Sydney awaits verdict on New Year’s Eve festivities
MELBOURNE — Sydney’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak continued on Sunday with more than a quarter million people in lockdown as Australia’s largest city awaited word on whether any public New Year’s Eve celebrations will be allowed.
Millions of Americans lose jobless benefits as Trump refuses to sign aid bill
By Steve Holland and Richard Cowan
PALM BEACH, Fla/WASHINGTON, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Millions of Americans saw their jobless benefits expire on Saturday after U.S. President Donald Trump refused to...
China to leapfrog US as world’s biggest economy by 2028 – think tank
LONDON, Dec 26 (Reuters) - China will overtake the United States to become the world's biggest economy in 2028, five years earlier than previously...
Hong Kong imposes 21-day quarantine for visitors, adds South Africa to banned list
HONG KONG - Hong Kong extended a compulsory quarantine by an extra seven days to 21 days for all visitors outside China, effective Friday,...
Denmark finds 33 cases of new variant of coronavirus
COPENHAGEN, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Denmark has identified 33 infections with the new variant of the coronavirus that has been spreading rapidly in parts...
China to suspend UK flights indefinitely -foreign ministry
BEIJING, Dec 24 (Reuters) - China will suspend direct flights to and from the United Kingdom indefinitely over fears of a new strain of...
What you need to know about the coronavirus right now
Dec 24 (Reuters) - Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:
Singapore confirms first case of new coronavirus variant
Singapore confirmed its...
Singapore’s happy ‘glampers’ pick airport stays for year-end holidays
SINGAPORE — Staying overnight at an airport isn’t unheard of, especially if you miss a flight. But choosing to spend your holidays there in a tent is something entirely different.
Fresh coronavirus wave tests S.Korea’s no-lockdown strategy
TIME AFTER TIME this year, South Korea prevented the coronavirus from spreading uncontrollably, applying its elite testing-and-tracing practices that have become a global model for managing the pandemic without draconian, economy-sapping lockdowns.
Jupiter, Saturn seen in rare celestial ‘Great Conjunction’
NEW YORK — The evening sky over the Northern Hemisphere treated stargazers to a once-in-a-lifetime illusion on Monday as the solar system’s two biggest planets appeared to meet in a celestial alignment that astronomers call the “Great Conjunction.”
BioNTech confident COVID vaccine is effective vs new UK mutation
BERLIN — BioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin said on Monday he was confident a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine co-developed by his company would be effective against a variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in Britain.
Oxygen level while walking identifies at-risk patients; cancer patients should get vaccine priority
The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.