Huge explosion rocks Beirut
A MASSIVE explosion at Lebanon’s main port rocked Beirut, overwhelming hospitals dealing with the injured and dying. The blast was so large it blew out windows across the capital and was even heard from Cyprus.
US health chief to visit Taiwan, likely angering China
TAIPEI — US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar will visit Taiwan in coming days, his office said on Tuesday, making the highest-level visit by a US official in four decades - a move likely to anger China, which claims the island as its own.
Global coronavirus deaths exceed 700,000, one person dies every 15 seconds on average
THE global death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 700,000 on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, with the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico leading the rise in fatalities.
Gargling solution flies off Japan’s shelves after governor touts anti-virus effect
TOKYO — Japanese drugstores were stripped bare of gargling solution by Wednesday, a day after the governor of the western prefecture of Osaka suggested it could help fight coronavirus, triggering panic buying reminiscent of the early days of mask shortages.
Novavax coronavirus vaccine induces immune response in early study, shares jump
Novavax Inc. said on Tuesday its experimental COVID-19 vaccine produced high levels of antibodies against the novel coronavirus, according to initial data from a...
Toll expected to rise in blast that shook Beirut, killing 78 and injuring thousands
BEIRUT — Lebanese rescue workers dug through the rubble looking for survivors of a powerful warehouse explosion that shook the capital Beirut, killing 78...
UN: World facing ‘generational catastrophe’ on education
UNITED NATIONS — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Tuesday that the world faces a “generational catastrophe” because of school closures amid the coronavirus pandemic and said that getting students safely back to the classroom must be “a top priority.”
Microsoft’s long history in China complicates potential TikTok deal
Microsoft Corp.’s attempt to buy TikTok’s US operations represents the latest step in a careful dance the software maker has performed to meet the demands of the Chinese and US governments while doing business in both places, a balancing act that has grown increasingly fraught in the political conflict between the countries.
Anxious WHO implores world to ‘do it all’ in long war on COVID-19
GENEVA — The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday that there might never be a “silver bullet” for COVID-19 in the form of...
The pandemic workday is 48 minutes longer and has more meetings
We log longer hours. We attend more meetings with more people. And, we send more e-mail.
COVID-19 long-term toll signals billions in healthcare costs ahead
NEW YORK — Late in March, Laura Gross, 72, was recovering from gall bladder surgery in her Fort Lee, New Jersey, home when she became sick again.
Regeneron says antibody cocktail prevents and treats COVID-19 in animals
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. said on Monday that the COVID-19 antibody drug combination it is developing both prevented and treated the disease in rhesus macaques...