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‘Europe needs a break’: EU plots to restart travel and tourism despite COVID
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU states should guarantee vouchers for travel cancelled during the coronavirus pandemic and start lifting internal border restrictions in a bid to salvage some of the summer tourism season, the bloc’s executive will say next week. FILE PHOTO: European Union flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 19, …
Facebook names first members of oversight board that can overrule Zuckerberg
(Reuters) – Facebook Inc’s (FB.O) new content oversight board will include a former prime minister, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and several constitutional law experts and rights advocates among its first 20 members, the company announced on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: Facebook symbol is seen on a motherboard in this picture illustration taken April 24, 2020. …
As central banks break the junk debt barrier, investors will follow
May 6 (Reuters)- Recent central bank bond-buying to calm market turmoil has breached the wall dividing top-grade debt from so-called junk-rated issues, raising the likelihood of the investment industry and even regulators eventually dismantling the barrier. FILE PHOTO: George Washington is seen with printed medical mask on the one Dollar banknotes in this illustration taken, …
Tesla to extend furlough for some employees by another week: internal email
FILE PHOTO: A view of Tesla Inc’s U.S. vehicle factory in Fremont, California, U.S., March 18, 2020. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) told furloughed employees on Friday that they will remain out of work for at least another week, postponing a plan to resume normal operations on May 4 at its San …
Saudi eases coronavirus curfews, keeps 24-hour curfew in Mecca
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia eased curfews on Sunday across the country but kept 24-hour lockdowns in place in the city of Mecca and neighbourhoods previously put in isolation to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, state news agency SPA said. FILE PHOTO: General view of deserted streets, during the 24 hours lockdown to …
Germany at odds with Apple on smartphone coronavirus contact tracing
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany has chosen a home-grown technology for smartphone-based tracing of coronavirus infections, putting it at odds with Apple which has refused on privacy grounds to support the necessary short-range communication on iPhones. FILE PHOTO: People wearing protective face masks use a smartphone on a street amid coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns in Kiev, Ukraine …
Notre-Dame’s great bell to toll once again on anniversary of fire
PARIS (Reuters) – A year on from the inferno that gutted Notre-Dame de Paris and stunned the world, the cathedral’s great bell will ring out on Wednesday evening, as a mark of the building’s resilience and that of the medics battling France’s coronavirus epidemic. The bourdon bell has sounded just once since April 15, 2019, …
On fire’s anniversary, Notre-Dame’s great bell to break its silence
PARIS (Reuters) – A year on from the inferno that gutted Notre-Dame de Paris and stunned the world, the cathedral’s great bell will ring out on Wednesday evening, as a mark of the building’s resilience and that of the medics battling France’s coronavirus epidemic. The bourdon bell has sounded just once since April 15, 2019, …
Trump halts World Health Organization funding amid coronavirus pandemic
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would halt funding to the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic while his administration reviews its response to the global crisis. Trump told a White House news conference the WHO had “failed in its basic duty and it must be held …
Spain, Austria ease coronavirus curbs, U.S. debates risks
MADRID/LONDON (Reuters) – Spain and Austria allowed partial returns to work on Tuesday but Britain, France and India extended lockdowns to rein in the new coronavirus while the United States, where the death toll exceeded 25,000, debated how to reopen its economy. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that infections had “certainly” not yet peaked. …
Legendary journalist and political commentator Cokie Roberts dies at 75