LONDON/GENEVA (Reuters) – Pine trees are bursting into flames. Boggy peatlands are tinderbox dry. And towns in northern Russia are sweltering under conditions more typical of the tropics. Reports of record-breaking Arctic heat – registered at more than 100 Fah... More »
BRUSSELS/MADRID (Reuters) – Finance ministers of Spain, Ireland and Luxembourg are in the running to chair meetings of the powerful Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers, with euro zone officials saying it is likely to be a close race between the Spanish an... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s Louvre Museum is getting ready to reopen almost four months after COVID-19 forced it to close, but visitors will find one feature missing: the heaving crowd jostling to get a view of the “Mona Lisa”. With many foreign tourists not ex... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Tina Smets had long thought about getting a college degree, but that seemed impossible. As a mom of three kids, waitressing nights at a local restaurant in Kearney, Nebraska, the 31-year-old did not want to saddle her young family with ton... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – The Musee d’Orsay in Paris, home of the French Impressionists, reopened to the public on Tuesday, three months after being forced to shut by the COVID-19 pandemic, and its head called for state help to recover from the financial costs of the ... More »
JORDAN VALLEY, West Bank (Reuters) – Amid the barren hills of the Jordan Valley, Palestinian artist Khadeeja Bisharat paints scenes of bulldozers and demolitions, a reflection of fears of what may happen to her isolated Bedouin community if Israel annexes land... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Nikhil Rathi, head of the London Stock Exchange’s UK division, has been appointed chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Britain’s finance ministry said on Monday. Rathi, a former finance ministry official, will play a key... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – Finland’s Nokia Oyj (NOKIA.HE) plans to cut 1,233 jobs at its French subsidiary Alcatel-Lucent International, equivalent to a third of the local workforce, the group said on Monday, confirming an earlier Reuters report. Nokia, which competes ... More »
MANILA (Reuters) – Bank of the Philippine Islands Chief Executive Cezar Consing said it was clear that a certificate purporting to be for a Wirecard deposit was “spurious” and reiterated that no cash from the German payments firm had entered the bank. Wirecard... More »
READING, England (Reuters) – The English town of Reading held a minute’s silence on Monday for the victims of a stabbing that killed three people including an American in the latest terrorism-linked attack. Three people were also hospitalised after a man wield... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices were steady on Monday, supported by tighter supplies from major producers but held in check by concerns over a record rise in global coronavirus infections that could stall a recovery in fuel demand. Brent crude LCOc1 rose 5 cents... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – International music and film stars will headline a globally televised and streamed fundraising concert on Saturday to help fight COVID-19 as part of a joint initiative by the advocacy group Global Citizen and the European Commission. The ini... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin has asked some Russian companies to mount internal information campaigns to boost turnout in a nationwide vote on constitutional reforms that could allow President Vladimir Putin to keep power until 2036, documents seen by Reuter... More »
(Reuters) – Croatia’s Borna Coric, who played in Novak Djokovic’s Adria Tour exhibition tournament at the weekend, said on Monday he had tested positive for COVID-19. Coric’s positive test follows that of Grigor Dimitrov, who said on Sunday he had contracted t... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Attorney General William Barr deserves to be impeached over the firing of a federal prosecutor whose office had been investigating President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer but the effort would be a “waste of time,” a leading Democra... More »
(Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Sunday that Sept. 15 is the tentative date for the company’s shareholder meeting and its “Battery Day” at which it is expected to reveal significant advances in battery technology. The ba... More »
(Reuters) – TikTok users and fans of Korean pop music took partial credit for inflating attendance expectations at a less-than-full arena at President Donald Trump’s first political rally in months, held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday. Social media users on p... More »
(Reuters) – Tom Petty’s family slammed President Donald Trump for using the late rock star’s hit “I Won’t Back Down” at his sparsely attended rally in Tulsa, sending the campaign a cease and desist warning. “Trump was in no way authorized to use this song to f... More »
TULSA, Okla. (Reuters) – President Donald Trump, addressing a less-than-full arena for his first political rally in months, blasted anti-racism protests and defended his handling of the coronavirus on Saturday in a bid to reinvigorate his re-election campaign.... More »
(Reuters) – AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc said Friday it will require guests to wear face masks at all of its U.S. movie theaters when they reopen in July, a reversal of a policy from a day earlier that prompted a swift backlash. Regal Cinemas, owned by Cinew... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – There won’t be any moshing going on, but entertainment company Live Nation Entertainment are rolling out a series of gigs across the UK where fans can be together to get their fix of live events from the safety of their own designated area. ... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish novelist Carlos Ruiz Zafon, whose book “The Shadow of the Wind” sold more than 15 million copies, has died of cancer aged 55 in Los Angeles, his publishing house said on Friday. Zafon began his career in juvenile literature before pu... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson, actor Zac Efron and British star Benedict Cumberbatch are among celebrities who will be getting a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame in 2021. Shia LaBeouf, Missy Elliott and “American Pie” singer-son... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Many directors would have been devastated when their plans to show their first feature at the Cannes Film Festival were wrecked by the spread of COVID-19. But Lebanon’s Jimmy Keyrouz said he took heart from the themes of his movie “Broken Ke... More »
HAVANA (Reuters) – Ever since the novel coronavirus reached Cuba, a tall cardboard box with arms and legs can be seen tottering around a Havana suburb, popping into the bakery or butchers, or browsing the newspaper stand. This is Feridia Rojas, 82, who decided... More »
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungarian artist Jozsef Szurcsik lost four of his friends in a matter of weeks to COVID-19 and the tremendous pain and grief he feels has transformed his art. Szurcsik, who teaches at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts and is one of the... More »
KYIV (Reuters) – A wealthy Ukrainian politician has made public a manuscript in his private collection that he says is a fragment of the Gutenberg Bible, the world’s first substantial printed book, although researchers said it would need to be authenticated. T... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Brussels added to its large collection of murals on Thursday with a newly commissioned work in memory of African-American George Floyd, whose killing by police has sparked global protests against racism and police violence. Belgian-Congole... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The appearance of a mysterious white object in the sky over northern Japan on Wednesday set social media ablaze, with speculation ranging from UFOs to coronavirus and North Korean propaganda. Television footage taken in the northeastern city ... More »
CHONBURI, Thailand (Reuters) – Volunteer pet groomer Kriengkai Thatwakorn is thrilled to be back helping out stray dogs in Thailand, some in urgent need of a shearing after waiting three sweltering months for a trim. A domestic travel ban to contain the novel ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Long queues of shoppers snaked around stores in England on Monday, with discount fashion retailer Primark proving a particular draw as shops reopened their doors after 83 days of lockdown. Queues formed from early morning outside several bra... More »
LISBON (Reuters) – Negotiations between Portugal and Britain on an “air bridge” that would allow British tourists to dodge a mandatory COVID-19 quarantine upon returning home are still in progress and going well, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Monday. Po... More »
PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain (Reuters) – Hundreds of sunseekers from Germany landed on the Spanish island of Mallorca on Monday, the first tourists allowed into the country since borders were shut in March to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. More than 1,500 German... More »
KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan’s public prosecutor on Monday announced the discovery of a mass grave east of Khartoum suspected to contain the remains of students killed in 1998 as they tried escaping military service at a training camp. An investigation had been ... More »
LJUBLJANA (Reuters) – China’s household appliances maker Hisense (000921.SZ) plans to start producing TV sets in Slovenia in January 2021, creating about 350 jobs in the country, Hisense said on Monday. Production would be approximately 1.5 million TV sets in ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Several districts of the Chinese capital put up security checkpoints, closed schools and ordered people to be tested for the coronavirus on Monday after an unexpected spike of cases linked to the biggest wholesale food market in Asia. After... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – United Airlines (UAL.O) said on Monday it is pledging its MileagePlus frequent flyer program for a new $5 billion loan aimed at further buffering its liquidity, even as its cash burn rate slows thanks to a steady improvement in demand. So f... More »
KINSHASA (Reuters) – The Democratic Republic of Congo has recorded up to 17 Ebola cases in a new outbreak of the deadly virus in the western province of Equateur, and 11 of those infected have died, medical authorities said on Monday. The authorities had repor... More »
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s capital is fast running out of hospital beds amid a surge in coronavirus cases and is struggling to contain the pandemic, after critics said it did too little to prepare and reopened shopping malls and temples too soon. Some famil... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany on Tuesday becomes the latest European country to launch a smartphone app that seeks to break the chain of coronavirus infection by tracking encounters between people and issuing a warning should one of them test positive. A growing ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Days into nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd, demonstrators began to fill a tall fence in front of the White House with posters, flowers, paintings and photos in honor of black men, women and children who have lost thei... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – People attending U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Oklahoma this week should wear masks, a White House adviser said on Sunday, as health experts cautioned against large gatherings such as political rallies during the corona... More »
(Reuters) – Protests against racism triggered by the death of African American George Floyd have inspired art around the world, from murals in Syria and Pakistan to graffiti in Nairobi. At the Berlin Wall, a large portrait of Floyd is seen alongside yellow blo... More »
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s culture minister has hailed a U.S. court ruling over a disputed ancient horse figurine as a major victory that may help Athens and others fighting to reclaim antiquities. Lina Mendoni said Tuesday’s ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Co... More »
QALQILYA, West Bank (Reuters) – Peacocks, ostriches and baboons joined in an animal baby boom at a Palestinian zoo during the coronavirus closure as they let nature take its course free from human distractions. Fifteen animals were born at the tiny Qalqilya Zo... More »
HANOI (Reuters) – Stuck at home with school suspended, Nguyen Doi Chung Anh made the most of a lockdown in Vietnam by using art to demonstrate tragedy, resilience and chaos in the world’s battle against the coronavirus. The work of 10-year-old Chung Anh shows ... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Employer retirement plans are not known for their flashy investments – a majority of 401(k) investors these days use target date funds that invest in broad, diversified equity and fixed income mutual funds that automatically rebalance to mi... More »
POSTOJNA, Slovenia (Reuters) – Three rare aquatic creatures known as baby dragons are going on display in an aquarium at Slovenia’s Postojna Cave, one of the country’s biggest tourist attractions. The cave-dwelling animals, officially called proteus or olms, h... More »
ROME (Reuters) – A mural by secretive British street artist Banksy stolen from the Bataclan theater in Paris, where Islamist gunmen killed 90 people in 2015, has been found in a farmhouse in central Italy, police said on Thursday. The work, one of a series of ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A tiny statuette of a bird carved from burnt bone about 13,500 years ago reveals the origins of Chinese art, embodying a style different from prehistoric three-dimensional artwork by people in other parts of the world, researchers said o... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The world’s largest population of nesting green turtles is nearly twice as big as previously thought, scientists said on Wednesday, after drones enabled better surveys of the animals. Australian scientists determined that there were about 64... More »
GENEVA (Reuters) – A United Nations human rights expert voiced alarm on Tuesday at what he called “widespread food shortages and malnutrition” in North Korea, made worse by a nearly five-month border closure with China and strict quarantine measures against CO... More »
SYDNEY/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong will lead a $5 billion rescue of Cathay Pacific Airways (0293.HK), which like other airlines has been hit by a global travel slump triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. The government’s involvement in the recapitalisatio... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Georgia Democrats will try to pick their challenger to Republican Senator David Perdue on Tuesday when voters in five U.S. states choose candidates for the White House and Congress as the nation navigates a trio of politically charged cr... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Mira Robotics developed its “ugo” robot to reinforce greying Japan’s shrinking workforce, but as the coronavirus threat persists, the Japanese startup is offering its machine as a tool in the fight against the outbreak, the company’s CEO said... More »
MINSK (Reuters) – A detained Belarusian blogger who helped lead protests against President Alexander Lukashenko has been charged with disrupting public order and attacking a policeman and could be sentenced to three years in prison, state investigators said on... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – G7 government bonds? Check. Gold? Check. But that may not be enough as the coronavirus crisis accelerates a hunt for a wider pool of assets to better balance investment portfolios during stressful times. Corporate and Chinese government debt... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s decision to cut U.S. troop levels in Germany blindsided a number of senior national security officials, according to five sources familiar with the matter, and the Pentagon had yet to receive a formal order to ca... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that Interior Minister Horst Seehofer had breached neutrality rules when his ministry published on its website comments in which he accused the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) of subver... More »
GRADISKA, Bosnia (Reuters) – Kobe Bryant, the 18-time NBA All-Star who died in a helicopter crash in January, has been honored with a giant mural commissioned by sports enthusiasts and painted on the side of an elementary school building in northern Bosnia. “K... More »
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia has resumed domestic flights for all passengers provided airlines operate at 70% capacity and follow strict rules brought into force on Tuesday, when the country announced its biggest daily rise in cases of the novel coronavirus. ... More »
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Thousands of mourners braved sweltering Texas heat on Monday to view the casket of George Floyd, whose death after a police officer knelt on his neck ignited worldwide protests against racism and calls for reforms of U.S. law enforcement. A... More »
HSINCHU, Taiwan (Reuters) – Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) (2330.TW) could quickly fill any order gap should U.S. restrictions against Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] prevent sales to the Chinese firm, the company’s chairman said on Tuesd... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – As Australia moves ahead with relaxing a lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, a state government gave the all clear for more than 2,000 fans to attend an Australian Rules Football game at a stadium in Adelaide this weekend. “Footb... More »
(Reuters) – A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s since-rescinded executive orders requiring that residents stay home and most businesses close to combat the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. District Judge Bernard F... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. congressional Democrats unveiled sweeping legislation on Monday to combat police violence and racial injustice through transformative change, two weeks after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody led to nationwide prote... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – Fans of the popular South Korean boy band BTS matched its $1 million donation to Black Lives Matter (BLM) in support of U.S. protests against police brutality, an organisation that runs fundraisers for the fans said on Monday. The K-pop group... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The civil rights movie “Selma” was made free for rental on Friday, a day after actor David Oyelowo said Oscar voters had deliberately snubbed the film in 2015. Oyelowo, who played Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the movie, said members of... More »
(Reuters) – Actress Cate Blanchett suffered an accident with a chainsaw during the coronavirus lockdown with her family, she revealed during a podcast. The Oscar-winning star of films like “Blue Jasmine” and “Aviator” gave no details about the mishap but said ... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – An art gallery in Paris has sought inspiration in ancient China to help it enforce social distancing, by providing hats with winged extensions for visitors. The colourful papier-mâché hats are modelled on headgear from the Song dynasty, which... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – A Madrid flamenco bar that has played host to some of Spain’s top performers, including an early-career set from Grammy-award winner Rosalia, is shutting down as audiences dwindle in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. For nearly 40 years ... More »
WALENSTADT, Switzerland (Reuters) – Two Swiss conceptual artists are offering seven open air “hotel rooms” this summer across a “performance space” encompassing eastern Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Guests “perform”, without an audience, by spending the night... More »
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – If you’ve ever dreamed of being in the Sistine Chapel without feeling like you are craning your neck in a packed open-top tourist bus, now is your chance. The Vatican Museums re-opened to the public on Monday after being closed for nea... More »
BILBAO, Spain (Reuters) – Two dozen visitors queued to get their temperatures taken at the entrance to Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum on Monday as it became the first of Spain’s major cultural centres to reopen its doors after a long lockdown due to the coronaviru... More »
SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) – Indian police have released a pigeon belonging to a Pakistani fisherman after a probe found that the bird, which had flown across the contentious border between the nuclear-armed nations, was not a spy, two officials said on Friday.... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – The COVID-19 pandemic has put a bright spotlight on weaknesses in many of the systems designed to protect Americans from risks. But with older people more susceptible to serious illness and death from the virus, the problems in our Medicare... More »
KABUL (Reuters) – The United Nations said Afghan civilian casualties jumped to 380 in April, expressing alarm about a “striking deterioration” in respect for international humanitarian law as the United States withdraws troops and attempts to usher in a peace ... More »
ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss telecoms operator Sunrise Communications Group and French billionaire Xavier Niel’s Salt Mobile on Tuesday pledged to invest up to 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.09 billion) in a broadband partnership aimed at reaching 1.5 million homes by... More »
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) – Businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area may open for curbside retail and manufacturing, while fan-free professional sports events might be allowed as soon as June, as California continued to loosen coronavirus health restriction... More »
ZURICH (Reuters) – A spike in trading volumes boosted margins for wealth manager Julius Baer (BAER.S) in the first four months of the year, even though markets slid and a strong Swiss franc ate into assets under management. Baer attributed a 16% rise in gross ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Sony Corp (6758.T) will turn its financial arm, Sony Financial Holdings Inc (8729.T), into a wholly owned unit through a tender offer worth about 400 billion yen ($3.72 billion), the Japanese electronics and entertainment giant said on Tuesda... More »
TOKYO/FRANKFURT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – After years of applying plenty of stick to commercial lenders unhappy with negative interest rate policies, central bankers in the euro zone and Japan are experimenting with some carrot, too. With the coronavirus pandemic... More »
YUYAO, China/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – In the eastern Chinese city of Yuyao, a group of five face-masked workers at a Geely auto plant, stood almost shoulder to shoulder behind an SUV as they conducted paint and other quality checks. That scene would not have been ... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – The manager of South Korea’s popular boyband BTS has apologised on behalf of one of its members who went to a bar in April, contrary to government advice, just as the country is trying to contain a recent coronavirus outbreak around Seoul’s c... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government’s handling of its massive economic response to the coronavirus pandemic will come under scrutiny on Tuesday as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testify before the Senate Bankin... More »
(Reuters) – Walt Disney Co’s (DIS.N) top streaming executive, Kevin Mayer, will leave the entertainment and theme parks giant to become the chief executive officer of TikTok, the popular video app owned by China’s ByteDance Technology Co, the companies said on... More »
(Reuters) – Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) will concentrate on its core businesses in ride-hailing and food delivery and cut 23% of its workforce in an attempt to become profitable despite the coronavirus pandemic, Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi sai... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Joe Biden’s campaign said on Monday that if elected president, the presumptive Democratic nominee would rescind the permit for Keystone XL pipeline, which effectively would doom the long-troubled project. In doing so, Biden would reverse... More »
ROME (Reuters) – An exhibition commemorating the 500th anniversary of the death of Renaissance artist Raphael will reopen on June 2 in Rome and its run extended until Aug.30, after it fell foul of the COVID-19 lockdown. The show at the Scuderie del Quirinale G... More »
WARSAW (Reuters) – Lovers of Frederic Chopin’s music who usually flock to a central Warsaw park on Sundays for open-air concerts will have to go online this season to hear the weekly performances because of restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the corona... More »
BOGOTA (Reuters) – This time there are no lights, cameras, dressing rooms or the hundreds of people who usually crowd a film shoot. There is just a mobile phone, a tripod, a bathroom and “Action!” Colombian director Harold Trompetero, who has directed 21 films... More »
(Reuters) – Arrest warrants have been issued for National Football League (NFL) players Quinton Dunbar and Deandre Baker in Miramar, Florida, after they were accused of being involved in an armed robbery, local police said late on Thursday. Dunbar, a cornerbac... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “We Are The World,” the celebrity-packed 1985 charity single, is getting an encore this weekend, courtesy of the stars of “American Idol.” “Idol” judges Lionel Richie, who co-wrote the song with the late Michael Jackson, Katy Perry and ... More »
(Reuters) – Country music star Keith Urban performed a surprise live show at a drive-in movie theater in Nashville in a test drive for how concerts might look in the era of social distancing. Urban, on stage with just one other musician, played at the Stardust... More »
LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigerian fashion designer Sefiya Diejomaoh likes to wear bright, bold clothes to match her personality. She believes a global pandemic should not get in the way of her sense of style. The mask she wears, which has become compulsory attire as ... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean authorities were combing through mobile phone data, credit card statements and CCTV footage on Tuesday to identify people who visited nightclubs at the centre of one of the capital’s biggest novel coronavirus clusters. More than ... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Usually at this time of year Madrid’s Las Ventas bullring is packed as matadors take on lethal half-tonne bulls in daily fights during the annual San Isidro festival. But plazas across Spain are empty this season as the coronavirus epidemic ... More »
BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he opposed renegotiating the U.S.-China “Phase 1” trade deal after a Chinese state-run newspaper reported some government advisers in Beijing were urging fresh talks and possibly invalid... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) on Tuesday said it expects profit to drop 80% to its lowest in nine years, as Japan’s biggest automaker grapples with the impact of the novel coronavirus which has sapped global demand for vehicles. Global automaker... More »
(Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk on Monday said production was resuming at the automaker’s sole U.S. vehicle factory, in California, defying an order to stay closed and saying if anyone had to be arrested it should be him. The move come... More »
