Bloomberg JD Sports Fashion Plc shares soared to new highs after the U.K. sportswear retailer extended its record of confounding analysts’ expectations, helped by flourishing partnerships with suppliers including Nike Inc. and Adidas AG. The stock rose as much as 10 percent in London after the company reported an 81 percent jump in annual pretax profit to 244.8 million …

  AWEIL / AP Two months after the world’s youngest nation declared a famine amid its civil war, hunger has become more widespread than expected, aid workers say. South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal region is on the brink of starvation, with 290,000 people at risk of dying without sustained food assistance. Humanitarian workers say conditions will only deteriorate as the …

  Bloomberg A crude pipeline to southwestern China through its neighbour Myanmar began operations after years of delays, allowing the world’s second-biggest oil user to receive supplies faster from the Middle East and Africa. A Suezmax-sized tanker, which can hold 140,000 metric tons (about 1 million barrels) of crude, began offloading oil for the pipeline at Myanmar’s Made Island, according …