Facebook Inc said on Friday it would allow its workers who are able to work remotely to do so until the end of the year as the coronavirus pandemic forces governments to extend stay-at-home orders to curb the spread of the disease.

Siemens stock surged on Friday after the German engineering company said it was speeding up cost savings to tackle the coronavirus downturn and the flotation of its energy business remained on track.

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.

The Dutch privacy watchdog said on Friday it would investigate how Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, which has become hugely popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, handles the data of millions of young users.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Electric carmaker Tesla Inc has entered into an agreement for a working capital loan of up to 4 billion yuan ($565.51 million) with a lender from China for its Shanghai car plant, according to a regulatory filing 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.

((This April 30 story has been corrected to say Starship can carry more than 100 metric tonnes of cargo, not 100 pounds in paragraph 9. The error occurred in a previous version as well.))

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.

Two NASA astronauts gearing up to ride SpaceX's new space taxi will now be on a mission planned to last more than a month, instead of a week, to help the short-handed crew aboard the International Space Station, the U.S. space agency said on Friday.

The Australian government on Monday set aside A$300 million ($191 million) to jumpstart hydrogen projects with the help of low-cost financing as the country aims to build the industry by 2030, the country's energy minister said on Monday.

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.

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

The Kremlin on Wednesday said a U.S.-proposed legal blueprint for mining on the moon would need to be analysed thoroughly to check if it complies with international law.

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 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.

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 - 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):

Lance Armstrong said he will take on the Tour de France this year as a better cyclist but is unsure if he can close the gap on reigning champion Alberto Contador.

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.

British Lawn Tennis Association president Roger Draper condemned a fifth successive Davis Cup defeat as unacceptable on Monday and called for an immediate inquiry into the humiliating loss to Lithuania.

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.

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.

Police expect to interview Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the next few days over a sexual assault allegation made by a Georgia woman, a local police chief said on Monday.

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