Blogroll

China reported one new coronavirus case for May 4, down from three the day before, data from the national health authority showed on Tuesday.

Israel has isolated a key coronavirus antibody at its main biological research laboratory, the Israeli defence minister said on Monday, calling the step a "significant breakthrough" toward a possible treatment for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indonesia reported on Monday 395 new coronavirus infections, taking the total in the Southeast Asian country to 11,587, said health ministry official Achmad Yurianto.

Chipmaker Intel Corp has bought Israeli public transit app maker Moovit for about $900 million to help it develop self-driving "robotaxis" that could take to the streets in early 2022, the company said on Monday.

Ecuador on Monday exceeded 30,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, while the government launched a plan to start gradually relaxing quarantine measures that have been in place since mid-March.

A new forecast projects nearly 135,000 deaths due to COVID-19 in the United States through the beginning of August mainly due to reopening measures under way, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington said on Monday.

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 a row.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that medicinal plants such as Artemisia annua, touted as possible treatments for COVID-19, should be tested for efficacy and side effects.

World leaders and organisations pledged $8 billion to research, manufacture and distribute a possible vaccine and treatments for COVID-19 on Monday, but the United States refused to contribute to the global effort.

Britain will start testing its own COVID-19 tracing app on the Isle of Wight from Tuesday, hoping that the technology in combination with more testing and tracking will help limit transmission of the coronavirus.

Robinhood Markets Inc said on Monday it has raised $280 million in a funding round that valued the online brokerage at $8.3 billion as it benefits from new signups amid increased market volatility and stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus.

Yemen has reported two new coronavirus infections in Hadhramout, the national emergency coronavirus committee said on Monday, raising the number of diagnosed infections in the war-town country to 12 with two deaths.

A French hospital which has retested old samples from pneumonia patients discovered that it treated a man who had COVID-19 as early as Dec. 27, nearly a month before the French government confirmed its first cases.

Apple Inc on Monday launched an updated version of its MacBook Pro with modified keyboards, as the laptop line had faced criticism for typing-related problems, while boosting performance and adding storage.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Monday it now expects makers of antibody tests for the new coronavirus to submit requests for emergency use authorization of their tests within 10 days from when the test is validated.

Uber Technologies' Careem subsidiary said on Monday it was cutting 536 jobs this week, representing 31% of the Dubai-headquartered company's workforce.

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.

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 situation said.

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.

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.