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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Scientists have solved a lingering mystery about koala behavior - how these tree-dwelling marsupials native to Australia consume enough water to live.

The days of English football's once notorious drinking culture are long gone and few professionals would now list the once obligatory 'steak and chips' as their favourite meal but things are moving to a different level entirely when it comes to what players used to call 'looking after yourself'.

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.

Astronomers have spotted the closest black hole to Earth ever discovered and are surprised about its living arrangements - residing harmoniously with two stars in a remarkable celestial marriage that may end in a nasty breakup.

BP Plc has won Australian government backing for a feasibility study into producing hydrogen using wind and solar power to split water and converting the hydrogen to ammonia in Western Australia.

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.

The last "supermoon" of 2020 rose in the night sky on Thursday over a world beginning to re-emerge after weeks of coronavirus-related lockdowns.

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.

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 - Men's tennis world rankings on Monday (last week's rankings in brackets):

REUTERS - Women's tennis world rankings on Monday (last week's rankings in brackets):

Tournament favourites Australia advanced into the semi-finals of the men's hockey World Cup on Monday after they beat Pakistan 2-1 in a pulsating match to finish top of Pool B.

New Zealand's Greg Henderson won the 201.5-km first stage of Paris-Nice between St Arnoult-en-Yvelines and Contres on Monday.

The WTA said a new, reduced sponsorship agreement with Sony Ericsson in which the mobile handset maker loses its naming rights to the women's tennis Tour would give the governing body greater flexibility to grow.

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.

Tour de France champion Alberto Contador lost time on the leaders and suffered a painful knock to his leg when he crashed towards the end of the first stage of Paris-Nice on Monday.

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

WBC world heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko will defend his title against Poland's Albert Sosnowski in Schalke's soccer stadium on May 29, the Ukrainian said on Tuesday.

Canada's Erik Guay won the final super-G of the season to snatch the Alpine ski World Cup title on Thursday.

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.

Oscar-winning "Jojo Rabbit" screenwriter Taika Waititi will direct and co-write a new "Star Wars" feature film for theaters, Walt Disney Co said on Monday.

Fox News Media, a unit of Fox Corp, said on Tuesday it has partnered with digital streaming services company Spotify Technology SA to distribute its podcast catalogue featuring more than 20 original series.

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.

Florian Schneider, co-founder of pioneering German electronic band Kraftwerk, which influenced generations of pop and dance musicians with mesmerising tracks such as "Autobahn", has died of cancer aged 73, longtime bandmate Ralf Huetter said.

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.

Bob Dylan is releasing his first album of new music in eight years following a spurt of creativity from the man regarded as one of the world's most influential songwriters.

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.

Equity markets rallied on Friday, hitting weekly highs, and oil prices gained as more governments around the world began gradually reopening their economies and Sino-American trade tensions eased.

Southwest Airlines Co will sell and lease back 20 planes for gross proceeds of about $815 million, the company said in a regulatory filing on Friday.

Major U.S. stock indexes jumped on Friday and logged solid gains for the week after data on historic job losses due to the coronavirus crisis showed they were slightly fewer than feared.

The U.S. government's $660 billion program to rescue small businesses hit by the coronavirus pandemic thwarts the intention of Congress by making it hard for some borrowers to convert loans to grants and failing to prioritize the right businesses, a government watchdog said on Friday.

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.

College sports will not resume until all students are back on campus, NCAA president Mark Emmert said Friday.

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