NEW YORK: Major Wall Street stock indices ended at records on Friday, concluding a solid week on expectations for more US stimulus and an economic rebound fuelled by coronavirus vaccines. All three major indices finished at all-time highs, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.5 percent to finish at 3,934.83, up
Lawyer appears as cat on Zoom call WASHINGTON: A Texas lawyer appeared as a talking cat during a Zoom call with a judge, sparking worldwide delight at the latest video conferencing mishap of the pandemic work-from-home era. The cat filter left lawyer Rod Ponton struggling to explain his situation to
MELBOURNE: More than six million people were ordered into a snap, five-day lockdown Friday to contain a new coronavirus outbreak in Australia’s second most populous state, forcing the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne to shut fans out. The lockdown across Victoria state from midnight (1300 GMT) was ordered out
HONG KONG: Markets fell in Asia on Friday in holiday-thinned trade with investors awaiting developments in US stimulus talks, while bitcoin hit a new record as it crept towards $50,000. Oil prices also retreated from their 13-month highs after investors were given a reality check on expectations for demand this
TOKYO: Tokyo Olympics 2020 chief Yoshiro Mori bowed to mounting pressure and resigned Friday over sexist remarks, but his replacement was not immediately clear after opposition emerged to his favoured successor. The resignation and the leadership vacuum left behind by the controversy add to the woes of organisers struggling to
SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft on Thursday lobbied for other countries to follow Australia’s lead in calling for news outlets to be paid for stories published online, a move opposed by Facebook and Google. Microsoft last week offered to fill the void if rival Google follows through on a threat to turn
SAN FRANCISCO: Disney said Thursday its streaming services have grown to 146 million subscribers, as people hunkered down due to the pandemic have turned to sources of online entertainment. The growth of the audience for Disney+, Hulu, ESPN and India’s Hotstar comes as the parent company’s travel and amusement park
TOULON, France: Europe’s oldest person, French nun Sister Andre, turns 117 on Thursday after surviving Covid-19 last month and living through two world wars, with a special birthday feast including her favourite dessert — Baked Alaska. Born Lucile Randon on February 11, 1904, Sister Andre said she didn’t realise she
BLACKBURN, United Kingdom: A British farmer came up with a jokey idea to rent out her goats to liven up video call meetings — and found an unexpected source of lockdown income. The floppy-eared goats glance curiously as farmer Dot McCarthy holds up a mobile phone to film them eating
TAPOVAN, India: Rescue workers battled through tonnes of rock and mud Tuesday searching for survivors in a choked Himalayan tunnel after a deadly flood — apparently triggered by a glacial burst — smashed through two mountain dam projects. More than 170 people were still missing, two days after a wall