Blogroll

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow, the epicentre of Russia's coronavirus outbreak, had succeeded in preventing what he called worst-case scenarios as the city announced it would ease tough lockdown measures within days.

France's coronavirus death toll rose by less than 100 for the seventh day running on Wednesday while the number of confirmed cases climbed only modestly, according to data which indicated the worst of the pandemic could be over for the country for now.

A COVID-19 test and trace service will start in England on Thursday to allow the loosening of lockdown measures for most of the population, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

India's antitrust body is looking into allegations that Alphabet Inc's Google is abusing its market position to unfairly promote its mobile payments app in the country, five sources familiar with the case told Reuters.

Author Larry Kramer, whose early advocacy for a national response to AIDS as the disease first emerged in the 1980s helped raise awareness and shape healthcare policy into the 1990s, died on Wednesday at 84.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday reported 1,678,843 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 16,429 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 770 to 99,031.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to regulate or shut down social media companies for stifling conservative voices, a day after Twitter attached a warning to some of his tweets prompting readers to fact check the president's claims.

Twenty U.S. states reported an increase in new cases of COVID-19 for the week ended May 24, up from 13 states in the prior week, as the death toll from the novel coronavirus approaches 100,000, according to a Reuters analysis.

The number of coronavirus cases in Zimbabwe has more than doubled to 132 over the past 24 hours, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.

Quest Diagnostics Inc on Wednesday started offering blood tests, temperature monitoring and other tailored services to U.S. employers as they attempt to reopen factories and offices after months under coronavirus-led lockdowns.

Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 117 on Wednesday, against 78 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new cases climbed to 584 from 397 on Tuesday.

Spain has registered 27,118 deaths from the coronavirus, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday, just one more than the previous day, but countrywide mortality data suggest the actual toll could be much higher.

In a sign that the coronavirus will one day be history, the Czech National Museum is opening an exhibition of face masks worn to protect against the infection.

"It's a girl and she is fine, we all are fine," said Rayhona, 23. "They have shown her to me on a smartphone."

Switzerland said on Wednesday it would lift curbs on larger public gatherings next month and free up travel within Europe's 26-nation Schengen zone by July 6, further easing restrictions on public life as the coronavirus outbreak ebbs.

An international hydroxychloroquine trial led by the University of Oxford has been paused, Britain's pharmaceutical regulator said on Wednesday, less than a week after the trial started, amid fresh safety concerns over the drug.

Sari Baldauf took over as chairwoman of telecoms equipment maker Nokia on Wednesday, succeeding Risto Siilasmaa who chaired the Finnish firm for eight years.

ZoomInfo Technologies Inc expects to raise up to $801 million in its U.S. initial public offering (IPO), as the market for new issues rebounds after the COVID-19 pandemic put several debuts on hold for a couple of months.

Tesla Inc has cut prices of its electric vehicles by as much as 6% in North America following a decline in auto demand in the region during weeks of lockdown that have now started to ease.

From ramping up 5G's rollout to exploiting its data, the European Union is turning to technology to help it bounce back from the coronavirus crisis and compete better in key areas with the United States and China.