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The Seattle Sounders look to end their longstanding home struggles against the Portland Timbers when the Cascadia Cup rivals meet on Saturday night. Seattle is 0-5-5 in its past 10 regular-season home matches against its biggest rival. The past three such meetings were ties. Portland last lost a regular-season MLS match in Seattle in 2017. The Sounders did notch a home playoff win over the Timbers in 2018. "I think it is the motivation we have on the field and obviously, the fans chanting in Seattle," Timbers midfielder Diego Chara said of his side's success. "It brings energy to us and it makes it special." The results don't sit well with the Sounders, but they know the energy will again be at a fever pitch when the Timbers take the field. "The animosity between the fans is intense," longtime Seattle standout Jordan Morris said. "(Portland) is going to have a big (contingent) coming up here, traveling. We do the same when we go down there. You can feel it between the supporters groups." Ramping up the decibels is that Portland (11-10-11, 44 points) can clinch a playoff spot with a victory combined with some other results. The Timbers are tied for the sixth-most points with Austin FC. Portland hasn't played well of late, winning just one of its last eight MLS matches (1-3-4). The Timbers tied visiting FC Dallas 2-2 last weekend. Portland coach Phil Neville is asking his players to dig down deep. "It's at the stage of the season where teams are picking up knocks and bruises, there is fatigue," Neville said. "It's about that mentality of, 'How much do you want it?'" Seattle (12-9-10, 46 points) is in fifth place in the West and already has clinched a postseason spot. However, the Sounders are 0-2-2 in MLS play since beating Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup final on Aug. 31. The Sounders drew 2-2 against the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps last weekend. The tie allowed Vancouver to win the Cascadia Cup competition between Portland, Seattle and the Whitecaps. Sounders forward Paul Rothrock didn't hide how badly he wants to win on Saturday. "I'm excited for this game. I've never been a big Portland fan," Rothrock said. "These games mean a lot to me. I don't want to use any expletives on live camera." The teams played to a 1-1 tie in Portland on May 17. Danny Musovski leads Seattle with 14 goals. Antony and Kevin Kelsy share the Portland lead with seven apiece. –Field Level Media

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LONDON, Oct 3 (Reuters) – Sarah Mullally, named as Britain's next Archbishop of Canterbury, said on Friday her elevation was a "huge responsibility" but she would approach it with a sense of peace and trust in God. "As I respond to the call of Christ to this new ministry, I do so in the same spirit of service to God and to others that has motivated me since I first came to faith as a teenager," she said in a statement. "At every stage of that journey, through my nursing career and Christian ministry, I have learned to listen deeply – to people and to God's gentle prompting – to seek to bring people together to find hope and healing." (Reporting by Kate Holton, editing by William James)

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Oct 3 (OPTA) – Africa World Cup Qualifiers fixtures for this weekend Monday, October 6 fixtures (GMT) Eritrea v Morocco -cancelled

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PRAGUE, Oct 3 (Reuters) – Czech central bankers saw considerations on raising rates as premature, minutes from the bank's September 24 monetary policy meeting showed on Friday. The Czech National Bank (CNB) left interest rates unchanged for the third time in a row last week, keeping the main two-week repo rate at 3.50%, as it pauses an easing cycle it started in 2023. The bank has said tight policy was needed as inflation risks from services sector price developments and wage growth continued. On the other hand, the strong crown – which has traded around 22-month highs versus the euro – was an anti-inflationary factor. "There was a consensus that leaving the two-week repo rate unchanged at 3.5%, coupled with the strong crown, provided a sufficient degree of restriction to offset the upside risks to inflation," the bank's meeting minutes said on Friday. It added economic activity still faced uncertainties. "It was therefore necessary to stay flexible; the next interest rate movement could be in either direction. Deliberations on raising interest rates were deemed premature." Markets are pricing in stable rates in the months ahead, while some analysts have said a rate cut could still be possible, maybe in the first half of 2026. ** Click here for full text of the minutes (Reporting by Jason Hovet, Editing by William Maclean)

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NAIROBI, Oct 3 (Reuters) – Zimbabwe's economic growth is expected to rebound to a 6% rate this year, the International Monetary Fund said, citing improving agricultural production, record-high gold prices and robust remittances from its citizens who live abroad. Economic growth in the southern Africa nation, which is engaging with creditors to clear arrears and restructure its debt, fell to 1.7% last year, mainly due to a drought that cut crop output and hydroelectric production. "Despite lingering policy challenges, Zimbabwe is experiencing a degree of macroeconomic stability," the IMF said in a statement late on Thursday after a review of Zimbabwe's economy. The government's growth forecast for this year is 6.6%. Growth could, however, slow to 3.5% in the medium term, the IMF said, due to persistently low confidence in the "durability" of economic stabilization plans and government reliance on local borrowing, which could squeeze private credit growth. The government has been issuing Treasury bills to raise funds to pay off a significant build-up in domestic arrears since last year, the Fund said. It called for a tighter fiscal stance to deal with the financing challenges. The government is also still struggling with a gap between its official and parallel foreign exchange rates, the IMF said, in spite of the introduction of a gold-backed currency called the ZIG in April last year. (Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

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* Strained U.S. ties spur more calls for use of Indian goods * Indian infotech minister shifts to domestic firm Zoho's software * American brands have deep roots among Indian users * History shows hard for Indian brands to replace foreign apps By Arpan Chaturvedi NEW DELHI, Oct 3 (Reuters) – Three cabinet colleagues of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are promoting use of apps by domestic rivals to Google Maps, WhatsApp and Microsoft, in the strongest backing yet for "Made in India" products amid trade tension with the United States. After the United States imposed a 50% tariff on Indian imports in August, Modi has pushed for use of "swadeshi" products, or those made in India. While many industry executives have made public calls to support Indian products, Modi made a direct appeal last month for Indians to scrap daily use of foreign goods. Information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw gave a media presentation on highway projects this week he said was put together employing Zoho, a domestic rival to Microsoft's PowerPoint, and without use of Google Maps. "The map is from MapmyIndia, not Google Maps," the minister said with a smile, referring to an Indian provider. "It's looking nice, right? Swadeshi." Last week, Vaishnaw made a video clip testing Zoho software and asked people to adopt indigenous products in a post on X that drew 6.2 million views. ASPIRATIONAL UPGRADE American brands are everywhere in India, and they are seen as an aspirational upgrade by millions. While government and private offices use Microsoft products, many travellers rely on Google Maps to find their way about, and WhatsApp counts India as its biggest market, with more than 500 million users. The three U.S. companies did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. Zoho offers cheaper alternatives to cloud-based software tools made by Microsoft. The Indian firm's billionaire co-founder, Sridhar Vembu, is famed for an unconventional approach of locating business operations in rural villages. The firm's messaging app, Arattai, or "chat" in India's southern Tamil language, has gained sudden popularity, thanks to the efforts of Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. "So proud to be on @Arattai, a #MadeInIndia messaging platform that brings India closer," Goyal said in an X post this week. There were more than 400,000 downloads of the app last month, compared to fewer than 10,000 in August, data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower shows. Its daily active users crossed 100,000 on September 26, an increase of 100% on the day. TOUGH TO REPLACE GLOBAL BRANDS Indian companies find it difficult to replace global brands, since they often cannot match their financial clout and reach. In 2021, Indian ministers promoted X-like social media platform Koo amid compliance-related disagreements with the American platform. But the Indian company shut last year for lack of funding. "Only state patronage will not be enough," warned Dilip Cherian, a co-founder of Indian public relations firm Perfect Relations. "What brands like Zoho need to succeed is a unique differentiating factor, deep pockets and strong protection against survelliance." (Reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi; Editing by Aditya Kalra and Clarence Fernandez)

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LONDON, Oct 3 (Reuters) – British police on Friday urged organisers of a planned pro-Palestinian protest in London this weekend to cancel or postpone the event, following the deadly an attack on a Manchester synagogue. "The horrific terrorist attack that took place in Manchester yesterday will have caused significant fear and concern in communities across the UK, including here in London," the Metropolitan Police said on X. Police said they wanted to deploy every available officer to protect communities but were instead having to prepare for a gathering of more than 1,000 people in London's Trafalgar Square on Saturday in support of Palestine Action, an organisation which was banned under anti-terrorism laws in July. "By choosing to encourage mass law breaking on this scale, Defend Our Juries (protest organisers) are drawing resources away from the communities of London at a time when they are needed most," the police said. (Reporting by William James Writing by Catarina Demony)

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THE HAGUE, Oct 3 (Reuters) – The Supreme Court of the Netherlands on Friday ordered the government to review its policies for weapons exports to Israel. The court did not uphold a ban on the export of parts for F35 fighter jets ordered by a lower court last year, but said the government needed to assess by itself whether there was a risk that the jet parts would be used in violation of international law. It gave the government six weeks to make this review, during which the export of fighter jet parts would still be banned. (Reporting by Bart Meijer and Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Alison Williams)

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Oct 3 (Reuters) – Acumentis Group Ltd: * BUYS 37.5% INTEREST IN VALUATIONS PTY FOR A$142,500 Further company coverage:

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By Rajendra Jadhav MUMBAI, Oct 3 (Reuters) – India's palm oil imports in September fell to their lowest level in four months, as refiners replaced palm oil with cheaper soyoil, according to five dealers. Lower palm oil and higher soyoil imports by India, the world's largest buyer of vegetable oils, could weigh on the benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures while supporting U.S. soyoil futures. Palm oil imports fell 15.9% month-on-month in September to 833,000 metric tons, the lowest since May, according to estimates from dealers. Meanwhile, soyoil imports jumped 37.3% to 505,000 tons, the highest level since July 2022, and sunflower oil imports rose 5.8% to an eight-month high of 272,000 tons, according to dealer estimates. India's total edible oil imports in September slipped 0.7% to 1.61 million tons from a month earlier due to lower imports of palm oil, per estimates. The import figures exclude duty-free shipments that arrived via land borders from Nepal, the dealers said. "Palm oil is more expensive than soyoil these days, so people are going for soyoil instead," said Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive of the Sunvin Group, a Mumbai-based vegetable oil brokerage. Palm oil stock levels in India are comfortable after large imports between June and August ahead of the festival season, Bajoria said. Demand for edible oil in India, particularly palm oil, typically rises during the festival season amid increased consumption of sweets and fried foods. In September, India imported around 11,000 tons of soyoil from China, marking the first such shipment in a long time, said Rajesh Patel, managing partner at edible oil trader GGN Research. India's palm oil imports are likely to fall to around 600,000 tons in October, while soyoil imports will likely exceed 450,000 tons, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house. India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, and imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine. Nepal's edible oil imports were 35,000 tons in September, down from 95,000 tons in August, GGN Research estimated. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Eileen Soreng)

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