Reuters Breakingviews examines how Washington’s new paradigm on China is affecting Silicon Valley, from overseas investments to intellectual property protection to trade.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Monday that Britain was in a mess, warning that neither his own Labour Party nor the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, deserved to win a Dec. 12 election.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair called on the UK to 'rebuild sensible mainstream politics' in the future.

Tony Blair Reuters Newsmaker event on 'The challenging state of British politics’.

Three Indian soldiers were killed in a gunbattle with militants in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir on Monday, a day after a similar incident in which five were killed.

Officials in India's capital imposed a special tax of 70% on retail liquor purchases from Tuesday, to deter large gatherings at stores as authorities ease a six-week lockdown imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

One of Bangladesh's largest drugmakers, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, will start production this month of the experimental antiviral drug remdesivir, which has shown promise in fighting the new coronavirus, a senior company executive said on Tuesday.

Pakistan has raised concerns with the United Arab Emirates that many citizens were returning home from the Gulf Arab state infected with COVID-19 and that crowded living conditions for workers in the UAE may be helping spread the virus, officials said on Tuesday.

Afghanistan's government began distributing free bread to hundreds of thousands of people across the country this week as supplies have been disrupted during the coronavirus shutdown and prices have soared, officials and experts said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Tuesday that the Taliban were not living up to their commitments under an agreement signed this year, amid signs the fragile deal is under strain by a political deadlock and increasing Taliban violence.

Afghan security forces arrested eight members of a network grouping Islamic State and Haqqani militants responsible for bloody attacks in the capital including on Sikh worshippers, the country's security agency said on Wednesday.

Pakistan's finance ministry will share part of the risk banks face in lending to struggling small businesses, in a bid to protect jobs in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the central bank said on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka's central bank cut its benchmark interest rates by a further 50 basis points on Wednesday, its third reduction since the coronavirus crisis struck there in March.

Indian troops killed four militants in gun battles in Kashmir on Wednesday, including the commander of the biggest separatist group fighting New Delhi, a police official said, triggering clashes across the disputed region that left dozens injured.

The U.S. special envoy on Afghanistan is on a mission to press Taliban negotiators in Doha and officials in India and Pakistan to support reduced violence, speeding up intra-Afghan peace talks and cooperating on the coronavirus pandemic, the State Department said on Wednesday.

Pakistan's cabinet has declined to include a religious sect that rights group says suffers widespread persecution in a newly formed commission for minorities, after opposition from conservatives in the government, officials said on Thursday.

Pakistan will begin lifting its coronavirus lockdown on Saturday, Prime Minister Imran Khan said, hours after the country announced its highest daily increase in new cases.

More than a third of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Afghan capital have been among doctors and other healthcare staff, two senior health officials said on Thursday, in a sign that the war-torn country is struggling to deal with the pandemic.

Seven people were killed when protesters angry over what they see as unfair food aid distribution during the coronavirus pandemic clashed with police in Afghanistan's western Ghor province on Saturday, according to a local member of parliament.

Indigenous elders from Alaska to Australia have come together to deliver some tough love in a new film for Earth Day. Francis Maguire reports.

Shell has raised the environmental stakes among major oil and gas producers with plans to dramatically reduce the carbon impact of its business.

Local NGOs are working hard to plant seedlings over thousands of square miles of deforested land in Brazil.

Young German climate-strikers on Friday (April 24) got creative with their social distancing, set up hundreds of cardboard cutouts to represent protesters taking part in the Fridays for Future demonstration.

One has been promoting environmental regulation for decades, while the other is bent on dismantling such policies. It makes for clear battle lines in the upcoming presidential election.

Sorry. A short dip in carbon emissions won’t save the planet after all. Things may even get worse, say the experts.

Storks are famous in folklore for delivering human babies to their parents. Conservationists are looking to return the favour with the imminent hatching of several white stork eggs on a 'rewilding' estate in southern England - as the coronavirus outbreak provides a noticeable boost for some wildlife.

BMW expects the coronavirus pandemic to hit demand and earnings throughout this year, while Volkswagen sees some green shoots with higher Chinese demand. Francis Maguire reports.

Facebook's new content oversight board will include a former prime minister, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and several constitutional law experts and rights advocates in its first 20 members.

U.S. private employers laid off a record 20.236 million workers in April as mandatory business closures in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak savaged the economy. Fred Katayama reports

Wealth Enhancement Group's Nicole Webb says small cap stocks make good bets emerging from a recession but not amid the current market volatility.

The S&P 500 and the Dow fell on Wednesday but the Nasdaq ended higher. The indexes pulled back late in the session after U.S. President Donald Trump said China may or may not keep a trade deal between the two countries. Fred Katayama reports.

Japan's Nintendo said Thursday it sold 21 million Switch units in the year ended March, smashing its forecast of 19.5 million units, with hit title Animal Crossing: New Horizons shifting 13.4 million units in its first six weeks. Ciara Lee reports

The Bank of England says the UK faces its worst slump in 300 years, but on Thursday held off from any moves on rates or bond buying. Julian Satterthwaite reports.

Air France-KLM and jet engine maker Rolls-Royce are considering job cuts as lockdowns take a toll on first-quarter earnings. Francis Maguire reports.

Payne Capital Management's Courtney Dominguez says the high level of investor pessimism indicates the markets may have bottomed. She says savings could make their way into stocks.

H&M, the world's second-biggest fashion retailer, said local currency sales have tumbled 57% since the start of March compared with a year ago. Ciara Lee reports

Neiman Marcus Group filed for bankruptcy protection on Thursday, marking one of the highest-profile collapses yet among retailers forced to temporarily close stores in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Freddie Joyner has more.

The steep plunge in U.S. payrolls caused by the pandemic also slammed the healthcare sector, as many workers in dentists' and doctors' offices lost their jobs. Fred Katayama reports.

Stocks on Wall Street jumped Friday despite historic job losses suffered by the economy. Fred Katayama reports.

Guinness World Records has named a South African restaurant as the official titleholder for 'Most Varieties of Milkshakes Commercially Available'.

"Mad Mike" Hughes, a self-styled explorer and daredevil bent on proving that the earth is flat was killed over the weekend when his homemade rocket crashed in the California desert over the weekend.

Air travelers cannot receive cash compensation if their flight is delayed by a passenger biting others and assaulting crew members, an adviser at the Court of Justice of the European Union said on Thursday.

Belgian waffles may be about to become more environmentally friendly.

The growls from the caged hyena reverberate through the room as Mohamed Sheikh Yakub slumps silently in a chair nearby, hoping the animal will frighten away the evil spirits he says have troubled him since his divorce.

A hedge fund manager in Hong Kong has publicly apologised after a parody video of him licking his finger and wiping it on a hand rail in a metro car went viral, sparking anger in the city which is grappling to contain an outbreak of the new coronavirus.

(This March 17 story corrects stock symbol of Zoom to ZM.O, not ZOOM.PK in the last paragraph)

Gerson Monje holds up his cellphone to proudly show off his online sex shop. A red banner reading "sold out!" is plastered across half of the products.

With potato farmers and processors struggling, Belgians are being urged to eat more fries to offset a slump in demand during the coronavirus pandemic.

Volunteers clad as Superman and Spider-Man sprayed disinfectant against the coronavirus on Indonesia's island of Java, flanking a colleague wearing the winged helmet of local superhero Gatotkaca who shouted, "Wear masks, wash hands and stay alert."

Chewy and Miley, both two-year-old Schnauzer dogs, are getting their hair cut at a groomer in Bangkok for the first time since the new coronavirus outbreak began in Thailand in January.