Chinese cities ease COVID curbs as virus keeps spreading

Chinese cities ease COVID curbs as virus keeps spreading

BEIJING, Dec 2 (Reuters) – Some communities in Chinese cities where COVID-19 is still spreading are easing off on testing requirements and quarantine rules ahead of an expected shift in virus policies nationwide after widespread social unrest. The uneven relaxation of COVID restrictions is, however, fueling fear among some residents who suddenly feel more exposed … Read more

US embassy latest target in spate of letter bombs in Spain

US embassy latest target in spate of letter bombs in Spain

First device sent to prime minister’s office on Nov. 24 Five similar letter bombs received Wednesday and Thursday Ukraine embassy official slightly hurt by one device Another device found at US Embassy in Madrid Defense ministry, arms manufacturer, air base also targeted MADRID, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Bomb disposal experts defused a letter bomb at … Read more

Ukraine says Russia pulls back forces from river towns opposite Kherson

Ukraine says Russia pulls back forces from river towns opposite Kherson

Kyiv: Russia withdraws some troops from Oleshky, nearby towns Ukrainian embassy in Spain hit by letter bomb Heavy trench warfare in east as winter sets in KYIV, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s military said on Thursday Russia had pulled some troops from towns on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River from Kherson city, the … Read more

China mourns former leader Jiang Zemin with bouquets, black front pages

China mourns former leader Jiang Zemin with bouquets, black front pages

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Chinese newspapers turned their front pages black on Thursday and flags were put at half mast in mourning for the death of former president Jiang Zemin, while well-wishers ugly piles of bouquets outside his childhood home. jiang died in his home city of Shanghai just after noon on Wednesday of … Read more

Elon Musk expects Neuralink’s brain chip to begin human trials in 6 months

Elon Musk expects Neuralink's brain chip to begin human trials in 6 months

Nov 30 (Reuters) – Elon Musk said on Wednesday he expects a wireless brain chip developed by his company Neuralink to begin human clinical trials in six months, after the company missed earlier timelines set by him. The company is developing brain chip interfaces that it says could enable disabled patients to move and communicate … Read more

China softens tone on COVID severity after protests

China softens tone on COVID severity after protests

BEIJING, Dec 1 (Reuters) – China is softening its tone on the severity of COVID-19 and easing some coronavirus restrictions even as its daily case toll hovers near record highs, after anger over the world’s toughest curbs fueled protests across the country. Several cities in the world’s second-largest economy, while still reporting new infections, are … Read more

US House Democrats elect Hakeem Jeffries as first Black party leader

US House Democrats elect Hakeem Jeffries as first Black party leader

WASHINGTON, Nov 30 (Reuters) – Hakeem Jeffries was unanimously elected on Wednesday to become the Democratic Party’s top leader in the US House of Representatives beginning in January, making him the first Black American to hold such a high-ranking position in Congress. The vote by Jeffries’ fellow Democrats also marked the rise of a younger … Read more

Letter bomb insults one at Ukraine’s Madrid embassy, ​​Kyiv ramps up security

Letter bomb insults one at Ukraine's Madrid embassy, ​​Kyiv ramps up security

MADRID/KYIV, Nov 30 (Reuters) – A security officer at Ukraine’s embassy in Madrid was injured when he opened a letter bomb addressed to the ambassador on Wednesday, prompting Kyiv to order greater security at all its representative offices abroad. The letter, which arrived by regular mail and was not scanned, caused “a very small wound” … Read more

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin dies at 96, prompting wave of nostalgia

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin dies at 96, prompting wave of nostalgia

BEIJING, Nov 30 (Reuters) – Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who led the country for a decade of rapid economic growth after the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989, died on Wednesday at the age of 96, prompting a wave of nostalgia for the more liberal times he oversaw. Jiang died in his home city of Shanghai … Read more

COVID protests escalate in Guangzhou as China lockdown anger boils

COVID protests escalate in Guangzhou as China lockdown anger boils

SHANGHAI/BEIJING, Nov 30 (Reuters) – People in the Chinese manufacturing hub of Guangzhou clashed with white hazmat-suited riot police on Tuesday night, videos on social media showed, as frustration with stringent COVID-19 rules boiled over, three years into the pandemic. The clashes in the southern city marked an escalation from protests in the commercial hub … Read more