LONDON (Reuters) - Banging drums, waving flags and lying down to “die”, hundreds of Extinction Rebellion activists gathered outside Britain’s parliament for a second day on Wednesday to demand that the government act to avoid a climate catastrophe.

The rallies in London’s Parliament Square come

LONDON (Reuters) - Treating critically ill COVID-19 patients with corticosteroid drugs reduces the risk of death by 20%, an analysis of seven international trials found on Wednesday, prompting the World Health Organisation to update its advice on treatment.

The analysis - which pooled data from separate trials of low dose

(Adds power cuts to continue throughout this week)

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 2 (Reuters) - South African state power utility Eskom ramped up power cuts on Wednesday, as cold weather caused a spike in demand after many of its generating units had broken down.

Eskom’s struggles to power Africa’s most industrialised nation are one of the main obstacles to economic growth.

The company, which started implementing “stage 2” power cuts on Tuesday, increased them to “stage 4,” requiring up to 4,0

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Ingka Group, the owner of most IKEA stores, plans 600 million euros ($712 million) in sustainability-related investments over the next 12 months as the world’s biggest furniture brand aims to be climate positive throughout its value chain by 2030.

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click or type LIVE/ in a news window)

* Private payrolls increase 428,000 in August

* Nvidia climbs as analysts cheer new gaming chip

* Macy’s gains on smaller quarterly loss on online boost

* Futures up: Dow 0.57%, S&P 0.62%, Nasdaq 1.07% (Adds comment, details; Updates prices)

By Medha Singh and Devik Jain

Sept

DUBAI, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Qatar’s ruler, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, met U.S. President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Jared Kushner on Wednesday, the Amiri Diwan said, following an accord between the United Arab Emirates and Israel to normalise ties.

Kushner, who hopes more Muslim countries will also cement ties with Israel, was told by Sheikh Tamim that his country supports the two-state solution according to international law, the statement added. (Reporting by Aziz El

(Reuters) - Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium could once again ring to the sound of chanting fans next month, with the English Premier League club on Wednesday saying it plans to allow a reduced crowd.

Matches have been played in empty stadiums since Premier League soccer’s coronavirus lockdown

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India on Wednesday banned another 118 mobile apps including Tencent Holdings’ popular videogame PUBG, as it stepped up the pressure on Chinese technology companies following a standoff with Beijing at the border.

The list of 118 mostly Chinese apps also includes applications from Baidu and Xiaomi’s ShareSave.

The ban

RIYADH (Reuters) - A Saudi court has sentenced seven Islamic State militants to death over a 2014 shooting attack that killed eight Shi’ite Muslims near the eastern city of al-Ahsa, state television reported on Wednesday.

In November 2014, three suspected members of the Sunni Muslim jihadist group opened fire on Shi’ites who were celebrating Ashura, a holy festival in their calendar, in the village of Dalwa, killing eight people there.

Seven defendants were sentenced to death after their conviction