Microsoft Corp. said on Friday it would create its first datacentre region in Italy under a $1.5 billion investment plan as the U.S. company expands its cloud computing services to more locations across the world.

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.

U.S. tech giants such as Facebook and Amazon could face tougher rules as European Union regulators seek evidence to curb their role as gatekeepers to the internet and access to people, information and services, according to an EU tender seen by Reuters.

Tesla Inc has not been allowed to resume operations at its California vehicle factory as local lockdown measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus remain in effect, a county health official said on Friday.

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.

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.

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.

Moderna Inc and Swiss contract drugmaker Lonza Group AG said on Friday they would accelerate the manufacturing of the U.S. drug developer's potential coronavirus vaccine.

In the battle against coronavirus, Swiss soldiers are using smartphones to test a new contact tracing application that could prevent infections while also protecting users' privacy.

Coronavirus patients with light symptoms arriving to stay at several Tokyo hotels are likely to get a lift from a pleasant surprise - a robot greeter in the lobby.

The following is a brief roundup 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.

China on Tuesday successfully launched its largest carrier rocket, which was carrying a new-generation spacecraft, state broadcaster CCTV said.

The Trump administration is drafting a legal blueprint for mining on the moon under a new U.S.-sponsored international agreement called the Artemis Accords, people familiar with the proposed pact told Reuters.

A llama called Winter could prove useful in the hunt for a treatment for COVID-19, according to U.S. and Belgian scientists who have identified a tiny particle that appears to block the new coronavirus.

The following is a brief roundup 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.

At an outer suburban manufacturing plant, engineer Byron Kennedy is resetting a machine to spray-print a layer of copper on to a door handle, aiming to use the metal's antiviral properties to counter the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hydrogen has long been touted as a clean alternative to fossil fuels. Now, as major economies prepare green investments to kickstart growth, advocates spy a golden chance to drag the niche energy into the mainstream of a post-pandemic world.

The following is a brief roundup 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.

Six-times world champion Sebastien Loeb cruised to an easy victory in the Rally of Mexico on Sunday to move top of the drivers' standings after two races.

Team RadioShack rider Gert Steegmans broke his left collarbone when a whirlwind caused him to crash during the prologue of the Paris-Nice race on Sunday.

REUTERS - Davis Cup world group first round scores between Chile and Israel in Coquimbo on Monday (* denotes new result).

Triple jump champion Phillips Idowu has pulled out of this week's world indoor championships in Doha after the late arrival of his baby son disrupted his preparations.

The Cleveland Cavaliers overcame the absence of LeBron James to earn a 97-95 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.

Australian Olympic and world champion Steve Hooker turned his first indoor pole vault of the year into an easy qualifier at the IAAF world championships on Friday.

European Union governments gave 14 states the go-ahead on Monday to simplify divorce rules for couples of different nationalities.

Justin Bieber and his wife Hailey Baldwin are opening up in an intimate series for Facebook Watch in which they discuss their marriage, their problems and their lives together.

Author Stephenie Meyer thrilled fans of her best-selling "Twilight" novels on Monday by announcing she will release a prequel that explores the characters' love story from the perspective of vampire Edward Cullen.

Londoners locked out of galleries can find an alternative art fix on a wall under under some railway arches after street artist Lionel Stanhope painted a Caravaggio classic, updated for the coronavirus age.

Action star Tom Cruise is working on a movie shot in outer space, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said on Tuesday.

Philippine legislators pushed on Wednesday to get the country's biggest broadcaster back on air, amid widespread shock and dismay over an order by the industry regulator for the station to cease operations after its 25-year licence expired.

The Men's Milan Fashion Week set for June will be postponed to mid-July and presented in purely digital format with photos and video to avoid the risk of coronavirus contagion, Italy's national fashion chamber said on Wednesday.

While most drama productions around world have stopped shooting during the coronavirus pandemic, a team in Britain headed by Oscar nominee Jeff Pope filmed a series of four short stories for television that are already being aired.

Television can fake it, movie audiences can wear masks, but a live theatre performance like "Romeo and Juliet" needs real actors kissing and fighting rivals in front of real people.

The real chief of the U.S. Space Force said on Wednesday he had hoped actor Bruce Willis would have played him on the upcoming Netflix show lampooning the military's newest branch of service - instead of comic actor Steve Carell.

Paris will hold a men's fashion week in virtual format from July 9 to July 13 for the Men Spring/Summer collections 2021, organisers said on Wednesday.

Some of the top creative minds at Mexican broadcaster Televisa are puzzling over an unexpected challenge: crafting their signature soap operas without a single love scene, or even a tender kiss.

Nigerian comedian Maryam Apaokagi has a sure-fire way of getting people to listen to her coronavirus health advice - she delivers it with a hard slap in the face.

Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins will stream a concert from an empty Royal Albert Hall on Friday evening, as locked-down Britain marks the 75th anniversary of "Victory in Europe" Day.

Magician Roy Horn, who alongside Siegfried Fischbacher starred in a popular, long-running Las Vegas act built around rare tigers, died on Friday from of complications of COVID-19, the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper reported. He was 75.

Wirecard Chief Executive Markus Braun apologised to shareholders on Friday as the company announced a reshuffle of its management board and appointed a new compliance officer, days after the hedge fund TCI demanded Braun's removal.

The U.S. Postal Service on Friday said its losses more than doubled to $4.5 billion in the quarter ending in March and warned the economic slowdown spurred by the spread of COVID-19 could severely hurt its finances over the next 18 months.

Bitcoin is about to undergo a scheduled technical adjustment as the number of new coins awarded 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.

(This May 7 story changes monthly to weekly in paragraph 35)

The U.S. economy lost a staggering 20.5 million jobs in April, the steepest plunge in payrolls since the Great Depression, laying bare both the economic and human tragedy wrought by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc has secured a new year-long $600 million revolving credit line, a regulatory filing showed https://bit.ly/2SOtm6L on Friday, as the restaurant chain looks to deal with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fed funds futures market is pricing in negative U.S. interest rates next year, a scenario the Federal Reserve has said it wants to avoid as many doubt that it would be an effective tool to stimulate growth.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he was "very torn" about whether to end the so-called Phase 1 U.S.-China trade deal, just hours after top trade officials from both countries pledged to press ahead with implementing it despite coronavirus economic wreckage.

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.

Pfizer Inc said on Friday it is in talks to shift more of its medicine production to outside contractors as it prepares for large-scale production of an experimental vaccine to prevent COVID-19, should it prove safe and effective.

A week packed with U.S. economic data is likely to provide investors with more evidence of the extent to which the coronavirus pandemic has hit growth, sharpening the debate on whether a rebound in stocks has been justified amid an unprecedented slowdown.