science and technology

China's Kingsoft sees stock pop in U.S. market debut

Shares of China's Kingsoft Cloud Holdings Ltd jumped over 25% on its U.S. market debut, indicating strong investor interest at a time when capital markets globally have been roiled by an economic crisis from the COVID-19 pandemic.




science and technology

Robots to the rescue! Arizona students in lockdown will still get their graduation day

Juili Kale's dreams to receive her master's degree diploma in a ceremony cheered on by her family were dashed by the coronavirus - until robots came to the rescue.




science and technology

Roaming 'robodog' politely tells Singapore park goers to keep apart

Far from barking its orders, a robot dog enlisted by Singapore authorities to help curb coronavirus infections in the city-state politely asks joggers and cyclists to stay apart.




science and technology

California county says Tesla may not reopen vehicle factory, stifling Musk's plans

Tesla Inc "must not reopen" its vehicle factory in the San Francisco Bay area as local lockdown measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus remain in effect, the local county health department said on Friday.




science and technology

Saudi, U.S. firms eye stakes in Reliance's Jio - Bloomberg

Two more firms are eyeing a share of Reliance Industries Ltd's $65-billion digital unit Jio Platforms, according to Bloomberg News, setting them up to be a part of a growing list of firms that have recently invested in the Indian company.




science and technology

EU should beef up fake news pledge involving Google, Facebook, Twitter - study

The European Union should strengthen a voluntary pledge, to which Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc's Google and Twitter Inc signed up to combat fake news, with sanctions to make it a more effective tool, a study done for the European Commission said on Friday.




science and technology

Apple to reopen some stores in United States next week

Apple Inc said Friday it will reopen a handful of stores in four U.S. states starting next week, in the first resumption of physical retail operations since the iPhone maker shuttered all U.S. stores in mid-March.




science and technology

Google announces company holiday on May 22 to stem virus burnout

Alphabet Inc's Google said on Friday it has asked employees to take a day off on May 22, to address work-from-home-related burnout during the coronavirus pandemic.




science and technology

WHO readies coronavirus app for checking symptoms, possibly contact tracing

The World Health Organization (WHO) plans to launch an app this month to enable people in under-resourced countries to assess whether they may have the novel coronavirus, and is considering a Bluetooth-based contact tracing feature too, an official told Reuters on Friday.




science and technology

As pandemic rages, anything goes for bitcoin's third 'halving'

Bitcoin is about to undergo a scheduled technical adjustment as the number of new coins awarded to the computer wizards who "mine" the cryptocurrency will be cut in half, but forecasting which way its price will move afterward is more complicated now.




science and technology

China regulator issues rules on online bank lending to curb risks

China's banking and insurance regulator on Saturday issued draft rules on commercial banks' online lending business, banning the use of such loans for riskier investments and capping banks' online consumer credit, in a move to rein in financial risks.




science and technology

Exclusive: Iran-linked hackers recently targeted coronavirus drugmaker Gilead - sources

Hackers linked to Iran have targeted staff at U.S. drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc in recent weeks, according to publicly-available web archives reviewed by Reuters and three cybersecurity researchers, as the company races to deploy a treatment for the COVID-19 virus.




science and technology

Breakingviews TV: EU airlines

Paris and the Netherlands are lending their respective parts of Air France-KLM up to 11 bln euros. The tricky bailout exposes the frailty of the 2004 merger. Ed Cropley reveals how other operators, including Germany’s Lufthansa and Britain’s IAG, could fly into similar problems.




science and technology

Breakingviews TV: The new TBTF

The coronavirus has helped make Big Tech too big to fail. Before the pandemic, political pressure in D.C. and Brussels was mounting on Silicon Valley giants like Facebook. Gina Chon explains how their size has been an asset in a crisis, which will mute arguments to break them up.




science and technology

Breakingviews TV: Kim Jong ill?

North Korea’s portly dictator has dropped out of sight. Concern is rampant: Is he sick with coronavirus? In a coma? Dead? Whatever his condition, Pete Sweeney discusses the country’s succession problem and its implications for the region.




science and technology

Breakingviews TV: Wall St pay

Goldman Sachs shareholders gave lukewarm approval for CEO David Solomon’s $27.5 mln package. It’s similar to what his peers get, and most of it doesn’t come for at least a year. Still, in a time of economic crisis, eight-digit rewards attract extra scrutiny, John Foley suggests.




science and technology

Breakingviews TV: CETWon

Shares in Europe’s top banks have plunged as investors fret about a surge in bad debts. Yet most lenders’ capital buffers can absorb a spike three times as bad as the 2009 average. As Liam Proud explains, that makes taxpayer bailouts and widespread equity hikes unlikely.




science and technology

Breakingviews TV: Cable Cowboy

U.S. billionaire John Malone may merge his Virgin Media broadband outfit with mobile operator O2. A joint venture could see Spain’s Telefonica, O2’s indebted parent, pocketing over 4 billion pounds. Ed Cropley explains how this might mean a lonelier future for rival Vodafone.




science and technology

Breakingviews TV: Debt games

Could President Trump refuse to pay back the $1.1 trln the U.S. owes to China? While markets would hate the idea, it’s theoretically possible thanks to broad powers designed for times of emergency. John Foley explains how this dangerous weapon could be used if push came to shove.




science and technology

Breakingviews TV: China cloud

Kingsoft Cloud will debut on Nasdaq, testing appetite for Chinese shares a month after the Luckin Coffee scandal. Data demand is booming in China amid Covid-19, and Kingsoft is a strong rival to market leader Alibaba. Robyn Mak explains why New York might like this listing.




science and technology

Breakingviews TV: Cord cutting

U.S. cable firms are in for pain even after the pandemic starts to fade. Sports rights to air football games and other matchups are expected to soar and so will monthly bills. Jennifer Saba explains why non-sports lovers will choose Netflix and Disney+ and ditch their cable.




science and technology

Breakingviews TV: Dating apps

Like diseases in the past, the pandemic will change intimacy patterns. Covid-19 will make it harder for lovers to swipe right on platforms like $22 bln Match Group’s Tinder with peace of mind. But more engagement, if fewer hookups, may benefit the model, argues Dasha Afanasieva.




science and technology

Sensex, Nifty rise on Reliance boost, but end week sharply lower

Gains in Reliance Industries boosted Indian shares on Friday, but they ended the week sharply lower as coronavirus cases continued to spiral and markets awaited an economic stimulus.




science and technology

Train kills 16 workers laid-off in coronavirus lockdown

A train killed 16 migrant workers who had fallen asleep on the track on Friday while they were heading back to their home village after losing their jobs in a coronavirus lockdown, police said.




science and technology

Indian court seeks government reply over challenge to mandatory Aarogya Setu app

A court asked the Indian government on Friday to respond to a challenge against its order for compulsory use of a contact tracing app by public and private sector employees returning to work amid the world's biggest coronavirus lockdown.




science and technology

Police file homicide complaint against LG Chem after deadly leak

Indian police have filed a culpable homicide complaint against an LG Chem subsidiary over a toxic gas leak at its chemical plant in the south of the country that killed 11 people and forced 800 into hospital for treatment from poisoning.




science and technology

India equity mutual fund inflows halve in April as coronavirus keep investors away

Inflows into India's equity mutual funds nearly halved in April, industry data showed, as many investors rattled by stock market volatility due to the new coronavirus and the impact of a lockdown on the economy chose to stay away.




science and technology

India government sharply increases borrowing, markets watch RBI

The Indian government plans to borrow 12 trillion rupees ($160 billion) in the fiscal year to March 2021, up from the previously budgeted 7.8 trillion rupees to cushion the blow from the new coronavirus pandemic, it said on Friday.




science and technology

India mounts huge airlift to return stranded citizens home

Doctors in hazmat suits ran temperature checks on passengers at Delhi airport and bags were disinfected as the first group of Indians returned home on special flights from Singapore and the Gulf on Friday since a sweeping lockdown was imposed in March.




science and technology

Police clash with crowds in Ahmedabad after stricter lockdown

Some residents frustrated over a strict coronavirus lockdown in Ahmedabad, the largest city in Gujarat, hurled stones and were met with teargas in clashes with paramilitary forces on Friday.




science and technology

No warning, no escape as deadly gas swept through Andhra Pradesh village

When gas began leaking from a nearby chemical factory and drifting towards his house in southern India, there were no warnings and no alarms, welder Elamanchili Venkatesh said.




science and technology

Cricket: India ready for quarantine in Australia to help tour proceed - official

India captain Virat Kohli and his team mates would be ready to spend two weeks in quarantine in Australia if that helped the tour go ahead as planned later this year, a top official of the Indian board has said.




science and technology

Amid ruins of a Syrian town, Ramadan meal reunites a community

Amid mounds of rubble and the ruins of buildings destroyed during nearly a decade of war, a Ramadan iftar meal has reunited a community in northwestern Syria.




science and technology

Working women, and especially single moms, are hit hard by coronavirus downturn

Before she was laid off from her bartending job in Charleston, South Carolina, Shana Swain used to spend her nights serving food and mixing Manhattans and Cosmopolitans.




science and technology

Magic of playing in packed stadiums will be missed, says Virat Kohli

The magical atmosphere will be missing if the cricket season currently stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic resumes in empty stadiums, India captain Virat Kohli has said.




science and technology

Kuwait imposes 20-day 'total curfew' from May 10 to curb coronavirus

Kuwait will enact a "total curfew" from 4pm (1300 GMT) on Sunday through to May 30 to help to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, its cabinet said in a statement on Friday.




science and technology

New York governor says 5-year old died from rare COVID-related complications

A 5-year old boy has died in New York from a rare inflammatory syndrome believed to be linked to the novel coronavirus, highlighting a potential new risk for children in the pandemic, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Friday.




science and technology

Coronavirus inflicts huge U.S. job losses as pandemic breaches White House walls

The U.S. government reported more catastrophic economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis on Friday as the pandemic pierced the very walls of the White House and California gave the green light for its factories to restart after a seven-week lockdown.




science and technology

Pence spokeswoman, married to top Trump adviser, diagnosed with coronavirus

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary, the wife of one of President Donald Trump's senior advisers, has tested positive for the coronavirus, raising alarm about the virus' potential spread within the White House's inner most circle.




science and technology

Protesters demand closure of LG Polymers plant in Andhra Pradesh after toxic gas leak

Villagers placed the bodies of three victims of a deadly gas leak from an LG Polymers plant in Andhra Pradesh at the gates of the site on Saturday, and demanded the factory be shut down immediately and its top management arrested.




science and technology

Migrant workers throw stones at police in Gujarat in protest against lockdown

Hundreds of migrant workers in Gujarat have clashed for a second day with authorities, hurling stones at police trying to enforce a lockdown to stem the spread of coronavirus.




science and technology

More than 1,000 queue for food in rich Geneva amid virus shutdown

More than 1,000 people queued up on Saturday to get free food parcels in Geneva, underscoring the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on the working poor and undocumented immigrants even in wealthy Switzerland.




science and technology

Golf-Daly sorry as vodka and Coke COVID-19 cure joke falls flat

John Daly, known as "Wild Thing" during his heyday on the PGA Tour, has said he was only trying to get some laughs when he jokingly said this month that a bottle of vodka and some Diet Coke is the cure for COVID-19.




science and technology

Golf-Ryder Cup may have to 'take one for team' and go ahead without fans: Harrington

Staging this year's Ryder Cup without fans is not in the event's best interests but it might have to "take one for the team" and proceed that way amid the COVID-19 crisis, Team Europe captain Padraig Harrington told The Times newspaper.




science and technology

CORRECTED-Golf-Tokyo Olympic qualifying extended into June next year

Qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic golf tournament will be extended to June 2021 to accommodate the year-long delay caused by the coronavirus outbreak, the International Golf Federation (IGF) said on Wednesday.




science and technology

Golf-LPGA targets mid-July start for 2020 season

The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is hoping to get the 2020 season under way with the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational from July 15-18, the start of what will be a busy second half of the year.




science and technology

UPDATE 1-Golf-LPGA targets mid-July start for 2020 season

The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is hoping to get the 2020 season under way with the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational from July 15-18, the start of what will be a busy second half of the year.




science and technology

Golf-PGA Tour extends exempt player membership to next season

The PGA Tour will extend its exempt player membership status into next season due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has interrupted this year's schedule, it said on Thursday.




science and technology

Golf-From Masters to Maleny: Scott live-streams round on country course

Former world number one Adam Scott put a rustic country golf course on the map on Friday after live-streaming a nine-hole round in the Sunshine Coast hinterland in Australia's northeastern state of Queensland.




science and technology

Sport-On this day: Born May 4, 1989: Rory McIlroy, Northern Irish golfer

The North of Ireland Amateur Open in 2005 was not an event expected to produce much glamour, but a 16-year-old Rory McIlroy was dressed to impress.