The Fiji Times

Robinhood CEO says he is considering offering U.S. retirement accounts

Robinhood Markets Inc is considering launching U.S. retirement accounts, CEO and co-founder Vlad Tenev said on Saturday in a webcast with users of its trading app looking to participate in its initial public offering, which is set to price next week. The online brokerage has about 18 million funded investment accounts on its platform, most...

Tokyo Olympics opening draws 16.7 million U.S. TV viewers, a 33-year low

NBC’s broadcast of the Tokyo Olympic Games opening ceremony drew 16.7 million viewers, the smallest U.S. television audience for the event in the past 33 years, according to preliminary data from Comcast-owned(CMCSA.O) NBCUniversal on Saturday. Across all platforms, including NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app, 17 million people watched the ceremony, NBCUniversal said in an...

Greek police clash with protesters in rally against mandatory vaccinations

Greek police used teargas and water cannon to disperse people who had gathered in central Athens on Saturday to protest against mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations. More than 4,000 people rallied outside the Greek parliament for a third time this month to oppose mandatory inoculations for some workers, such as healthcare and nursing staff. A police official,...

GM, Cruise sue Ford to block use of ‘BlueCruise’ name for hands-free driving

General Motors Co (GM.N) and its Cruise robo-taxi subsidiary have filed a lawsuit to stop Ford Motor Co (F.N) from using the name “BlueCruise” to market its hands-free driving technology, the companies said on Saturday. In a statement released shortly after midnight Detroit time, GM said Ford’s use of the BlueCruise name infringed on GM’s...

U.S. judge rules Lithium Americas may excavate Nevada mine site

A U.S. federal judge has ruled that Lithium Americas Corp (LAC.TO) may conduct excavation work at its Thacker Pass lithium mine site in Nevada, denying a request from environmentalists who said the digging could harm sage grouse and other wildlife. The ruling marked a rare win for a U.S. critical minerals project as environmental groups...

After six worker deaths at Georgia chicken plant, U.S. issues $1 million in fines

A North Georgia chicken plant and its associated companies face $1 million in fines and scores of citations from the Biden administration over the deaths of six workers and injuries of a dozen in a nitrogen accident in January. The U.S. Labor Department and its Occupational Safety and Health Administration agency announced 59 citations and...

U.S. will not investigate nursing home deaths in New York, two other states -letter

The U.S. Justice Department has decided not to open a civil rights investigation into nursing homes in New York and two other states regarding their COVID-19 response, dealing a blow to several Republican lawmakers who had demanded a probe. One underlying issue is whether three states with Democratic governors – New York, Michigan and Pennsylvania...

Shooting-China’s Yang wins battle of nerves to claim Tokyo’s first gold

TOKYO, July 24 (Reuters) – China’s Yang Qian claimed the first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday after prevailing in a battle of nerves with Russian Anastasiia Galashina in the women’s 10-metre rifle competition. Galashina barely made it to the final, grabbing the last of the eight qualifying slots, but was in pole...

Colombia boosts budding cannabis industry by removing ban on dry flower exports

Colombia on Friday gave the green light for exports of dried cannabis for medical and other industries, as the Andean country took another step to develop its marijuana industry, where progress has been slow despite high potential. President Ivan Duque signed a decree lifting a prohibition on exporting dried cannabis flower, a move seen as...

SpaceX lands NASA launch contract for mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa

Elon Musk’s private rocket company SpaceX was awarded a $178 million launch services contract for NASA’s first mission focusing on Jupiter’s icy moon Europa and whether it may host conditions suitable for life, the space agency said on Friday. The Europa Clipper mission is due for blastoff in October 2024 on a Falcon Heavy rocket...

After 49 years Israelis killed at 1972 Munich Games remembered in opening ceremony

Israeli Olympic team members killed by Palestinian gunmen at the 1972 Munich Olympics were remembered during the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony on Friday with a moment of silence, the first time in 49 years. The move was welcomed by relatives of the victims, some of whom were in the stadium, and Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali...

Trump ally Barrack allowed to remain free ahead of lobbying trial

A judge in Los Angeles on Friday signed off on a deal that allows former U.S. President Donald Trump’s billionaire ally Thomas Barrack to be released from custody while he awaits trial on charges of illegal lobbying on behalf of the United Arab Emirates. Under the agreement approved by U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue, Barrack...

Democrats may scrap matching funds from infrastructure bill

Democrats are threatening to scrap plans to create an infrastructure bank in the $1.2 trillion bipartisan spending bill after Republicans opposed a provision intended to lift workers’ wages, according to three people familiar with the discussions. A decision to remove funding for the bank would be aimed at resolving a logjam over U.S. President Joe...

Global supply chains buckle as virus variant and disasters strike

A new worldwide wave of COVID-19. Natural disasters in China and Germany. A cyber attack targeting key South African ports. Events have conspired to drive global supply chains towards breaking point, threatening the fragile flow of raw materials, parts and consumer goods, according to companies, economists and shipping specialists. The Delta variant of the coronavirus...

U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen warns Congress on debt limit

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged lawmakers on Friday to increase or suspend the nation’s debt limit as soon as possible and warned that if Congress does not act by Aug. 2 the Treasury Department would need to take “extraordinary measures” to prevent a U.S. default. In a letter to House of Representatives Speaker Nancy...

Protests break out at Haiti president’s funeral, guests run for cover

The funeral of assassinated Haitian president Jovenel Moise on Friday was disrupted by shots fired nearby and riot gas used on protesters, prompting a high-level U.S. delegation to abruptly leave and other dignitaries to duck into vehicles for safety. The state funeral in the northern city of Cap-Haitien was intended to foster national unity, but...

As Americans navigate conflicting COVID-19 mask advice, ‘everyone is confused’

A COVID-19 surge ignited in parts of the United States by the highly contagious Delta variant and vaccine hesitancy has led to new mask mandates and deep confusion among some people about which guidance to follow. In Los Angeles County, leaders have reinstated an indoor mask mandate, even for the fully vaccinated. Officials in Houston...

‘QAnon Shaman’ in plea negotiations after mental health diagnosis

The participant in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riots nicknamed the “QAnon Shaman” is negotiating a possible plea deal with prosecutors, after prison psychologists found he suffers from a variety of mental illnesses, his attorney said. In an interview, defense lawyer Albert Watkins said that officials at the federal Bureau of Prisons, or BOP, have...

French citizen among six held over plan to kill Madagascar president -minister

ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) -A French citizen is among six people arrested on suspicion of involvement in a plot to kill Madagascar’s president, the Indian Ocean island’s public security minister said, and a second official said the president’s security had been tightened. “One of the arrested people is French, two of them are bi-national – Malagasy and...

G20 loath to commit in climate meeting tussle over carbon wording

NAPLES (Reuters) – Energy and environment ministers from the Group of 20 rich nations have yet to agree on commitments to cut carbon emissions, two sources said, after a night of negotiations by diplomats at their two-day gathering in Naples. After the ministers produced a 25-point statement on biodiversity and the natural environment on Thursday,...

Uganda, struggling to buy COVID-19 vaccines, splashes on new vehicles for lawmakers

KAMPALA (Reuters) – Uganda has spent over $30.2 million on buying new vehicles for lawmakers, a move that has been slammed by critics who depict it as profligacy in a country struggling to buy vaccines to stem a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parliament released the money to members to buy new vehicles this...

Pakistan seeks U.N. probe of India’s use of Pegasus spyware

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan called on the United Nations on Friday to investigate whether India used Israeli-made Pegasus spyware to spy on public figures including Prime Minister Imran Khan. The Pakistani leader’s phone number was on a list of what an investigation by a group of 17 international media organisations and Amnesty International said were...

Haiti’s murdered president laid to rest with tensions high

CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti (Reuters) -Pallbearers in military attire carried late Haitian President Jovenel Moise’s body in a closed wooden coffin as his funeral got underway on Friday, two weeks after he was shot dead at home in an assassination still shrouded in mystery. The bearers placed the polished casket on a dais garlanded with flowers in...

Anger over COVID rules gives new impetus to France’s Yellow Vests

TREMBLAY-EN-FRANCE, France (Reuters) – Working from his one-room apartment near Paris airport, Jerome Rodrigues has been trying to re-invigorate a Yellow Vest protest movement that two years ago challenged President Emmanuel Macron’s rule then petered out. Now, public anger at government measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, which some people say are an attack...

Once its strength, water now threatens Germany

BAD MUENSTEREIFEL, Germany (Reuters) – Bad Muenstereifel’s transformation from picturesque but sleepy German tourist town into an outlet shopping centre put it on the map for millions of visitors. Then floods laid waste to its medieval streets and half-timbered buildings, highlighting the vulnerability of Europe’s top economy to an increasingly unpredictable climate. Beyond the town,...

Digger trucks drafted in to rescue people stranded in China floods

ZHENGZHOU, China (Reuters) -Workers driving construction vehicles helped to rescue stranded residents and deliver food to those still trapped on Friday after days of torrential rain swamped the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou. As floodwaters began to recede, rescuers in the city of 12 million used digger trucks, inflatable boats and makeshift rafts to transport...

Africa demands local production of COVID vaccines

NAIROBI (Reuters) -Global pharmaceutical firms should license production of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa rather than just do piecemeal contract deals, an African Union special envoy said on Thursday. AU coronavirus envoy Strive Masiyiwa was speaking a day after Pfizer and BioNTech announced a “fill and finish” deal with South Africa’s Biovac Institute under which it...

WHO urges collaboration on virus origin after China rejects plan for probe

GENEVA (Reuters) – All countries must work together to investigate the origin of the coronavirus that sparked the pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, a day after China rejected the proposed scope of a second phase. WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic, asked about China’s rejection, told a U.N. briefing in Geneva: “This is...

U.S. moves to drop visa fraud charges against Chinese researcher

(Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department moved on Thursday to drop all charges against a Chinese researcher arrested last year over visa fraud in its “China Initiative” that aims to prevent the transfer of U.S. technology. Tang Juan, a visiting researcher at the University of California Davis school of medicine, whose jury trial was set to...

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Vatican reveals property holdings for first time in transparency drive