Facebook news goes dark in Australia as spat intensifies
SYDNEY — Australians woke to empty news feeds on their Facebook, Inc. pages on Thursday after the social media giant blocked all media content in a surprise and dramatic escalation of a dispute with the government over paying for content.
India to test travelers from Brazil, South Africa, UK on new strains
NEW DELHI — India will make coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) molecular tests mandatory for people arriving directly or indirectly from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil to contain the spread of more infectious virus variants found in those countries.
Malaysian ex-prime minister’s wife to be tried for corruption
KUALA LUMPUR — A Malaysian court on Thursday ordered Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former Prime Minister Najib Razak, to enter a defense in a corruption trial linked to a multimillion-dollar project approved while the ex-premier was still in power.
Hong Kong sees rush for burner phones as government pushes contact-tracing app
HONG KONG — Electronics shops in Hong Kong have seen a sharp increase in demand for cheap burner phones as the Chinese-ruled city’s government eases coronavirus restrictions but pushes the use of a contact-tracing app which has raised privacy concerns.
COVID response drives $24 trillion surge in global debt — IIF
LONDON — The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has added $24 trillion to the global debt mountain over the last year a new study has shown, leaving it at a record $281 trillion and the worldwide debt-to-GDP ratio at over 355%.
US charges three North Koreans in $1.3 billion hacking spree
WASHINGTON — The United States has charged three North Korean computer programmers with a massive hacking spree aimed at stealing more than $1.3 billion in money and cryptocurrency, affecting companies from banks to Hollywood movie studios, the Department of Justice said on Wednesday.
Pfizer says South African variant could significantly reduce vaccine protection
A laboratory study suggests that the South African variant of the coronavirus may reduce antibody protection from the Pfizer Inc./BioNTech SE vaccine by two-thirds,...
Air pollution kills thousands in megacities despite COVID lockdowns
KUALA LUMPUR — Air pollution caused tens of thousands of deaths in the world’s five most populous cities last year despite coronavirus lockdowns, researchers...
South Korea warns against lax distancing as daily COVID-19 count hits one-month high
SEOUL — South Korea’s Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Wednesday warned against loosening enforcement of social distancing rules after the number of new coronavirus cases hit the highest levels in nearly 40 days.
In Texas blackout, everything went wrong at once
THE FINGER-pointing began immediately: It was the frozen wind turbines that foolishly replaced traditional sources. No, fossil fuels were at fault. No, Texas’s deregulated power market, unique in the country, had allowed companies to skimp on maintenance and upgrades.
Russia to limit trading options for retail investors after Reddit frenzy concern
MOSCOW — Russia will limit retail investors’ access to complex products on financial markets from October, the central bank announced on Tuesday, saying the recent share trading frenzy in the United States had highlighted the dangers of a lack of regulation.
Japan begins COVID-19 vaccination in ‘first major step’ to halt pandemic
TOKYO — Japan launched its coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) inoculation drive on Wednesday, administering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to Tokyo hospital workers, as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga attempts to beat the odds and host the Olympics this summer.