Fretting about COVID, most Japan firms say Olympics should be canceled or postponed
TOKYO — Nearly 70% of Japanese firms want the Tokyo Olympics either canceled or postponed, a Reuters survey found, underscoring concerns that the Games...
COVID fight could return ‘to square one’: experts sound vaccines alarm
LONDON — India’s export ban on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) shots risks dragging the battle against the pandemic “back to square one” unless wealthy nations step in to plug a...
Israel-Hamas truce takes hold after 11 days of fighting
GAZA/JERUSALEM — An Egyptian-mediated truce between Israel and Hamas began on Friday, but Hamas warned it still had its “hands on the trigger” and demanded Israel end the...
Vaccine hesitancy makes citizens ‘sitting ducks,’ doctors’ group says
SYDNEY — Australia’s peak medical body on Thursday warned the country’s residents were “sitting ducks” for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), as business leaders call for the international border to be reopened faster despite a sluggish national vaccination drive.
China says US warship illegally enters its territory in S. China Sea
BEIJING — China said on Thursday a US warship had illegally entered its territorial waters in the South China Sea, the latest salvo in the two nations’ dispute over Beijing’s territorial claims in the busy waterway.
US weighs changes to COVID-19 travel restrictions
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has been weighing changes to sweeping travel restrictions that bar much of the world’s population from coming to the United States, but has reached no decisions, government and industry officials told Reuters.
Thailand to prioritize vaccines for workers to revive economy
THAILAND is adding workers to the front of the vaccination queue in an effort to buttress the economy as a raging COVID outbreak threatens to delay plans to reopen borders for foreign tourists.
Bitcoin struggles for footing on worries over China, leverage
By Stanley White and Vidya Ranganathan
TOKYO - Bitcoin regained some ground on Thursday from the previous session's brutal slide to four-month lows but was weighed down by concerns over...
Hong Kong court denies jury trial to first person charged under national security law
HONG KONG - The first person charged under the national security law in Hong Kong will face a trial without jury, the city's High...
New Zealand’s Ardern delivers welfare boost in annual budget as economy rebounds
By Praveen Menon
WELLINGTON - New Zealand on Thursday lifted welfare benefit rates and promised billions of dollars more towards addressing rising inequality in its annual budget,...
ByteDance founder to step down as CEO, hand over to college roommate
By Echo Wang and Yingzhi Yang
Zhang Yiming will step down as chief executive of TikTok-owner ByteDance, leaving the task of navigating a rising number of Big Tech regulations worldwide...
Trump says New York criminal probe is in ‘desperate search of a crime’
By Katanga Johnson
Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday attacked New York state's attorney general for launching a criminal probe of his family business, saying he...