WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States racked up a $744 billion budget deficit in the first half of fiscal 2020, up 8% from a year earlier, the Treasury said on Friday, ahead of an expected April spending explosion and withering of revenues amid the coronavirus pandemic. A U.S. five dollar note is seen in this
Britain’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock holds the Covid-19 Digital Press Conference with Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Jonathan Van Tam and Chief Nurse, Ruth May in 10 Downing Street, London, Britain April 10, 2020. Pippa Fowles/No 10 Downing Street/Handout via REUTERS LONDON (Reuters) – The British government is functioning efficiently in the absence of Prime Minister
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest rose in March, government data showed on Friday, indicating that illegal loggers and land speculators have not stopped destroying the forest with the onset of the coronavirus outbreak. FILE PHOTO: Indigenous people from the Mura tribe show a deforested area in unmarked indigenous lands, inside the Amazon
SAN ANTONIO DEL TEQUENDAMA, Colombia (Reuters) – A small zoo in central Colombia has called on its social media followers to come up with names for newborn primates delivered in the current birthing season – and most suggestions are related to the coronavirus pandemic. A spider monkey hugs its baby inside a cage at the
FILE PHOTO: Police officers outside St Thomas’ Hospital after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent a third night in intensive care after his coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms worsened on Monday, in London, Britain April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in “very good spirits” after returning to a hospital
U.S. President Donald Trump answers a question during the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he has directed his agriculture secretary to expedite help to farmers, especially small farmers, hurt by the economic disruption
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek researchers say a sudden decline in human-generated noise levels due to a nationwide coronavirus lockdown is giving them valuable insights into the inner rumblings of earth. FILE PHOTO: A man wearing a protective face mask makes his way on the empty Kotzia square, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Athens,
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China will look to ban ultra-thin plastic bags and agricultural-use plastic mulch, as well as other types of non-biodegradable plastic products, the country’s state planning authority said in draft proposals published on Friday. The proposals cover shopping bags with a thickness of less than 0.025 millimetres and plastic mulch – used to
FILE PHOTO: The Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee November 4, 2015. REUTERS/Tami Chappell (Reuters) – Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) said Thursday it will furlough 1,500 workers at its U.S. assembly plant in Tennessee starting April 11 as the industry grapples with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The German automaker said the temporary emergency furloughs for
A sign of support for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been in hospital since Monday as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Swynnerton, Britain, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Carl Recine LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has moved out of intensive care as he continues to recover from COVID-19,
LONDON (Reuters) – Cement and steel companies are being warned by investors over their lobbying on planned European Union carbon costs, saying they are effectively asking to be compensated twice over. FILE PHOTO: The pink supermoon rises behind the ruin of a blast furnace of the former Phoenix West steel mill in Dortmund, Germany, April
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Neanderthals used plant fibers to create string more than 40,000 years ago at a site in France where they hunted reindeer, further evidence according to scientists of the ingenuity and cognitive capabilities of our closest extinct human relatives. FILE PHOTO: Hyperrealistic face of a Neanderthal male is displayed in a cave in
(Reuters) – Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and six other countries urged the European Union to adopt a “green” recovery plan on Thursday, as fears grow that the economic hit caused by the coronavirus pandemic could weaken action on climate change. In an open letter published as European finance ministers met by video conference, 10
FILE PHOTO: A U.S. hypermarket chain Costco Wholesale Corp store is pictured in Shanghai, China August 28, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. retail giant Costco (COST.O) will open a new store in China’s eastern city of Suzhou, near Shanghai, state media reported on Thursday. Costco’s subsidiary in Suzhou on Thursday bought a piece
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate surprised children at a school with a video-call to offer thanks to their parents who are key workers keeping the country running during the coronavirus pandemic. Schools closed for most children three weeks ago to curb the spread of the virus but are still open
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists have figured out how to calculate the age of whale sharks – Earth’s largest fish – with some guidance from the radioactive fallout spawned by Cold War-era atomic bomb testing. FILE PHOTO: Visitors watch a whale shark at the Whale Shark Aquarium of Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, China September 4,
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