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Oil prices jumped on Thursday, as signs the U.S. crude glut was not growing as quickly as many had feared brought an upbeat close to one of the most volatile months for oil trading in history. Fuel demand worldwide slumped about 30% in April. Even after major oil producers led …

The eurozone economy shrank at the sharpest pace on record in the first quarter as the Covid-19 pandemic forced countries into lockdown. The first estimate of GDP between January and March showed a contraction of 3.8%, worse than during the financial crisis. Separate figures revealed a steep fall in economic …

The Lebanese governments endorsed an economic reform plan on Thursday aimed at dealing with the nation’s deepening financial crisis, President Michel Aoun said. “Today is a historic day because for the first time an economic and financial plan has been endorsed after a lack of planning and prospects almost brought …

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has bypassed parliamentary scrutiny and given new powers to the UK security and intelligence organization, GCHQ, to allow it to obtain information from public-health IT systems until the end of 2020. The National Health Service (NHS) has been instructed by Hancock to hand over information to …

France experienced the most severe economic contraction since the Second World War in the first quarter of this year, in light of the Corona crisis, official data showed Thursday. The French statistics agency said that France’s gross domestic product contracted by 5.8% in the first quarter of 2020 compared to …

Luxury carmaker Ferrari said on Thursday it would restart operations at its Maranello and Modena plants on May 4, when Italy is set to start lifting lockdown measures. The two facilities, both located in Italy’s northern Emilia-Romagna region, have been closed since mid-March when Rome imposed curbs on people’s movements …

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to authorize the emergency use of remdesivir to treat those infected with the coronavirus. The experimental antiviral drug is being tested on patients as a treatment for Covid-19. Both Dr. Anthony Fauci and President Donald Trump have expressed optimism about early results from …

A new antibody test to check whether someone has been infected with coronavirus, and said to be 99 per cent accurate, has been certified for use across Europe. Global diagnostics specialists Abbott, which has a UK base in Maidenhead, has said it is expecting to have shipped millions of the …

Despite infecting more than 3 million people around the world, there are still 33 countries and territories that have yet to report a single case of the novel coronavirus. These include Comoros, Lesotho, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and tiny far-flung island nations in the Pacific such as Nauru, Kiribati, and the Solomon …

Police are trying to find a person who dressed as a 17th-century plague doctor on their walks during the coronavirus outbreak. Residents in a Norwich suburb have spotted someone strolling around in a long black cloak, hat and pointed beak-like mask over the past few weeks. They posted on a …

Saudi Arabia has its eyes on claiming a greater slice of the English Premier League once its takeover of Newcastle United Football Club is approved. Riyadh is determined to get even more lucrative TV rights to air Premier League matches. All the paperwork for the takeover of Newcastle United is …

British health workers are getting a taste of Iraqi cuisine whilst fighting the coronavirus pandemic. Philip Juma, the British-Iraqi chef renowned for his pop up supper clubs in London, closed his Borough Market spot last month due to the outbreak of Covid-19, but has kept his apron on and is …

In a galaxy billions of light-years away, two gargantuan black holes are trapped in a cosmic dance that routinely unleashes an enormous explosion that’s brighter than one trillion suns. One of the black holes is a complete colossus; weighing in at about 18 billion times more massive than the Sun, …

iMiner, a cryptocurrency company registered in Turkey, has been granted a license to mine digital coins and offer trading and custody services in Iran, Tabnak news website reports. The charter issued by Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade will allow the company to operate with a computing power of …

Irrfan Khan, the wide-eyed actor who enjoyed art house acclaim in his native India and crossover-success with Hollywood roles including “Life of Pi,” “Jurassic World” and “Inferno,” died on Wednesday. He was 53. Khan, was previously diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour in 2018 and underwent extensive treatment in London. He …

Wall Street looked set to jump at open on Wednesday after Gilead Sciences (GILD.O) reported an encouraging update on a potential COVID-19 treatment, while upbeat earnings reports from Google-parent Alphabet and Boeing boosted the mood. Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD.O) jumped 9.3% in premarket trading after the drugmaker said its experimental …

The coronavirus outbreak is causing a rare stir in the usually staid global tea market, with labour lockdowns stifling supplies just as millions in lockdown drive up demand for the beverage known for its immunity-boosting properties. Five countries – China, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Vietnam – account for 82% …

The Pentagon has released three declassified videos taken by US Navy pilots that appear to show unidentified flying objects (UFO). The black and white videos were recorded during training flights – one in November 2004 and two in January 2015 – and later leaked to the public, the Department of …

Over 1.37 billion Indians have entered the 33rd day of what is being called the world’s largest lockdown as a precaution against the further spread of the coronavirus pandemic. As total COVID-19 cases have exceeded the 29,000 marks, a lockdown extension after 3 May has been demanded by state chiefs, …

Oil prices fell on Tuesday with U.S. crude leading the decline, falling about 3% as domestic stockpiles were expected to have risen closer to record highs amid tightening storage despite plans to cut production. However, the markets were supported on hopes of demand recovering as across the world, governments announced …