Pfizer in talks with India over expedited approval for COVID-19 vaccine
Pfizer is in discussions with the Indian government seeking an “expedited approval pathway” for its COVID-19 vaccine, its CEO Albert Bourla said on LinkedIn on Monday, announcing a donation of medicines worth more than $70 million. “Unfortunately, our vaccine is not registered in India although our application was submitted months ago,” he said. “We are […]
Taiwan bars arrivals from India amid coronavirus crisis
Taiwan will bar from Tuesday the entry of people who have been to India over the previous 14 days, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said, the latest place to enforce curbs on travel from coronavirus-battered India. The Indian variant of the virus has reached at least 17 countries, including Britain, Iran and Switzerland, spurring several to […]
New Zealand PM Ardern says travel bubble with Cook Islands to start on May 17
New Zealand will start quarantine free travel with Cook Islands on May 17, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at a press conference on Monday. “Two way quarantine-free travel is a significant step in both countries’ COVID-19 recovery, and a direct result of both New Zealand and the Cook Islands’ successful response to the pandemic,” Ardern […]
Online share of retail sales jumps to 19% amid lockdowns – UN
Online sales accounted for nearly a fifth of total retail turnover last year as lockdowns to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic fuelled a boom in e-commerce, a United Nations study released on Monday showed. Online sales accounted for 19% of overall retail sales in 2020, up from 16% a year earlier, according to […]
Australia job ads rise 4.7% in April as demand for labour stays strong
Australian job advertisements climbed for an 11th straight month in April to reach their highest in 12 years, suggesting strong demand for labour will withstand the removal of some government emergency support programmes. Monday’s figures from Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ.AX) showed total job ads grew 4.7% in April from March, when they rose 7.8%. […]
Dollar stays firm as traders look to U.S. data for policy cues
The dollar clung to a recent bounce on Monday as investors made a cautious start to a week crammed with central bank meetings and big-ticket U.S. economic data, waiting for clues on the outlook for global inflation and for policymakers’ responses. Trade was thinned by holidays in Japan and China, which kept a lid on […]
Hundreds of boats line up on Lake Geneva in border art project
Hundreds of boats lined up across Lake Geneva on Sunday in an artistic representation of the border between Switzerland and France that runs for 59 km (36.7 miles) down the middle of the waterway. The “Brief Alignment” project was envisioned by Lausanne architect Bastian Marzoli as a collective performance to reflect on the nature of […]
Spanish aficionados return to Madrid bullring for first time since pandemic
Carrying red and yellow flowers to show bullfighting is a symbol of Spanish culture, thousands of aficionados cheered on matadors who returned to Madrid’s Las Ventas bullring on Sunday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Wearing mandatory face masks and sitting in fumigated seats separated by stickers, fans watched matadors take on […]
English music-lovers party like it’s 2019 at COVID pilot festival
Live music returned to the birthplace of The Beatles after a long coronavirus-enforced silence on Sunday when the English city of Liverpool hosted a one-off music festival to test whether such events spread the virus. Around 5,000 people ditched face coverings and social distancing rules in the name of science and music. They attended the […]
Italy unveils new hi-tech floor design for Colosseum area
The ancient Roman Colosseum is once again going to have a floor thanks to a new, hi-tech project announced by the culture ministry on Sunday. “It is an extraordinary project,” said Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, detailing the plans to create a flexible floor to give tourists a clearer idea of how the arena would have […]
