (Reuters) - Moldova cannot afford to pay for natural gas from Russia's Gazprom PAO (GAZP.MM) in August and will have to hope for a deferral, the head of its state gas company was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Moldova and Gazprom agreed a five-year contract that began on Nov. 1 last year and requires a prepayment by the 20th of each month.

"I can tell you right now that we are unable to pay," Moldovagaz Chairman Ion Ceban told the Moldovan news site NewsMaker. "We will cover July, but we cannot make the advance payment for August. That is clear."

Aug 10 (Reuters) - California on Wednesday set ambitious new targets for offshore wind development, saying turbines along its storied coastline would power some 25 million homes by 2050.

In a unanimous vote, the five-member California Energy Commission (CEC) adopted a goal of 3,000 to 5,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind by 2030 and 25,000 MW by 2045, the agency said in a statement.

California has among the most aggressive climate change goals in the country, but its foray into offshore wind has lagged that of East Coast states like New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, where the industry is more mature.

BEIJING, Aug 10 (Reuters) - China has withdrawn a promise not to send troops or administrators to Taiwan if it takes control of the island, an official document showed on Wednesday, signalling a decision by President Xi Jinping to grant less autonomy than previously offered.

China's white paper on its position on self-ruled Taiwan follows days of unprecedented Chinese military exercises near the island, which Beijing claims as its territory, in protest against U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit last week. read more

China had said in two previous white papers on Taiwan, in 1993 and 2000, that it "will not send troops or administrative personnel to be based in Taiwan" after achieving what Beijing terms "reunification".

HONG KONG, Aug 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A tweak to an archaic takeover rule in the Caribbean will help Thomas Lau to succeed where his sibling did not. The Hong Kong billionaire is offering $240 million to buy out minority shareholders in Caymans-registered Lifestyle International (1212.HK), his department store chain. His timing means the deal won’t have to pass the so-called headcount test that ended a similar tilt at developer Chinese Estates (0127.HK) by the family of his brother Joseph. Dropping the rule makes governance sense, although it removes one means for small shareholders to scupper poor offers.

Several Hong Kong tycoons have fallen foul of the notorious tests, which the Cayman Islands will scrap at the end of this month. The rule stipulates that a deal needs to be approved by a majority of voting shareholders present, as well as by ownership. Joseph Lau’s family failed to buy the 25% it didn’t own in developer Chinese Estates, valuing it at $979 million,...

Aug 10 (Reuters) - Illinois is rebranding an invasive carp in the hopes of encouraging people to eat it - and solving a decades-old issue that has been threatening the ecosystem of the U.S. state's waterways.

"We've launched a new name, 'copi', to help people consume this delicious fish and help us do our work in keeping them out of the waterways," said Kevin Irons, assistant chief of fisheries for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Irons and the DNR want everyone to start calling the abundant fish formerly known as Asian carp "copi."

NEW YORK, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Wall Street surged on Wednesday, putting the Nasdaq more than 20% above its June low, after U.S. inflation slowed more than expected in July and raised hopes the Federal Reserve will become less aggressive on interest rates hikes.

A sharp drop in the cost of gasoline helped the U.S. Consumer Price Index stay flat last month after advancing 1.3% in June, the Labor Department said. The CPI rose by a less-than-expected 8.5% over the past 12 months after a 9.1% rise in June. read more

The rally came in the wake of the first notable sign of relief for Americans who have watched inflation steadily climb. The Nasdaq now is up 20.8% since bottoming but still needs to pass its prior peak in November to confirm a new bull market.

ASUNCION, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Former Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo will undergo surgery on Wednesday evening to contain a hemorrhage caused by a stroke he suffered earlier in the day and which forced him to be put into a medically induced coma, a senator from Lugo's party said.

The 71-year-old Lugo, who is a senator and governed from 2008 to 2012, will undergo an intravenous intervention to try to control bleeding in the back of his brain, doctor and legislator Jorge Querey said. He did not rule out the possibility of further surgery.

"The injury has not grown in a significant way that is life threatening at this time, but ... it has had a small expansion," he said.

NEW YORK, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Softer than expected U.S. inflation data buoyed investors’ faith that twin rebounds in stocks and bonds will persist in a year of deep losses for both asset classes.

Bear markets in both have maximized losses in portfolios this year as rate hikes from the Federal Reserve sapped appetite for risk, and some investors have met recent rebounds in stocks and bonds with skepticism.

The S&P 500 is now up about 15% from its mid-June lows, though still down 12% year-to-date, while the Nasdaq is up more than 20% from its lows. Ten-year Treasury yields, which move inversely to prices, have fallen about 70 basis points from their June peak. read more

Aug 11 (Reuters) - Australian wealth manager AMP Ltd (AMP.AX) said on Thursday its half-year underlying profit slumped by nearly a quarter, as margin pressure weighed on the banking division, sending its shares down nearly 3%.

Net interest margin at AMP Bank fell to 1.32% in the first half of the fiscal year, from 1.71% a year earlier, dragged down by growth in fixed-rate loans - which are less profitable.

Shares of the company, which rose as much as 4.3% in early trading, reversed gains to fall nearly 4%, their biggest single-day drop since mid-June.

LOS ANGELES, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Antarctica's coastal glaciers are shedding icebergs more rapidly than nature can replenish the crumbling ice, doubling previous estimates of losses from the world's largest ice sheet over the past 25 years, a satellite analysis showed on Wednesday.

The first-of-its-kind study, led by researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles and published in the journal Nature, raises new concern about how fast climate change is weakening Antarctica's floating ice shelves and accelerating the rise of global sea levels.

The study's key finding was that the net loss of Antarctic ice from coastal glacier chunks "calving" off into the ocean is nearly as great as the net amount of ice that scientists already knew was being lost due to thinning caused by the melting of ice shelves from below by warming seas.

BRASILIA, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro did not mention privatizing state-controlled oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA) in his re-election plan released on Wednesday that promises to continue pursuing policies that reduce the size of the state.

"The government ... will proceed with reordering the state's role in the economy, through privatization and divestment of state-owned companies, to focus on state participation in essential activities and in promoting Brazil's economic, social and sustainable development," the plan said.

The document contrasts with his 2018 election plan that dedicated specific pages to Petrobras. The company was not even mentioned this time, despite Mines and Energy Ministry Adolfo Sachsida requesting its privatization be studied.

LOS ANGELES, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Antarctica's coastal glaciers are shedding icebergs more rapidly than nature can replenish the crumbling ice, doubling previous estimates of losses from the world's largest ice sheet over the past 25 years, a satellite analysis showed on Wednesday.

The first-of-its-kind study, led by researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles and published in the journal Nature, raises new concern about how fast climate change is weakening Antarctica's floating ice shelves and accelerating the rise of global sea levels.

The study's key finding was that the net loss of Antarctic ice from coastal glacier chunks "calving" off into the ocean is nearly as great as the net amount of ice that scientists already knew was being lost due to thinning caused by the melting of ice shelves from below by warming seas.

TOKYO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) said on Wednesday it would book a gain of $34.1 billion by cutting its stake in Alibaba Group Holding (9988.HK), as the investment behemoth looks to shore up its cash reserve to weather the market downturn.

The Japanese company will reduce its stake in Alibaba to 14.6% from 23.7% by settling prepaid forward contracts. Alibaba's U.S.-listed shares were down 1.3% in early trade.

SoftBank booked a $50 billion loss at its Vision Fund investment arm in the first half of the year as its tech bets soured, with Chief Executive Masayoshi Son on Monday pledging to further reduce investment activity and cut costs.

SEOUL, Aug 11 (Reuters) - South Korea's presidential office said on Thursday the U.S. THAAD missile defence system stationed in the country is a means of self-defence, News1 reported, after Beijing demanded Seoul not deploy additional batteries and limit the use of the existing ones.

The THAAD missile defence system has for years been a source of contention as Beijing argues the equipment's powerful radar could peer into its airspace and sharply cut trade and cultural imports after Seoul announced its deployment in 2016, dealing a major blow to relations.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 10 (Reuters) - More than 70 economists and experts, including Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, called for Washington and other nations to release Afghanistan's central bank assets in a letter sent to U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

The letter said foreign capitals needed to return the roughly $9 billion in Afghan central bank assets to Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) to allow the economy to function, despite criticism of behaviour by the ruling Taliban towards women and minorities.

"The people of Afghanistan have been made to suffer doubly for a government they did not choose," the letter said. "In order to mitigate the humanitarian crisis and set the Afghan economy on a path toward recovery, we urge you to allow DAB to reclaim its international reserves."

SEOUL, Aug 11 (Reuters) - South Korea's unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs expressed regret after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister blamed leaflets from the South for causing the COVID outbreak in the isolated country.

"We express strong regrets over North Korea repeatedly making groundless claims over the route of the COVID and making very disrespectful and threatening remarks," the ministry said in a statement.

North Korean leader Kim declared victory in the battle against the novel coronavirus, ordering a lifting of maximum anti-epidemic measures imposed in May, state media KCNA said on Thursday. read more

NEW DELHI, Aug 10 (Reuters) - India said on Wednesday that Biological E's COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax can be administered as a booster dose in people who have taken the country's other two main shots, Covaxin and AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) Covishield, from Friday.

Corbevax will be available to over 18s as precautionary booster six months after a second dose, the health ministry said in an Aug. 8 letter to state authorities and shared with reporters on Wednesday.

Covishield is produced for the Indian market by the Serum Institute of India under licence from AstraZeneca, while Bharat Biotech makes Covaxin.

India has so far administered more than 2 billion COVID vaccine shots, including 113 million boosters, all of which have so far been of the same vaccine as the recipient's first two doses. The government says about 89% of Indians above the age of 12 have had two doses.

The country of nearly 1.4 billion people has documented more than 44 million coronavirus...