WIRL-AM (Peoria, IL)

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Commodities trader Olam International is focused on completing the IPO of its food ingredients unit in the second quarter but it is also tracking market movements to see the potential impact on the timing, executives said on Monday. Singapore-based Olam in August announced plans for Olam Food Ingredients (OFI) to pursue a primary listing in London and a secondary listing in Singapore in the first half of 2022.

By Rebecca Rubin LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – It’s (still) good to be Tom Holland. The 25-year-old actor has been all-but-singlehandedly propelling ticket sales at North American movie theaters, leading two films in the top three spots on domestic box office charts. Over the weekend, his action-adventure “Uncharted” repeated No. 1 as his comic book epic “Spider-Man: No Way Home” followed closely behind in third place.

(Reuters) – New York state will end its mask mandate for schools and childcare facilities on Wednesday, Governor Kathy Hochul said, citing a steep drop in COVID-19 cases. “It wasn’t always easy, but students, educators and parents stepped up to fight this pandemic,” Hochul tweeted on Sunday.

(Reuters) – Russian airline Aeroflot said on Sunday it would cancel all flights to European destinations until further notice after the decision by many countries to close their airspace in protest at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s factory activity likely contracted in February on slower production after the Lunar New Year holiday and Winter Olympics, with Beijing expected to unveil more stimulus measures at a parliamentary meeting later this week to support the economy.

By Elizabeth Culliford (Reuters) – Meta Platforms said a hacking group used Facebook to target a handful of public figures in Ukraine, including prominent military officials, politicians and a journalist, amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of the country.

By Sam Nussey TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings Inc is hoping to ride the fast-moving coattails of Sonic the Hedgehog as the character enjoys a renaissance amid a global scramble for entertainment content. This year sees the release of a sequel to a record-breaking Hollywood movie and a Netflix series, along with a title that Sega hopes will revive the fortunes of the long-running Sonic game franchise after decades of malaise. “Sonic is the face of Sega.

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea has decided to tighten export controls against Russia by banning exports of strategic items, and join Western countries’ moves to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payments system, Seoul’s foreign ministry said on Monday.

By Lisa Richwine and Dawn Chmielewski LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -“CODA,” a coming-of-age drama about the only hearing member of a deaf family, won the Screen Actors Guild’s top film award, raising its chances of success at next month’s Oscars ceremony. The movie, which Apple TV+ acquired at the Sundance Film Festival for $25 million, follows the story of a small-town girl who pursues her dream of becoming a singer.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Russian central bank has ordered market players to reject foreign clients’ bids to sell Russian securities from 0400 GMT on Monday, according to a central bank document seen by Reuters. The bank did not reply to a Reuters request for comment.