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Bitcoin topped $60,000 for the first time in six months on Friday, nearing its all-time high, as hopes grew that U.S. regulators would allow a futures-based exchange-traded fund (ETF), a move likely to open the path to wider investment in digital assets. Cryptocurrency investors have been waiting for approval of …

France on Friday stopped offering COVID-19 tests free of charge for everyone, in the government’s latest effort to incite holdouts to get vaccinated against the virus. A recent negative test, proof of recovery, or full vaccination is needed to get a health pass which is required for access to cafes, …

British health officials said Friday that an estimated 43,000 people may have been wrongly told they don’t have the coronavirus because of problems at a private laboratory. The UK Health Security Agency said a lab in Wolverhampton, central England, has been suspended from processing test swabs after reports of false …

South Korean police have arrested four people for allegedly installing hidden cameras in the rooms of an entire motel and attempting to extort money from the hundreds of guests who were filmed. The suspects filmed for months and tried to blackmail some guests with threats to release their videos but …

Boeing Co said on Thursday that some titanium 787 Dreamliner parts were improperly manufactured over the past three years, the latest in a series of problems to plague the wide-body aircraft. The quality issue does not affect the immediate safety of flights, the company said, adding it had notified the …

A bipartisan group of lawmakers, headed by Senators Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, and Republican Chuck Grassley, plan to introduce a bill that would bar Big Tech platforms, like Amazon and Alphabet’s Google, from favoring their products and services. Amazon, for example, has been accused of using data from third-party sellers …

Greece and Egypt have clinched an agreement that sets the stage for an undersea cable that will transmit power produced by renewables from North Africa to Europe, the first such infrastructure in the Mediterranean. Greek Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas and his Egyptian counterpart, Mohamed Shaker, signed a memorandum of understanding …

The World Health Organization said on Wednesday its newly formed advisory group on dangerous pathogens may be “our last chance” to determine the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and urged China to provide data from early cases. The first human cases of COVID-19 were reported in the central Chinese city …

Facebook Inc will now count activists and journalists as “involuntary” public figures and so increase protections against harassment and bullying targeted at these groups, its global safety chief said in an interview this week. The social media company, which allows more critical commentary of public figures than of private individuals, …

Researchers in the Netherlands are developing laser technology to enable “virtually painless” injections without needles in what they call a breakthrough that will ease fear and lower the threshold for vaccinations. The “Bubble Gun” uses a laser to push tiny droplets through the outer layer of the skin, said David …

A massive fire broke out in the main hall of the El Gouna Film Festival site in Egypt on Wednesday, one day ahead of the opening ceremony of the fifth edition, according to social media videos and local media reports. The festival will go on as scheduled on Thursday, organizers …

The World Health Organization is awaiting full clinical data on the antiviral pill made by Merck & Co Inc to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 patients, a WHO spokesperson said on Tuesday, a day after the company said it had applied for US emergency use authorization. WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier, asked at …

Russia has angrily rejected a recent allegation in a British tabloid that it has stolen and used the design for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to develop its Sputnik V shot. The British tabloid newspaper The Sun published an article on Monday accusing Russia of having “stolen… the vaccine blueprint and crucial …

Merck & Co Inc said on Monday it has applied for emergency use authorization in the US for its oral drug to treat mild-to-moderate patients of COVID-19. The treatment, molnupiravir, has been developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. If authorized, it would be the first oral antiviral medication. Data released last week …

The United States will accept the use by international visitors of COVID-19 vaccines authorized by US regulators or the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said late on Friday. On Sept. 20, the White House announced the United States in November would lift travel restrictions on …

From flashing lights and booming speakers to sprawling stages and a Ferris wheel, Tesla’s factory near Berlin has been transformed into a festival site for a one-day county fair on Saturday, hosted by CEO Elon Musk. The fair, expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors with Brandenburg locals are …

Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov, journalists whose work has angered the rulers of the Philippines and Russia, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, an award the committee said was an endorsement of free speech rights under threat worldwide. The two were awarded “for their courageous fight for freedom …

Iraq signed an agreement with a consortium led by Norway’s Scatec to build a 525-megawatt solar project, the oil ministry said on Thursday. Iraqi oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said the value of the agreement stood at around $500 million. The consortium also includes Egypt’s Orascom Construction and Iraqi private …

COVID-19 aid supplies have arrived in North Korea but are being held in quarantine in its seaport of Nampho, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday, as the isolated nation shows few signs of easing strict border lockdowns. North Korea sealed its borders when the coronavirus pandemic began last …

India will reopen for tourists from October 15 after being closed for more than a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the government said Thursday. “After considering various inputs, the MHA (home ministry) has decided to begin granting fresh Tourist Visas for foreigners coming to India through chartered flights with …