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5G: Is the U.S. easing up on Huawei?

The U.S. Department of Commerce is close to signing off on a new rule that would allow U.S. companies to work with China’s Huawei Technologies on setting standards for next generation 5G networks, people familiar with the matter said.




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San Diego opera singer swaps concert stage for front porch

Opera singer Victoria Robertson is accustomed to performing on stages much bigger than the five-foot wide front porch of her San Diego home. But with concert venues closed and work at a standstill due to the coronavirus pandemic, she decided to make the most of it.




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Self-driving cars find use in challenging times

After being sidelined as a non-essential business, some self-driving car companies can put their vehicles back on the roads to make food and other deliveries - a win-win scenario that allows them to continue testing their nascent technology.




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Chicken poo is being used for crowd control now

A town in southern Sweden has turned to a traditional source to try to prevent the coronavirus spreading during an annual festive event on Thursday: Chicken manure. Emer McCarthy reports.




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Mumbai lake turns pink with flamingos

Thousands of pink-plumed flamingos were spotted in a lake in India's western Maharashtra state on Friday.




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Reuters Newsmaker: Washington Comes to Silicon Valley

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




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Tories and Labour 'peddling fantasies', says Blair

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair argued that the two major UK parties, Conservative and Labour, are 'peddling fantasies' ahead of the upcoming election.




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Exclusive: Bangladesh's Beximco to begin producing COVID-19 drug remdesivir - COO

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.




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Pakistan concerned at workers returning from UAE with coronavirus

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.




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Pakistan defers probe into private power sector's alleged wrongdoing

Pakistan on Tuesday deferred for two months an inquiry into suspected contract violations by independent power producers which may have cost the national exchequer billions of dollars.




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Taliban not living up to commitments, U.S. Defense Secretary says

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.




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Pakistan government to share lending risk with banks to save jobs in pandemic

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.




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Indian troops kill militants, triggering clashes across Kashmir

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.




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Pakistan to start easing lockdown amid sharp coronavirus spread

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.




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Exclusive: Large number of COVID-19 cases among Afghan medics spark alarm in Kabul

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.




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Bangladesh quarantines hundreds of Rohingya boat people on island: officials

The Bangladesh navy has rescued around 280 Rohingya Muslims from the Bay of Bengal, towing their stranded boat to an island where they will be quarantined as a precaution against the coronavirus, coast guard and naval officials said on Friday.




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Carbon Shift: Big oil is competing on net zero targets

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




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Replanting the Amazon

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




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German youth jazz-up social distancing for climate demo

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.




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BMW cuts outlook, sees coronavirus pain lasting all year

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.




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'Animal Crossing' helps Nintendo smash Switch sales forecast

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




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Bank of England predicts worst slump in 300 years

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.




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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.




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Pessimism might signal upswing for stocks: advisor

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.




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Look for stocks to get range-bound: analyst

Piper Sandler senior technical analyst Craig Johnson says the S&P 500 may trade in a narrow range through the summer before breaking north.




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Biting passengers on flight is no reason for cash compensation delay: EU court adviser

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.




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Hedge fund manager apologizes for wiping saliva on Hong Kong metro rail

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.




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Cats, PJs, alien eyes unwelcome as work video calling boom prompts new etiquette

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




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British vicar catches fire waiting for God's answer

A British vicar got more than he expected from his first attempt at an online sermon when he leaned too close to a candle on a cross and his sweater caught fire.




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Clawing back normality: Bangkok cat cafe reopens after virus shutdown

As Thailand's capital cautiously reopens many restaurants shuttered over coronavirus fears, the feline "employees" of the Caturday Cafe are back at work.




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Lockdown diary: the Italian priest delivering blessings from car speaker

Priest Don Giuseppe Castelvecchio hasn't been able to conduct services in his San Fiorano church for two months. In the town where restrictions are easing, his sermons delivered from a loud speaker in a car are a welcome relief. Joe Davies reports.




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On the hunt for Asian "murder hornets" in Washington

The sting of the Asian giant hornet can kill and that's not just an expression of speech. Since their discovery in 2019 in the US, traps have been set to see if Asian giant "murder hornets" have settled in the state. Libby Hogan has more.




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'Full-flower supermoon' rises on world starting to emerge from lockdowns

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.




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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.




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Pro-China and democratic lawmakers scuffle in Hong Kong legislature

Rival lawmakers scuffled in Hong Kong's legislature on Friday in a row over electing the chairman of a key committee, a fresh sign of rising political tension as the coronavirus pandemic tapers off in the Chinese-ruled city. Francesca Lynagh reports.




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5G: Is the U.S. easing up on Huawei?

The U.S. Department of Commerce is close to signing off on a new rule that would allow U.S. companies to work with China’s Huawei Technologies on setting standards for next generation 5G networks, people familiar with the matter said.




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Brazil refuge welcomes eagle hatchling

Brazil's Bela Vista Biological Refuge Veterinarian Pedro Enrrique Ferreira says the Harpy Eagle hatchling born on April 26 only weighs 150 grams now but could one day grow to weigh some 20 pounds.




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Look for stocks to get range-bound: analyst

Piper Sandler senior technical analyst Craig Johnson says the S&P 500 may trade in a narrow range through the summer before breaking north.




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Singapore robot enforces safe distancing among park-goers

Singapore unveiled a four-legged canine-like robot on Friday (May 8) to remind park goers to maintain social distancing.




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No clowning around with masks on Mexico City metro

A campaign in Mexico City to get residents to wear face masks is now reinforced with a new secret weapon: clowns. They're telling metro riders, 'Wear a face mask -- don't be a clown!' as they spray riders' hands with disinfectant. Gavino Garay has more.




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Rescuers capture king cobra in urban Singapore

A king kobra is spotted near a train station in Singapore, animal rescuers were alerted to catch it.




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Beijing gym-goers welcome partial re-open

The grunts, groans and the sound of pulsing music and crashing weights has returned to some of Beijing's gyms after being closed for nearly three months due to the coronavirus outbreak. Ciara Lee reports.




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Robocop-style helmets help Rome airport check passenger temperatures from a distance

Fiumicino is now the first in Europe to use ‘smart helmets’ to check the temperature of travellers - helmets equipped with portable thermoscanners that can screen people for symptoms of the new coronavirus at a safe distance of up to 7 metres.




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Mum and newborn leave hospital after beating COVID-19

A mother who was given a 50 percent survival chance and her newborn baby were discharged from hospital on Monday (May 4) after both fighting COVID-19.




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Schumer: Reopening states without more tests is 'dangerous'

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday said it was 'dangerous' for the Trump administration to pressure states and businesses to 'reopen without a plan for a dramatic increase in testing'.




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Trump 'very happy for' Flynn on news DOJ dropping charges

U.S. President Donald Trump described his former national security adviser Michael Flynn as an 'innocent man' after learning that the U.S. Justice Department on Thursday abruptly sought to drop the criminal charges against Flynn.




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'Full-flower supermoon' rises on world starting to emerge from lockdowns

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.




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Brazil refuge welcomes eagle hatchling

Brazil's Bela Vista Biological Refuge Veterinarian Pedro Enrrique Ferreira says the Harpy Eagle hatchling born on April 26 only weighs 150 grams now but could one day grow to weigh some 20 pounds.




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Singapore robot enforces safe distancing among park-goers

Singapore unveiled a four-legged canine-like robot on Friday (May 8) to remind park goers to maintain social distancing.




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Rescuers capture king cobra in urban Singapore

A king kobra is spotted near a train station in Singapore, animal rescuers were alerted to catch it.