(Reuters) – Former-world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson continued to tease boxing fans about a possible return to the ring by posting another training video on Instagram on Monday that ended with the message, “I’m back”. The 53-year-old caught the attention o... More »
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Thousands of visitors streamed into Shanghai Disneyland on Monday for the first time in three months as the Chinese park became the first reopened by Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) after the coronavirus pandemic brought the Magic Kingdom to a stan... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The runaway success of Nintendo Co Ltd’s (7974.T) island life simulator Animal Crossing: New Horizons has overshadowed an uncomfortable fact for fans of the Switch console – it lacks upcoming titles. Nintendo on Thursday said Animal Crossing,... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Nintendo Co Ltd (7974.T) said on Thursday its fourth-quarter profit soared 200% due to surging demand for its Switch games console, and that title Animal Crossing: New Horizons shifted a record 13.4 million units in its first six week... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Millions of Japanese viewers of the world’s longest-running animated cartoon TV show will have to make do with re-runs from next week after the coronavirus pandemic disrupted production, Fuji Television Network said on Sunday. Aired every Sun... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia will ease social distancing restrictions in a three-step process, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, as Canberra aims to remove most curbs by July and get nearly 1 million people back to work amid a decline in coronaviru... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Hydrogen has long been touted as a clean alternative to fossil fuels. Now, as major economies prepare green investments to kickstart growth, advocates spy a golden chance to drag the niche energy into the mainstream of a post-pandemic world.... More »
(Reuters) – The last “supermoon” of 2020 rose in the night sky on Thursday over a world beginning to re-emerge after weeks of coronavirus-related lockdowns. The supermoon phenomenon occurs when the moon is within 10% of its closest distance to the Earth at the... More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – As Thailand’s capital cautiously reopens many restaurants shuttered over coronavirus fears, the feline “employees” of the Caturday Cafe are back at work. The few dozen friendly cats typically lounge around the cafe, breaking up naptime to s... More »
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – BP Plc has won Australian government backing for a feasibility study into producing hydrogen using wind and solar power to split water and converting the hydrogen to ammonia in Western Australia. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency sai... More »
(Reuters) – U.S.-based stock funds posted $10.8 billion in outflows in the week ended ON Wednesday, according to Lipper. U.S. taxable bond funds attracted $11.9 billion, the fourth straight weekly inflow, while money market funds draw $32.8 billion, the tenth ... More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Chewy and Miley, both two-year-old Schnauzer dogs, are getting their hair cut at a groomer in Bangkok for the first time since the new coronavirus outbreak began in Thailand in January. Pet grooming shops are among a handful of businesses t... More »
ROME/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Italy and the United States were among a slew of countries easing lockdown restrictions on Monday to resurrect economies, but officials cautioned against moving too swiftly as global deaths from the coronavirus neared a quarter of a... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices were mixed on Monday as countries started to ease coronavirus lockdowns, though a fresh spat between the United States and China over the origin of the virus weighed on prices. Worldwide fuel demand fell by an estimated 30% in A... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil and gas output from some of the world’s top oil companies is set to drop by over 12% in the second quarter of 2020 to levels not seen in at least 17 years, according to Reuters calculations. The output cuts are driven by an unprecedented... More »
AHMEDABAD, India (Reuters) – Indian police fired tear gas on Monday to scatter migrant workers during clashes in the western state of Gujarat, officials said, as authorities relaxed one of the world’s strictest lockdowns to stem the spread of the coronavirus. ... More »
BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian gym and wellness startup cure.fit has laid off as many as 800 of its staff across the country and permanently closed a number of fitness centres to cut costs amid the world’s biggest coronavirus lockdown, sources familiar with the ... More »
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp said on Monday it will launch an e-commerce service in India this week to enable customers stuck at home during a nationwide lockdown to buy its products from their local retailer. The new service, Mi ... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – World leaders launched a pledging “marathon” on Monday – without the United States – to raise at least $8 billion for research into a possible vaccine and treatments for the coronavirus. Organisers included the European Union, non-EU state... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he now believes as many as 100,000 Americans could die in the coronavirus pandemic, after the death toll passed his earlier estimates, but said he was confident a vaccine would be developed by t... More »
MANILA (Reuters) – Dressed as “Star Wars” characters, local officials in the Philippines are out and about to enforce strict quarantine measures while also handing out relief packages. With Darth Vader and Stormtrooper outfits made from rubber mats and old pla... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – New Zealand and Australia could soon open their borders to each other, creating what they call a “Trans-Tasman bubble” as they look to restart their economies after getting their novel coronavirus outbreaks under control. New Zealand Prime M... More »
SYDNEY/WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand and Australia are discussing the potential creation of a “travel bubble” between the two countries, even as Australia on Monday reported its highest number of coronavirus cases in two weeks. New Zealand Prime Minister ... More »
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia criticised the World Health Organisation on Monday for advising adults to avoid palm oil in their diet during the COVID-19 outbreak and use alternatives such as olive oil. The WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office said in ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Swimming’s world governing body FINA rescheduled the 2021 Fukuoka aquatics world championships to May 2022 on Monday to avoid a clash with the postponed Tokyo Olympics. The new dates for the swimming event in the Japanese city are May 13-29, ... More »
ROME (Reuters) – Russia and China are taking advantage of the coronavirus emergency to put their interests forward in Europe, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Monday, describing Chinese efforts to promote Huawei mobile phone network equipment as malig... More »
SUKOHARJO, Indonesia (Reuters) – Volunteers clad as Superman and Spider-Man sprayed disinfectant against the coronavirus on Indonesia’s island of Java, flanking a colleague wearing the winged helmet of local superhero Gatotkaca who shouted, “Wear masks, wash h... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – American tennis player Taylor Fritz and his doubles partner, Tik Tok personality Addison Rae, won the virtual Stay At Home Slam on Sunday as real-life tennis remains on hold because of the coronavirus crisis. The likes of the Williams sisters... More »
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – The Australian government on Monday set aside A$300 million ($191 million) to jumpstart hydrogen projects with the help of low-cost financing as the country aims to build the industry by 2030, the country’s energy minister said on Monday.... More »
(Reuters) – For a glimpse at how Disney recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, look no further than Shanghai, where the entertainment giant has staged a limited reopening of Shanghai Disney Resort. Adults, kids and senior citizens wear masks while wandering a... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Coronavirus patients with light symptoms arriving to stay at several Tokyo hotels are likely to get a lift from a pleasant surprise – a robot greeter in the lobby. Japan is now using hotels to house patients who have tested positive for the c... More »
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Researchers at a Hong Kong university say they have developed an antiviral coating which could provide 90 days of “significant” protection against bacteria and viruses such as the one causing COVID-19. The coating, called MAP-1, took 10 y... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean officials are calling for caution amid reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be ill or is being isolated because of coronavirus concerns, emphasising that they have detected no unusual movements in North Korea. At a cl... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG) (8306.T) expects countries in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to be in deep recession this year with overall real GDP contracting 3.7% from a previous growth forecast of 2.9%. Th... More »
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Luckin Coffee (LK.O) said on Monday China’s State Administration for Market Regulation was carrying out work to understand the coffee chain’s operating situation and added that it was actively cooperating. It also said in a statement poste... More »
RIYADH (Reuters) – The Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen on Monday urged a leading separatist group that declared self-rule in the south to rescind its move, saying it was an “escalatory action” at a time all parties should focus on confronting the novel co... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan expanded monetary stimulus on Monday and pledged to buy unlimited amount of bonds to keep borrowing costs low as the government tries to spend its way out of the deepening economic pain from the coronavirus pandemic. The mov... More »
(Reuters) – It is a Ramadan like never before for Muslims across Asia as mosques that would normally be packed for prayers are deserted and in some places locked up as governments enforced measures to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. At Indonesia’s ma... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Nearly two million Australians rushed to download an app designed to help medical workers and state governments trace close contacts of COVID-19 patients, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s approval rating soared on his pandemic response. Au... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore has confirmed 799 more coronavirus infections, its health ministry said on Monday, taking the city-state’s tally of cases to 14,423. Most of the new cases are among migrant workers living in dormitories in the city-state, which ... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Adidas (ADSGn.DE) reported a 93% plunge in first-quarter profit and sales off 19%, missing forecasts, and warned of a deeper hit to second-quarter revenue as lockdowns forced the German sportswear maker and other retailers to close stores. F... More »
SYDNEY/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asian shares bounced on Monday as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) announced more stimulus steps to help cushion the economic impact of the coronavirus, but the recent weak run in the global oil price showed no signs of ending. MSCI’s broad... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German drugs and pesticides company Bayer said the economic downturn has prompted it to take a tougher stance in talks to settle claims its glyphosate-based weedkillers cause cancer, even as its earnings rose. The pandemic has significant... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The yen edged higher on Monday after the Bank of Japan expanded stimulus to help companies hit by the coronavirus crisis while the pound rose against the dollar and euro on optimism Britain may soon ease a month-long lockdown. The BOJ’s decis... More »
(This April 26 story has been refiled to correct spelling of commerce ministry official’s first name in paragraph four) BEIJING (Reuters) – China is dropping a requirement that a number of key virus care products get domestic regulatory approval before export,... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The European Central Bank meets on Thursday, the ink barely dry on its emergency bond-buying scheme, and markets are already asking what more it will do to help the euro zone economy through the coronavirus crisis. Its emergency stimulus, wh... More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand on Monday reported nine new coronavirus cases and one death, bringing the country’s totals to 2,931 cases and 52 fatalities. It is the first time since the outbreak started in January that there have been no new local transmissions... More »
(Reuters) – More than 2.97 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 205,948 have died, according to a Reuters tally, as of 0200 GMT on Monday. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS * For an interactive graphic tracking the global ... More »
TAIPEI (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury’s latest semi-annual report on trade practices of its major trading partners which was due this month has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, two sources with direct knowledge at Taiwan’s central bank told Reuters... More »
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the global coronavirus pandemic began, now has no remaining cases in its hospitals, a health official told reporters on Sunday. The novel coronavirus is believed to have originated in a wet market in Wuhan ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Starbucks on Monday said it has entered a strategic partnership with investment firm Sequoia Capital China that will see the two companies make strategic co-investments in China’s technology sector. The U.S. coffee giant said in a statement... More »
(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) is piloting the use of video conference calls to verify the identity of merchants who wish to sell goods on its websites, in a new plan to counter fraud without in-person meetings in the pandemic, the company said on Sunday.... More »
(Reuters) – Rafa Nadal has said he is very pessimistic about the possibility of tennis returning to normal any time soon because of the new coronavirus pandemic that shut down the sport last month. Professional tennis has been suspended until the end of July, ... More »
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Israel’s Corsight AI, which has developed technology to recognize faces concealed by masks, goggles and plastic shields, raised $5 million from Awz Ventures, a Canadian fund focused on intelligence and security technologies. Corsight said ... More »
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – The Australian government launched a controversial coronavirus tracing app on Sunday and promised to legislate privacy protections around it as authorities try to get the country and the economy back onto more normal footing. Australia an... More »
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems said on Sunday it won a contract worth about $103 million to supply electronic warfare (EW) suites for an air force of an Asian country. The contract will be carried out over three years and include... More »
(Reuters) – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday pointed to research showing that strains of the novel coronavirus entered his state from Europe, not China, and said that travel bans enacted by U.S. President Donald Trump were too late to halt its spread. ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s space agency on Friday unveiled the name of its first Mars exploration mission, coinciding with China’s annual Space Day and the 50th anniversary of the launch of its first satellite. The Mars mission has been named Tianwen-1, the o... More »
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Tom Hanks has sent a letter and a Corona brand typewriter to an Australian boy who wrote to him about being bullied over his name, Corona, Australian television networks reported on Thursday. Corona De Vries, an eight-year-old from the Go... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Wearing a dress she made of eight giant plastic inflatable roses over a wire structure and a headpiece crowned by a globe, Chinese performance artist Kong Ning is using fashion to draw attention to environmental protection on Earth Day. “Ro... More »
TBILISI (Reuters) – Georgia’s National Ballet, the former Soviet country’s famous folk dance ensemble, started giving lessons online after the group’s popular dance schools closed their doors due to the coronavirus. Around 5,000 kids and teenagers, who used to... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean and Chinese officials on Tuesday cast doubt on reports North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was ill after media outlets said he had undergone a cardiovascular procedure and was in “grave danger”. Daily NK, a Seoul-based speciality web... More »
MUMBAI (Reuters) – Tennis great Billie Jean King says the financial fallout from the coronavirus shutdown has exposed the unfairness of the sport and that it is important for the top players to lead the cause for change. The tennis season was suspended in Marc... More »
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A northwestern province on the frontline of China’s coronavirus battle reported on Tuesday its first cases in nearly three weeks, all involving travellers from overseas, as imported infections started to level off elsewhere. The pr... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China is in talks with some countries to establish fast-track procedures to allow travel by business and technical personnel to ensure the smooth operation of global supply chains, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Foreign ministry spok... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore said on Tuesday it had preliminarily confirmed 1,111 new coronavirus cases, taking the city-state’s total infections to 9,125. The health ministry said most of the cases were migrant workers living in dormitories, a group that a... More »
JUGYAI, India (Reuters) – Most days, you can find Dayaram Kushwaha and his wife, Gyanvati, hauling bricks for stonemasons in a booming northern suburb of New Delhi. They bring their 5-year-old son, who plays in the dirt while they work. But now a hush has come... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China is handing out billions of yuan in shopping coupons to support retailers crushed by the COVID-19 outbreak, but the subsidies are doing little to support the kind of discretionary spending needed to revive the economy. Instead, a big c... More »
(Reuters) – Apple Inc (AAPL.O) on Tuesday said it would expand its App Store, Apple Music and other services to dozens of new markets in Africa, the Middle East and beyond in the biggest geographical expansion of its services in almost a decade. Apple said it ... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (VAH.AX) on Tuesday succumbed to third-party led restructuring that could lead to a sale, making Australia’s second-biggest airline the Asia-Pacific region’s biggest victim of the coronavirus crisis gripping the... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia will suffer its biggest economic contraction since the 1930s in the first half of this year due to containment measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, its central bank governor said on Tuesday. Describing the contraction as... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee on Tuesday requested that the IOC remove a comment from their website that referred to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe when discussing the financial impact of postponing the Games.... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – U.S. oil prices hobbled back into positive territory on Tuesday after sinking below $0 for the first time ever, but international benchmark Brent dipped as the global coronavirus crisis severely reduces demand for crude. U.S. West Texas Inter... More »
(Reuters) – A historic rout in oil markets sent U.S. crude prices plummeting to as much as minus $40 a barrel as traders rushed to get rid of unwanted stocks with storage capacity already overflowing amid a coronavirus-induced demand collapse. U.S. West Texas ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) said on Tuesday it will shut its global headquarters in Japan for 16 days through early May to contain the spread of the coronavirus, even though the government has permitted keeping workplaces open to get the economy... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese police have reported that 11 people whose deaths were deemed to be unnatural in the past month subsequently tested positive for the new coronavirus, media said on Tuesday. Japan, with more than 260 virus-related deaths according to p... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean exports plunged nearly 27% in the first 20 days of April as the coronavirus health crisis paralyzed global manufacturing activity and crushed consumer demand. The worst may be yet to come with many of the country’s top trading pa... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that any lifting of lockdowns to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus must be gradual, and if restrictions were to be relaxed too soon, there would be a resurgence of infections. Lockdo... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that it was concerned about the increasing number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in Japan. But Japan is not yet in the stage of a large-scale community outbreak, Takeshi Kasai, WHO Re... More »
MANILA (Reuters) – Singapore is facing a very challenging situation to tackle a sharp increase in coronavirus infections, but has the healthcare system and risk management capacity to handle it, the World Health Organization’s regional chief said on Tuesday. T... More »
MANILA (Reuters) – Vietnam is staying on top of its coronavirus infections as a result of strong leadership by the government and cooperation among its people in helping to contain the spread, the World Health Organization’s regional chief said on Tuesday. Vie... More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand recorded 19 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, a senior health official said, the lowest daily tally in more than a month. A 50-year-old taxi driver accounted for the latest death, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the gov... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan has not agreed to shoulder the additional costs for the postponement of the 2020 Olympics, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Tuesday, after Kyodo News reported Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had committed to cover the costs. “It... More »
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Facebook Inc is preparing to apply for regulatory approval in Indonesia to launch mobile payments in partnership with three local digital fintech firms, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The plan, if approved, could be among the... More »
(Reuters) – The coronavirus crisis has seen millions locked in their homes turn to videoconferencing apps, bringing with it question marks over security and privacy and a new verb – Zoombombing – the practice of uninvited users crashing into conversations. Fro... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Indigenous elders from Alaska to Australia have come together to deliver some tough love in a new film for Earth Day: the human race will only survive if we start putting our minds at the service of our hearts. Produced by Academy and Emmy a... More »
BENGALURU (Reuters) – India’s Infosys suspended its full-year 2021 revenue forecast on Monday, joining its software outsourcing rivals in flagging a hit to its business as the coronavirus pandemic freezes client activity in the United States and Europe. Infosy... More »
BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – British actor and filmmaker Idris Elba launched a new United Nations fund on Monday to help farmers in poorer nations, calling on richer economies to provide aid to prevent “needless hunger and suffering” stemming from ... More »
(Reuters) – Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Beyonce and Oprah Winfrey on Saturday headlined a special broadcast of music, comedy and personal stories celebrating those around the world on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.... More »
ALMATY (Reuters) – NASA astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir will take an unusual – and more exhausting – route home after safely landing in the Kazakh steppe on Friday, a Russian healthcare official said, because of lockdowns caused by the novel coronavi... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian life model Leigh Pitchford casually poses with a towel partly draped over his naked body, ready to be sketched by a group of art students in Sydney. Except, the class is empty, save for an art teacher and videographer. In an era o... More »
(Reuters) – Investors sent record inflows to high-yield corporate bonds and broke a six-week losing streak for investment-grade debt in the week that ended Wednesday as market volatility from the coronavirus crisis began to subside, according to Lipper data re... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – For human beings, “stink flirting” may not sound like a prudent dating strategy. For ring-tailed lemurs, it is the way to go. Scientists on Thursday described the results of a comprehensive study of this behavior – unique in the animal k... More »
(Reuters) – Various countries around the world are wondering when and how to ease coronavirus lockdowns, though the World Health Organization (WHO) is warning that should be done slowly and only when there is capacity to isolate cases and trace contacts. Follo... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A reddish-colored cigar-shaped interstellar object called ‘Oumuamua that is tumbling through our solar system may be wreckage from a planet ripped apart when it roamed too close to the faraway star it once orbited, according to researche... More »
MANILA (Reuters) – The Asian Development Bank [ADB.UL] announced on Monday it was tripling the size of its rescue package to $20 billion to help developing countries in Asia counter the severe macroeconomic and health effects of the coronavirus pandemic. It pr... More »
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippine health ministry on Monday reported 18 new coronavirus deaths and 284 additional infections. In a bulletin, the health ministry said total deaths have reached 315, while confirmed cases have increased to 4,932, adding 45 patien... More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s job losses may reach 10 million if the coronavirus outbreak continues for a few months, a business advisory council said on Monday. Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy is being hit hard by the virus outbreak and is heading in... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan may see new hirings slow and job losses increase, particularly among service-sector firms struggling to cope with the intensifying pain of the coronavirus crisis, according to an analysis of survey data by a private think-tank. Dai-ichi... More »
NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – India and Pakistan are planning to partially open up some parts of the economy, officials in the two countries said on Monday, as the costs of harsh lockdowns to limit the outbreak of the coronavirus mount across the region. Ind... More »
