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NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — US department store JCPenney, which has not turned a profit since 2011, on Friday became the latest American retailer to be pushed into bankruptcy by the coronavirus pandemic. The iconic business said it was filing for Chapter 11, a mechanism which allows a company that can no longer pay its debts to restructure. The group, based in Plano, Texas, will close some stores across the US as a […]
by Nina LARSON Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Trade Organization chief announced Thursday he will step down on August 31, a year before his term ends, despite the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the global economy. Roberto Azevedo said it had been a “personal decision” reached with his family, and stressed that he was not leaving to pursue “political opportunities”. “This is a decision that I do not take lightly,” Azevedo told […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s government said Thursday it wants to lift a state of emergency declared over the coronavirus in most of the country, though not yet the capital Tokyo and other urban centers. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier this month extended a nationwide state of emergency until the end of May. But with infections sharply down, his government is now hoping to lift the measure early in up to 39 of the country’s […]
by Rob Lever Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON DC, United States (AFP) — In a world suddenly fearful of touch, voice technology is getting a fresh look. Voice-activated systems such as Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Apple’s Siri have seen strong growth in recent years, and the virus pandemic could accelerate that, analysts say. Voice assistants are not only answering queries and shopping, but also being used for smart home control and for a range of business and […]
by Philippe RATER Agence France Presse The United States on Friday stunned other members of the UN Security Council by preventing a vote on a resolution for a ceasefire in various conflicts around the world to help troubled nations better fight the coronavirus pandemic, diplomats said. Washington’s reversal came a day after it agreed to the text, negotiators said under cover of anonymity. “The United States cannot support the current draft,” the country’s delegation […]
by Amélie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS with AFP bureaus Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — China reported its first cases of the new coronavirus in December. But was COVID-19 already silently circulating? To find out scientists are looking for “patient zeros” by tracking the evolution of the virus itself. This genetic detective work is tracing the family tree of the coronavirus that has killed tens of thousands in its relentless spread across the planet. It could also help find out if […]
by Ivan Couronne Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON DC, United States (AFP) NASA and SpaceX said Friday they were pressing ahead with plans to launch astronauts to space from US soil for the first time in nearly a decade later on this month, despite the coronavirus pandemic. Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, both veterans of the Space Shuttle program that was shuttered in 2011, will blast off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on May […]
by Claire LEE Agence France Presse North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has made his first public appearance in nearly three weeks, state media reported Saturday, following intense speculation that the leader of the nuclear-armed nation was seriously ill or possibly dead. State television showed Kim walking, smiling broadly and smoking a cigarette at what the North said was the opening of a fertiliser factory on Friday in Sunchon, north of Pyongyang. Rumours about Kim’s […]
by Sebastian Smith, with AFP bureaus Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump has said he has seen evidence the new coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab, an assertion that threatened on Friday to turn a global health emergency into a diplomatic crisis. The US president’s statement was immediately undermined by intelligence officials and top diplomat Mike Pompeo, who said: “We don’t know precisely where it began.” But the […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia will consider early easing of coronavirus restrictions next week, officials announced Friday, as the number of local cases dwindled and the economic impact of the crisis fell into painful relief. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the national cabinet would meet on May 8 — a week earlier than expected — to weigh loosening social distancing measures that have kept millions of Australians at home, barred almost all travel and slowed […]
by Olga SHYLENKO Agence France-Presse KIEV, Ukraine (AFP) — Yuriy Otruba was preparing for his sixth scientific expedition to Antarctica when the coronavirus pandemic hit, shutting borders, grounding flights and locking down countries he needed to travel through. After repeated trips since 2009, the 34-year-old Ukrainian scientist feared this year’s journey would be impossible due to strict lockdown measures imposed throughout the world to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The journey from Kiev to the Akademik Vernadsky […]
(Eagle News) – The Department of Agriculture said that the country’s rice “supply remains on the optimistic side” as it projects a 94-day buffer stock by the end of December 2020. Agriculture Secretary William Dar said that by the end of the year, the country will have a rice inventory of 3.27 million metric tons, as he assures the public that there is enough food amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “That means we will have […]
