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More than 1.43 million people filed for unemployment benefits for the first time last week, according to new weekly data from the Department of Labor. It’s the second-straight week that the number has risen. The extent of the economic damage wrought by the coronavirus pandemic was further revealed on Thursday, …

A $2.7 billion NASA rover, Perseverance, is scheduled to launch from Florida’s Cape Canaveral at 7:50 a.m. Thursday atop an Atlas V rocket. If all goes well, the rover will land Feb. 18 on Mars on a mission to search for signs of ancient Martian life. “Sitting atop that rocket …

Germany’s economy, Europe’s largest, took a massive hit during the pandemic shutdowns, shrinking by 10.1% percent during the April-June period from the previous quarter as exports and business investment collapsed. It was the biggest drop since quarterly growth figures began being compiled in 1970, the official statistics agency said Thursday. …

Four of the United States’ big tech firms, accounting for nearly a fifth of the S&P 500’s total value, report results on Thursday on the heels of a bruising Congressional hearing to look into alleged abuse of their global dominance. It will be the first time Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc, …

Britain’s AstraZeneca said on Thursday that good data was coming in so far on its vaccine for COVID-19, already in large-scale human trials and widely seen as the front-runner in the race for a shot against the novel coronavirus. The drugmaker, Britain’s most valuable listed company, also announced second-quarter results …

The Ministry of Oil announced the signing of a contract with the Japanese company (GGC) to build an oil refinery with a capacity of 55 thousand barrels per day in Basra, in the south of the country. The ministry said in a statement that the National Iraqi News Agency (NINA) …

Oil prices fell on Tuesday as U.S. lawmakers prepared to wrangle over an economic stimulus package and investors worried about a rise in coronavirus cases worldwide. Brent crude futures fell 19 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $43.22 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 56 …

The world’s biggest nuclear fusion project has entered its five-year assembly phase. After this is finished, the facility will be able to start generating the super-hot “plasma” required for fusion power. The £18.2bn (€20bn; $23.5bn) facility has been under construction in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, southern France. Advocates say fusion could be a …

The 72nd Emmy Awards will be held in September. Netflix and HBO’s “Watchmen” dominated the 2020 Emmy nominations, which were announced Tuesday morning. The Emmy awards ceremony will be held on Sept. 20 and broadcast on ABC. It will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. Netflix smashed the record for most …

Twitter Inc said on Tuesday it had reined in access to Donald Trump Jr’s account for 12 hours because a tweet he had posted violated the social media site’s misinformation policy on COVID-19. The eldest son of U.S. President Donald Trump had posted a video on Monday of doctors talking …

A World Health Organization official on Tuesday described the COVID-19 pandemic as “one big wave” and warned against complacency in the northern hemisphere summer since the infection does not share influenza’s tendency to follow seasons. WHO officials have been at pains to avoid describing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases like …

Oil prices were steady on Tuesday, erasing gains earlier in the session, as rising coronavirus cases dampened the outlook for demand and countered optimism over more U.S. stimulus. Efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy’s recovery from the coronavirus crisis had raised hopes for stronger oil demand. However, a proposal on …

Nurses and other health workers must be top priority for the first COVID-19 vaccines, especially as they are often left without enough protection against the virus in their frontline jobs, the International Council of Nurses said on Monday. An estimated 1.5 million health care workers have been infected, three times …

The prospects of the UK economy returning to its pre-pandemic size are in shambles. To underscore the crisis, unemployment has increased to 9 percent from 3.9 percent in barely a month. According to the EY Item Club, a leading economic forecast group, the British economy is at risk of shrinking …

Qatar will seek to host the 2032 Olympic Games, it said on Monday, joining a crowded field and raising questions about scorching summer temperatures and underwhelming attendances at past events. India, Australia’s Queensland state, the Chinese city of Shanghai and a potential joint bid between South and North Korea are …

Oil prices edged lower on Monday as rising coronavirus cases and tensions between the United States and China pushed investors towards safe-haven assets. Brent crude LCOc1 dipped 20 cents, or 0.5%, to $43.14 a barrel by 1000 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 dropped to $41.15 a …

China recorded 57 local Covid-19 cases on Sunday, the highest number the country has seen since it brought the coronavirus largely under control in March, according to figures released by the National Health Commission on Monday. Among the locally transmitted cases, 41 were found in the far western region of …

After several weeks of trading in narrow ranges, bitcoin breached $10,000 on Sunday for the first time since early June. In addition to suffering pricing blows due to the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, the virtual currency went through its third so-called halving on May 11, which cut the …

Coronavirus cases in Latin America for the first time have surpassed the combined infections in the United States and Canada, a Reuters tally showed on Sunday, amid a surge of infections in Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, and Argentina. The quickly growing number of cases makes Latin America the region most …

Moderna Inc said on Sunday it has received an additional $472 million from the U.S. government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to support the development of its novel coronavirus vaccine. The U.S.-based drugmaker said the additional funding will support its late-stage clinical development including the expanded Phase 3 …