World

BERLIN: Germany appealed to the public on Tuesday to download a new smartphone app to help break the chain of coronavirus infections, one of several such apps that European governments hope will revive travel and tourism safely. The Corona-Warn-App, now available for Apple and Android devices, uses Bluetooth short-range radio to measure close contacts between people and issues a warning should one of them later test positive for COVID-19. "This app isn't a cure-all. It's not a free pass. But it's an important additional tool for containing the pandemic," Health Minister Jens Spahn told a launch event. Germany joins Italy, Poland and Latvia in launching apps based on technology from Apple and Alphabet's Google that preserves privacy by logging Bluetooth contacts securely on devices. ...

Japan plans to ease its coronavirus travel restrictions by letting in up to around 250 business travelers per day from Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam, government sources said Thursday. The quota, which authorities aim to introduce this summer, will initially apply to businesspeople such as executives and engineers, the sources said, adding that the government task force on the virus response is expected to finalize the details of the plan soon. The nation currently has an entry ban in place for 111 countries and regions, with foreign travelers who have been to any of those areas within the last two weeks being turned away. The government is also considering setting up stations to conduct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on people leaving Japan, as some countries have ...

KUALA LUMPUR: Hair salons and shopping malls reopened, traffic jams returned and interstate travel resumed in Malaysia on Wednesday in a further easing of coronavirus restrictions to revive an economy hard hit by the pandemic. In the capital Kuala Lumpur, customers queued for temperature checks at malls while shop staff added the finishing touches to window displays. Barber shops and beauty salons were reopening to customers after having to remain shut for nearly three months. "Thank God the government decided to ease movement control order restrictions, so we can go out and get our hair cut and become handsome again," joked Abdul Rahman Mohamed after his trim. "Before we looked terrible." Malaysia confirmed two new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, the lowest number since restrict...

Wall Street's three major indexes rose on Tuesday as improving economic data and the prospect of more stimulus bolstered hopes of a swift recovery, while a jump in technology shares powered the Nasdaq to another record high. REUTERS: Wall Street's three major indexes rose on Tuesday as improving economic data and the prospect of more stimulus bolstered hopes of a swift recovery, while a jump in technology shares powered the Nasdaq to another record high. White House advisor Larry Kudlow said tax rebates and direct mail checks are on the table in the next coronavirus relief bill. The Nasdaq hit a fifth record high this month with Apple Inc providing the biggest boost after at least three brokerages raised their price targets, a day after the iPhone maker said it would use its own chi...

As the U.S. economy begins to re-open, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that at least 16.3% of Americans, over 21 million people, are unemployed. Some of these unemployed workers hope they will return to the jobs they had before coronavirus pandemic, but many may be forced to find new opportunities. For some, this might mean entering a new line of work entirely or learning a new skill. CNBC Make It spoke with business executives and education experts to learn what skills workers should pick up right now. Data science The most common skill that the experts mentioned was being comfortable analyzing, interpreting and harnessing data. Jake Schwartz, CEO of General Assembly, an education company that offers classes in coding, design, data science and business, says the number one skil...

FRANKFURT: Wirecard said on Monday (Jun 22) that €1.9 billion (US$2.1 billion) missing from its accounts was likely never there and it was looking at the sale or closure of parts of its business as it sought to avert a looming cash crunch. The former German stock market darling, which processes payments for companies including Visa and Mastercard, has seen billions of euros wiped off its value in recent days and began trading in Frankfurt down 40 per cent. Wirecard is scrambling to shore up its finances and has appointed investment bank Houlihan Lokey as it seeks a deal with creditors, after seeing its credit rating slashed to 'junk' by rating agency Moody's on Friday. In a statement on Monday, Wirecard also withdrew financial statements for 2019 and said it was examining cost cuts ...

A new report into the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to certify the Boeing 737 MAX may help proponents seeking reforms to the long-standing practice of delegating some aircraft certification tasks to manufacturers. WASHINGTON: A new report into the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to certify the Boeing 737 MAX may help proponents seeking reforms to the long-standing practice of delegating some aircraft certification tasks to manufacturers. On Wednesday, the Transportation Department's inspector general released a 52-page report that said Boeing withheld key information about a crucial safety system known as MCAS, that is tied to two fatal crashes and raises questions about whether Boeing employees performing work for the FAA faced undue pressure. On June 16, Se...

Travel from Japan to Vietnam will partially resume this week, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Tuesday, marking the first step in easing travel restrictions aimed at stemming the spread of the novel coronavirus. Several chartered flights carrying about 440 businesspeople are scheduled from Thursday through Saturday, with Vietnam agreeing to accept travelers on condition they agree to enhanced preventive measures, Motegi said at a news conference. Motegi said last Friday that Japan and Vietnam had agreed to ease travel restrictions “partially and gradually,” and that it “won’t take long” before travel between the two countries resumes. Japan currently has an entry ban in place for more than 100 countries and regions, with foreign travelers that have been to any of those areas with...

TOKYO: Japan's largest advertising agency, Dentsu Group, has evacuated its Tokyo headquarters after receiving a bomb threat, an internal company email reviewed by Reuters showed on Friday (Jun 5). The company, in an email to employees, cited a message sent to its website, saying: "Warning of explosion at Dentsu's Shiodome headquarters building with deadline past 7 am on Jun 7, Sunday." Dentsu confirmed it has closed the building due to a bomb threat, and said it has notified the authorities. Entry to the building was forbidden over the weekend, the company said in the email. Dentsu had already introduced work-from-home measures because of the coronavirus outbreak. The company is the focus of political scrutiny having been awarded almost US$700 million in government funds to help ru...