BERN (Reuters) – Environmental activists delivered a petition to a special session of the Swiss parliament on Monday demanding that a government aid package should promote a “green recovery” from the coronavirus crisis. With some lawmakers wearing protective f... More »
ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s coronavirus death toll is much higher than reported, statistics bureau ISTAT said on Monday in an analysis pointing to thousands of fatalities that have never been officially attributed to COVID-19. In its first report of the epidemic’... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Hairdressers, ironmongers and florists opened for business with restrictions on Monday as Spain began a four-phase plan to reopen by end-June, while the 24-hour death tally from the coronavirus pandemic stayed under 200 for the second day in... More »
ZURICH (Reuters) – Germany could only allow coronavirus antibody tests to help determine how freely people can move once it has advice from its ethics council, Health Minister Jens Spahn said, after securing millions of the tests from Swiss drugmaker Roche. Ge... More »
(Reuters) – Ten people have tested positive for coronavirus in more than 1,700 tests carried out by Germany’s professional soccer league (DFL) at its 36 clubs ahead a planned resumption of full training, it said on Monday. The DFL, which tested players and coa... More »
(Reuters) – SailGP’s four remaining second season races have been rescheduled to next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and results from the first race have been declared null and void, the sailing championship said on Monday. The championship was suspended af... More »
ROME (Reuters) – Grandparents hugged their grandchildren, toddlers rushed excitedly through parks and factories revived their long-stalled production lines as Italy started the slow process of unwinding Europe’s longest coronavirus lockdown. Nearly two months ... More »
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Netherlands rose by 199 on Monday to 40,770, with 26 new deaths, health authorities said. Total deaths in the country rose to 5,082, the Netherlands Institute for Health (RIVM) said in its ... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – More than 10 times as many people in Germany have likely been infected with the coronavirus than the number of confirmed cases, researchers from the University of Bonn have concluded from a field trial in one of the worst hit towns. The p... 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 »
(Reuters) – Britain’s four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome is unsure if the organisers can fully prevent large crowds from gathering at the race that was rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tour, scheduled to start on June 27, was pushed ba... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – The number of people who have died in France after contracting the new coronavirus rose on Sunday by 135 to 24,895, the health ministry said. The number of people treated in hospital for the coronavirus and the number of people in intensive c... More »
(Reuters) – Icelandic actor and strongman Hafthor Bjornsson set a world record for the deadlift on Saturday when he lifted 1,104 pounds (501 kg) at Thor’s Power Gym in Iceland. Bjornsson, best known for his portrayal of Ser Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane on the... More »
CHAMBLON, Switzerland (Reuters) – In the battle against coronavirus, Swiss soldiers are using smartphones to test a new contact tracing application that could prevent infections while also protecting users’ privacy. Switzerland hopes to launch the app on May 1... More »
ZURICH (Reuters) – Researchers in Switzerland have been able to detect the new corovarirus at even low concentrations in wastewater, offering a potential early warning system for flareups in infections as countries emerge from emergency lockdowns. Should the s... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – One of the world’s largest lunar meteorites goes on private sale at Christie’s on Thursday, valued at 2 million pounds ($2.49 million). The moon rock, weighing over 13.5 kg, was probably struck off the surface of the moon by a collision with... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson returns to work on Monday to the biggest dilemma of his premiership: how to lift the coronavirus lockdown that is destroying swathes of the British economy without triggering a deadly second wave of the outbreak.... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s economy minister urged the country’s 16 federal states on Monday to go slowly in lifting coronavirus restrictions to avoid the outbreak spreading further and being forced to backtrack later. Under Germany’s decentralised political ... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – The German government and the federal state of Hesse have agreed to provide Condor with loans worth 550 million euros ($596.31 million), the economy minister said on Monday, after the owner of Poland’s LOT pulled out of a deal to buy the air... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – Healthcare and clinical diagnostics company Novacyt has signed a supply contract with the UK’s Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) for its product aimed at testing for the presence of the coronavirus, the company said on Monday. Under t... 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 »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Monday on signs that worldwide oil storage is filling rapidly, raising concerns that production cuts will not come fast enough to fully offset the collapse in demand from the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. oil futures led l... 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 companies including ThyssenKrupp, Salzgitter, Bayer, Covestro, E.ON, HeidelbergCement, Puma, Allianz and Deutsche Telekom have called for coronavirus-related state aid to be tied to climate action, daily Handelsblatt reported. “We ... 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 »
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 »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain is continuing to test whether antibody tests can be used in the fight against the novel coronavirus and is hopeful they will work, junior health minister Edward Argar said on Monday. “Tests continue to be tested, the sign at the mome... 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 »
(Reuters) – World number three Dominic Thiem has rejected the notion that the top tennis players should chip in to help lower-ranked competitors who are struggling financially due to the pause in tournaments because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. World num... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany changed course on Sunday over which type of smartphone technology it wanted to use to trace coronavirus infections, backing an approach supported by Apple and Google along with a growing number of other European countries. Countries ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The extended lockdown of tennis will help Andy Murray’s return from injury but it will be “a big ask” for him to add to his three Grand Slam titles, according to former British number one Greg Rusedski. Murray underwent hip re-surfacing surg... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) has declined a request by prominent U.S. senators to provide information about the German lender’s recent business dealings with U.S. President Donald Trump and his family, according to a letter this week seen by ... More »
MILTON KEYNES, England (Reuters) – A fleet of robots on wheels that deliver shopping in the English town of Milton Keynes have seen their popularity surge as residents are stuck indoors due to the coronavirus lockdown. The robots, which come up roughly to an a... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – U.S. states promoting apps that could prove essential to ending the coronavirus lockdown may be headed for a showdown with the two Silicon Valley companies that control key software on 99% of smartphones over the collection of sensiti... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Banksy’s “Girl with a Pierced Eardrum” has been updated for the coronavirus era with the addition of a blue surgical face mask. The mural, a take on Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” but with a security alarm replac... More »
BENGALURU (Reuters) – The euro zone economy is already in its deepest recession on record, according to a Reuters poll of economists, who have stuck to a bleak outlook and worry the downturn might be even worse as coronavirus lockdowns across the bloc take the... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s Oktoberfest, the world’s largest folk festival, where revellers from all over the world gather to swig large quantities of beer, has been cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis, the southern state of Bavaria said on Tuesday. Aroun... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The number of people in jobs in Britain grew more slowly in March than in February, official figures showed on Tuesday in an early sign of the impact of the coronavirus shutdown which is expected to hammer the jobs market. Growth in the numb... More »
(Reuters) – European stocks fell on Tuesday as the double whammy from a crash in U.S. crude to minus $40 per barrel and dismal first-quarter earnings reports spooked investors about the lasting damage to the global economy from the coronavirus pandemic. BP Plc... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union leaders meeting are on Thursday expected to defer a final decision on how to finance the bloc’s economic recovery in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, diplomats and officials said. The 27 national leaders have alrea... 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 »
LONDON (Reuters) – The oil price will stay low for some time as supply exceeds demand and the current situation on global oil markets is reminiscent of the 1980s oil glut, former BP boss John Browne said on Tuesday. “The prices will be very low and I think the... More »
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Swedish truck maker Volvo (VOLVb.ST) said on Tuesday it had signed a deal with German rival Daimler (DAIGn.DE) to set up a joint venture to develop and produce fuel cell systems for heavy-duty vehicles. Daimler will consolidate all its cu... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 1,785 to 143,457, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Tuesday, marking a slight increase in the number of new infections after two days of declines. New in... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – A rift has opened up over the design of smartphone apps to trace people in Europe at risk of coronavirus infection, potentially hindering efforts to curb the pandemic and ease crippling travel restrictions. Scientists and researchers from mo... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – From a bunch of radishes to a sleeping cat, Parisian Agnes Goyet has turned to her life indoors for inspiration as France’s coronavirus lockdown frees her up to pursue her hobby – art. Goyet, who normally works as a real estate manager, is am... More »
VIENNA (Reuters) – Austrian cultural spaces including museums and libraries can reopen from mid-May as part of a gradual loosening of the coronavirus lockdown, the government said on Friday. Austria took a first step in relaxing its month-old restrictions on T... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Street-artist Banksy has followed official advice to stay at home during the coronavirus crisis by creating a new artwork in his bathroom that shows his trademark stencilled rats running amok around the sink and toilet. The elusive artist po... More »
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian brothers Nikita and Egor Zigura work on their sculpture of a giant fingerprint as art enthusiasts look on via a live-streaming internet link and make bids for the developing work. The online auction is part of a new “Stay Art Home” s... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s finance minister has told colleagues the economy could shrink by up to 30% this quarter because of the coronavirus lockdown, a newspaper reported, as the soaring death toll gave little hope restrictions would soon be lifted. The nu... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Spaniards at the country’s main transport hubs were handed face masks on a rainy Monday morning as the government relaxed some of the tough lockdown measures designed to rein in the coronavirus health crisis which has claimed nearly 17,000 l... More »
TOKYO/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Global equities weakened on Monday as investors braced for more indications of economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic while oil prices rose in choppy trade following a landmark deal by OPEC and its allies to cut output. U.S. ... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Monday after major producers finally agreed their biggest-ever output cut, but gains were capped amid concern that it won’t be enough to head off oversupply with the coronavirus pandemic hammering demand. After four day... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia on Monday reported 2,558 new cases of the novel coronavirus, a record daily rise, bringing its overall nationwide tally to 18,328. Russia’s coronavirus crisis response centre said that 148 people diagnosed with the virus have died so ... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Senior politicians in Germany have begun debating a potential easing of restrictions imposed over the coronavirus epidemic ahead of a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday. On Monday, Merkel and premiers of Germany’s 16 state... More »
(Reuters) – The Scottish footballer Jim Baxter, who died of cancer at the age of 61 on April 14, 2001, is remembered as one of the greatest talents never to have featured in a World Cup. Had the Glasgow Rangers wing-half performed on the greatest stage or foll... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Stirling Moss, the British racing driver who ranked as an all-time Formula One great despite never winning the world championship, died on Sunday aged 90 after a long illness. “He died as he lived, looking wonderful,” his wife Susie told the... More »
(Reuters) – Four-times Tour de France winner Chris Froome said his recovery from a horrific accident last year was nearly complete and his training load was back to normal as he prepares for when competition resumes after the new coronavirus outbreak. Speaking... More »
LISBON (Reuters) – Players at Sporting will have their salaries cut by 40% for three months as the club attempts to mitigate financial losses from the suspension of games during the coronavirus outbreak, Portuguese news agency Lusa reported. Lusa also reported... More »
ZURICH (Reuters) – Siemens will not cut its workforce because of the economic downturn triggered by the new coronavirus, Chief Executive Joe Kaeser said, although short-time working measures could be extended in Germany. “No one at Siemens will leave because o... More »
CHIPPING CAMDEN, England (Reuters) – Costume makers in Britain who normally dress actors in shows from Downton Abbey to Game of Thrones and Batman have joined forces to make scrubs for medics fighting the coronavirus outbreak. Working from kitchens, sheds and ... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union countries on Thursday evening agreed the emergency credit lines from the euro zone’s bailout fund “will be available until COVID-19 crisis is over”, a draft of their deal read. Afterwards, euro countries should remain commit... More »
HELSINKI (Reuters) – A quick-thinking Helsinki bakery has saved itself from financial ruin due to the new coronavirus pandemic by creating a cake that looks like a toilet roll. The dismayed staff at the Ronttosrouva bakery found all their orders cancelled last... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Central Bank told euro zone finance ministers that the bloc may need fiscal measures worth up to 1.5 trillion euros ($1.6 trillion) this year to tackle the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, officials told Reuter... More »
SARAJEVO (Reuters) – Bosnia’s most popular band, Dubioza Kolektiv, invites its audience to “stay connected and disinfected” during a weekly “Quarantine Show” online to cheer up fans locked in their homes due to the coronavirus. Bosnia, like most states in Euro... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Monday, after Saudi Arabia and Russia delayed a meeting to discuss output cuts that could help reduce global oversupply as the coronavirus pandemic pummels demand. Brent crude LCoc1 fell more than $3 when Asian markets ope... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s construction sector saw the sharpest fall in activity since the financial crisis last month, a survey showed on Monday, despite facing much less pressure than other industries to shut down operations due to the coronavirus. The fig... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Investor morale in the euro zone fell to an all-time low in April and the bloc’s economy is in deep recession due to the coronavirus, which is “holding the world economy in a stranglehold”, a survey showed on Monday. Sentix’s index for the e... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The Global Federation of Insurance Associations on Monday warned the world’s governments of the danger of forcing insurers to pay out for losses suffered due to the coronavirus even when pandemic losses were not included in existing policies... More »
(Reuters) – European shares rebounded on Monday as a slowdown in coronavirus deaths raised hopes that nationwide lockdowns were starting to show results, while Rolls Royce soared after becoming the latest multinational firm to raise cash to weather an economic... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan will declare a state of emergency as early as Tuesday in a bid to stop the coronavirus, media reported, with the government preparing a stimulus package to soften the blow on an economy already struggling to avoid a recession. More than... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – As Germany rolls out a 750 billion-euro economic stimulus package, officials and experts are discussing whether German lenders, including Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG, will be able to weather the economic fallout of coronavirus wit... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – A group representing Britain’s car industry cut its sales forecast for this year by 23% to 1.73 million vehicles because of the impact of the coronavirus crisis. The figure represented a 25% fall from the number of new car registrations in 2... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Angela Merkel’s chief of staff told German broadcasters RTL/n-tv on Monday that he did not think the chancellor’s plans not to run for a fifth term in office had changed after Bild newspaper last week raised the question of whether she might... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Stocks jumped on Monday as investors were encouraged by a slowdown in coronavirus-related deaths and new cases, while oil prices skidded after Saudi-Russian negotiations to cut output were delayed, keeping oversupply concerns alive. Equity i... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s coronavirus case tally has risen to 6,343 in the past 24 hours, a record daily increase of 954, the country’s crisis response centre said on Monday. Cases have been recorded widely, but Moscow remains the epicentre of the outbreak w... More »
(Reuters) – Paulo Dybala left Gareth Bale out of his Real Madrid starting line-up but had no trouble beating the Welshman’s Manchester City side in a FIFA 20 video game as part of a Combat Corona fundraiser for UNICEF at the weekend. Juventus striker Dybala on... More »
ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland faces a shortage of the raw material needed to make disinfectant to tackle the coronavirus pandemic after the country abandoned its emergency reserve of 10,000 tonnes of ethanol two years ago, newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reported on... More »
(Reuters) – The IBF’s mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev said he will donate half of his purse from the world heavyweight title fight against Briton Anthony Joshua to help medical workers fight the “devilish” coronavirus. The 38-year-old Bulgarian is expected t... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – A conspiracy theory that links 5G mobile telecommunications masts to the spread of the novel coronavirus is dangerous fake news and completely false, Britain said on Saturday after masts in several parts of the country were torched. When ask... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – It will take a week or two before Britain’s social distancing measures start to translate into lower hospitalization rates but there has been a bit of a plateauing in London in recent days, NHS England Medical Director Stephen Powis said. “T... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Face masks could help limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to researchers who studied the effect of surgical masks on the transmission of other corona and flu viruses. In the study, the use of surgical masks by sufferers sign... More »
MUNICH/LONDON (Reuters) – Shares in Europe’s insurers fell sharply on Friday after the EU regulator said they should temporarily halt payouts to shareholders during the coronavirus epidemic, although Germany backed Allianz’s decision to go ahead with a dividen... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Global stock markets sank Friday following more signs that the COVID-19 pandemic would take a massive toll on economic growth, while oil prices continued to rally on hopes of a cut to global supply. Investors sought out safe havens in the ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Benchmark Brent crude oil futures climbed to as high as $34.91 a barrel on Friday on rising hopes of a new global deal to cut global crude supply. Brent crude LCOc1 futures were up 12.9%, or $3.9, at $33.83 a barrel by 1321 GMT. Brent soared... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia will send 11 military planes carrying medical equipment to Serbia to help it fight the coronavirus outbreak, the defence ministry in Moscow said on Friday. The announcement came a day after the Kremlin said Serbian President Aleksanda... More »
OSLO (Reuters) – Norway called on Friday for more money to help the Palestinian Territories get through the COVID-19 pandemic. Although there has only been one death and 161 reported cases of the coronavirus in the Palestinian Territories, the outbreak is expe... More »
ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss government on Friday boosted its powers to order companies to raise production of critical medical supplies like drugs and protective gear should more be needed in the fight against coronavirus-caused COVID-19. “If the supply…canno... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The United Kingdom death toll from the coronavirus rose by 684 to 3,605 as of 1600 GMT on April 2, up 23% on the previous day. As of 9am 3 April, a total of 173,784 people have been tested of which 38,168 were positive. Stephen Powis, the na... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s car sector needs immediate cash and the government should introduce measures to support suppliers, some of which only have enough money to handle the coronavirus crisis for weeks not months, the head of the main trade body told Reu... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday it would be impractical to restrict economic activity all over the country due to the coronavirus, given that each region is facing different challenges. “It is clear that limiting economic act... More »
(Reuters) – Google on Thursday published reports for 131 countries showing whether visits to shops, parks and workplaces dropped in March, when many governments issued stay-at-home orders to rein in the spread of COVID-19. Here is a list of countries in alphab... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea is struggling to retain its lead in global next-generation 5G telecom services, as the coronavirus pandemic further cools sentiment of consumers whose interest in the technology has waned due to cost and quality concerns. The Asia... More »
(Reuters) – European football, currently at a standstill because of the coronavirus, is focusing on a restart in July and August with clubs and leagues being told that stopping competitions should “really be the last resort.” UEFA, the European Club Associatio... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Losing your sense of smell and taste may be the best way to tell if you have COVID-19, according to a study of data collected via a symptom tracker app developed by scientists in Britain and the United States to help monitor the coronavirus ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Invesco said on Tuesday it would sell all the unquoted companies currently held in its UK equities portfolios and has marked down their value by 60% as a result of recent coronavirus-fueled market falls. The U.S.-based manager said it would ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund said on Monday the relaxation of the euro zone’s fiscal rules and support from the European Central Bank and the European Stability Mechanism is critical to a strong regional response to the coronavirus pa... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British low cost airline easyJet (EZJ.L) said it had grounded its entire fleet of over 330 aircraft and had no visibility on when it could restart flights, highlighting the heavy strain on airlines trying to survive to fly again after corona... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The coronavirus epidemic in the United Kingdom is showing signs of slowing and antibody tests could be ready in days, Neil Ferguson, a professor of mathematical biology at Imperial College London, said on Monday. “We think the epidemic is ju... More »
SYDNEY/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asian shares slid on Monday as fears mounted that the global coronavirus shutdown could last for months although markets regained some lost ground late in the session with Australia posting a standout jump. U.S. and European future... More »
