HONG KONG (Reuters) – Prudential is seeking to raise $2.41 billion by pricing its stock at HK$143.8 each in its Hong Kong share sale, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Prudential sold 130.8 million shares, or 5% of its issued share capital in the deal, which was the first follow-on share placement to be open to Hong Kong retail investors. The price guidance given to investors represented a 3% discount to the stock’s closing price in London on Friday. Prudential, the diversified insurance group, said it planned to use most of the funds raised to pay down high-coupon debt within six months. ($1 = 7.7854 Hong Kong dollars)(Reporting by Scott Murdoch; Editing by Sam Holmes)

The hurricane-damaged refinery remains for sale and its “marketing process is ongoing,” said Phillips 66 spokesperson Bernardo Fallas. In August, Phillips 66 began meeting with potential buyers of the 255,600 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Louisiana, on the state’s southeast coast. The Alliance refinery is one of three along the Gulf Coast that has been offered for sale this year. The other two are LyondellBasell Industries’ 263,776-bpd Houston refinery and Royal Dutch Shell’s shuttered 211,146-bpd Convent, Louisiana, refinery. The Alliance refinery could still have a future in the current energy transition, said John Auers, executive vice president with refinery-consultants Turner, Mason & Company“It’s still a viable refinery,” Auers said.

Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun – appointed by Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government – had initially been expected to address the 193-member General Assembly on Monday, the final day of the gathering. Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Monday asked to address the gathering of world leaders at the United Nations and nominated the Islamist group’s Doha-based spokesman Suhail Shaheen as Afghanistan’s U.N. ambassador. U.N. accreditation issues are dealt with by a nine-member committee, whose members include the United States, China and Russia. It traditionally meets in October or November so a decision would not be made in time that would allow Muttaqi to address the high-level General Assembly meeting this year. Until a decision is made by the credentials committee on both Afghanistan and Myanmar, Isaczai and Kyaw Moe Tun will remain in the seats, according to the General Assembly rules.

They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that have yet to be certified by peer review. Vaccinated pregnant women pass antibodies to babiesPregnant women who get an mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 pass high levels of protective antibodies on to their babies, new research shows. All 36 babies had high levels of antibodies that target the spike protein on the surface of the virus – and all of the antibodies could be traced to the mothers’ vaccinations. It is not clear whether the timing of vaccination during pregnancy is related to antibody levels in the baby. And, “we don’t know how long those antibodies stick around in the baby,” Roman said.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince Andrew has accepted service in the United States of a sexual assault lawsuit by a woman who said the Duke of York forced her to have sex with him at the London home of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. The prince and his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, have agreed that service was effective as of Sept. 21, according to a joint filing on Friday with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Subject to court approval, Andrew would have until Oct. 29 to formally respond to the lawsuit. Andrew has not waived his defenses against Giuffre’s claims, which he had previously “categorically” denied. The agreement appears for now to end a monthlong effort by Andrew’s legal team, including lawyers in Britain, to block Giuffre’s lawsuit at the outset rather than have the 61-year-old prince defend against it.

VANCOUVER (Reuters) – After being stuck in Canada for nearly three years, largely confined to her multi-million-dollar house in Vancouver, Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou on Friday was set to return home to China https://www.reuters.com/technology/huawei-cfo-meng-appear-court-expected-reach-agreement-with-us-source-2021-09-24. The 49-year-old CFO of Huawei Technologies had been widely tipped to one day take the helm of the tech giant her father founded. Meng is widely seen by Huawei insiders as the likely successor to company founder Ren Zhengfei. At the time of Meng’s arrest, Huawei’s revenue was split equally between domestic and international revenue, half of which came from supplying equipment to telecoms carriers around the world. But since then Western countries have distanced themselves from the Chinese tech giant.

Steve NeavlingFormer Detroit Police Chief James Craig in the city's real-time crime center. When people raise issues, I can’t just make a decision and say there’s nothing there. Gretchen Whitmer supports a bill by Democrats to repeal the state’s 90-year-old ban on abortions, which was nullified following thedecision. "You realize abortion is illegal already in the state of Michigan?” Damoose said. “And there’s a legitimate chance we're going to overturn it on the federal level, and the second that happens, abortion is illegal in Michigan.”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison stressed the importance of a “free and open” Indo-Pacific, as leaders of the United States, Japan, India and Australia began their Quad meeting on Friday at the White House. Morrison further stated the Indo-Pacific should be free from coercion, addressing a concern about Beijing’s increasing assertiveness and growing influence in the region. (Reporting by Steve Holland, David Brunnstrom and Nandita Bose in Washington)

click to enlarge State of MichiganDr. Joneigh Khaldun, right, and Governor Gretchen Whitmer. "I've been inspired by the entire MDHHS team and their expertise and dedication to serving the people of Michigan. "Before her stint as the state's chief medical executive, Khaldun was the director and health officer for the Detroit Health Department. He also warned that the surge will be particularly devastating in Detroit, where only about half of the eligible population is vaccinated. "In the meantime, Whitmer appointed Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian to serve as chief medical executive.

KOHLER, Wisconsin (Reuters) – The Europe and the United States Ryder Cup captains shuffled their lineups from the morning foursomes for the afternoon fourballs on Friday, making sure everyone on their 12-man teams saw action on the opening day at Whistling Straits. Despite dominating the foursomes matches 3-1 U.S. captain Steve Stricker chose to shake up his pairings by sending out Dustin Johnson and Olympic champion Xander Schauffele to face Britain’s Paul Casey and Ryder Cup newcomer Austrian Bernd Wiesberger, who sat out the morning session. Johnson had partnered Collin Morikawa and Schauffele teamed with Patrick Cantlay in the morning, winning their foursome contests to help take the U.S. to a 3-1 lead. Tony Finau and Harris English, who also sat out the morning session for the U.S., will take on Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy and Ireland’s Shane Lowry. Last off will be Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay who will battle Briton Tommy Fleetwood and Norwegian Viktor Hovland.

With Halloween rapidly en route, Fathom Events is giving us a chance to find the fun again in group fear. The company, known for reviving classics on the big screen in limited-run engagements, is rolling out its Fright Fest nationwide with a cauldron full of spooky screenings. Saturday, October 1 brings a peerless double feature from 1931: Universal’s original Dracula, directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi, and Frankenstein, featuring Boris Karloff and directed by James Whale. Both films remain iconic, with Dracula simmering in malevolent atmospherics and Frankenstein delving into unsettling themes of playing God and misunderstood monsters. The series also includes The Evil Dead (1981), an inventive, low-budget horror film by Sam Raimi, on Oct. 7, and Wes Craven’s original Scream (1996) on Oct. 10 and 11.

Mystery and intrigue crop up around every corner in Only Murders in the Building (★★★★☆), but one puzzle that may go unsolved is whether the show’s stars, Steve Martin and Martin Short, negotiated which would get the showier role. The same goes for his neighbor, Charles-Haden Savage, played by Martin with subdued comedic style, and dare we say, debonair ease. He and Ollie both get the jump-start they need when they team up with twentysomething neighbor Mabel (Selena Gomez) to solve a murder inside their historic pre-war building on New York’s Upper West Side. Their investigation leads them all into danger, and stumbling onto other mysteries, like, for example, how does young Mabel afford an apartment in this tony building? New episodes of Only Murders in the Building are available for streaming every Tuesday on Hulu.

Largely unsung to the masses, Murray, who died in 1985 at the age of 74, was revered in legal and scholarly circles, and lived an extraordinary life that’s brought clearly into focus in Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s vivid documentary portrait My Name Is Pauli Murray (★★★★☆). Whether Murray might want us referring to the memoirs as “hers,” “his,” or “theirs” is a matter addressed by enlightening interviews with trans activists Raquel Willis and Dolores Chandler, former coordinator at the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice in Durham, North Carolina. The film also includes Murray’s own moving correspondence with her doctors putting into arresting words the gender dysphoria that marked her existence from childhood. My Name Is Pauli Murray relays the facts of the subject’s psychological distress with utter sensitivity, taking cues from the candor in her own poetic language. “America, be what you proclaim yourself to be!”My Name Is Pauli Murray is playing at Landmark’s E Street Cinema, and is available for streaming October 1 on Prime Video.

At this point Lil Nas X’s knack for dominating the news cycle is a given. The album is front-loaded with tracks that are packed full of radio-ready hooks. Montero does noticeably stumble in its less tightly wound second half. Notwithstanding the bump it got from Lil Nas X’s celebrity status, Montero stands easily along works from more established artists as a strong debut that is as unapologetic, idiosyncratic, and assertively queer as its creator. Read More Music Reviews:If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power by HalseyAlbum Review: Saturday Night, Sunday Morning by Jake BuggAlbum Review: ‘Solar Power’ by Lorde

“With all of our seasonal events, we make sure to always have several nights built-in that honor and recognize the LGBTQ community,” says Brandon Bayton of Wunder Garten. Naturally, members of the LGBTQ community can attend any and all Oktoberfest events at the gay-owned Wunder Garten. “Whoever wants to wear dirndl or lederhosen, we don’t put any stipulation on which sex or gender has to wear which,” Bayton says. After all, men can wear dirndls and be called ‘frauleins’ at Wunder Garten. Wunder Garten is at 1101 First St. NE.