Monthly Archives - November 2020

27 Nov

Amazon spends $500m on bonuses for Christmas staff

Amazon is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on bonuses for Christmas staff after sales at the online giant soared during the pandemic.Full-time warehouse workers in the UK and the US will receive £300 or $300, with £150 or $150 for part-time staff.The money, $500m in total, will go to staff working between 1-31 December.The firm, run by Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, praised staff for “serving customers’ essential needs” during the pandemic.In a blog post, Dave Clark, [...]

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27 Nov

Diego Maradona: Footballer laid to rest as Argentina grieves Published

Football legend Diego Maradona has been buried in a private ceremony after a day of emotional scenes in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.Only around two dozen relatives and close friends attended the final ceremony on Thursday.But earlier huge crowds turned out to pay their respects, with many weeping, blowing kisses and praying as they filed past his coffin.Maradona died of a heart attack on Wednesday aged 60.His death triggered mourning around the world but nowhere was it felt more [...]

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26 Nov

Diego Maradona: Argentina legend dies aged 60

Football legend Diego Maradona, one of the greatest players of all time, has died at the age of 60.The former Argentina attacking midfielder and manager suffered a heart attack at his Buenos Aires home.He had successful surgery on a brain blood clot earlier in November and was to be treated for alcohol dependency. Maradona was captain when Argentina won the 1986 World Cup, scoring the famous ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in the quarter-finals. Argentina and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi [...]

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25 Nov

How to ‘disappear’ on Happiness Avenue in Beijing

On a busy Monday afternoon in late October, a line of people in reflective vests stood on Happiness Avenue, in downtown Beijing.Moving slowly and carefully along the pavement, some crouched, others tilted their heads towards the ground, as curious onlookers snapped photos.It was a performance staged by the artist Deng Yufeng, who was trying to demonstrate how difficult it was to dodge CCTV cameras in the Chinese capital.As governments and companies around the world boost their investments in security [...]

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25 Nov

US election 2020: ‘America is back’, says Biden as he unveils team

US President-elect Joe Biden has unveiled officials for six important posts, as he prepares to take office.“America is back”, he said, and “ready to lead the world, not retreat from it”.If confirmed, Avril Haines will be the first female director of national intelligence and Alejandro Mayorkas the first Latino homeland security boss.Donald Trump has agreed transition moves must start and Mr Biden will now get a top secret intelligence brief.However, the sitting president still refuses to admit defeat, repeating [...]

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24 Nov

Janet Yellen: Biden to pick ‘first female treasury secretary’

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to name Janet Yellen to lead the treasury department, US media report.If confirmed by the Senate, she would be the first woman to hold the position in US history.The 74-year-old economist previously served as head of America’s central bank and as a top economics adviser to former President Bill Clinton.She is credited with helping steer the economic recovery after the 2007 financial crisis and ensuing recession.As chair of the US Federal Reserve, Ms Yellen [...]

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24 Nov

Trump accepts transition to Biden must begin

Donald Trump has accepted a formal US transition should begin for President-elect Joe Biden to take office.The president said the federal agency overseeing the handover must “do what needs to be done”, even as he vowed to keep contesting his election defeat.The General Services Administration (GSA) said it was acknowledging Mr Biden as the “apparent winner”.It came as Mr Biden’s victory in the state of Michigan was officially certified, a major blow to Mr Trump.IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERSimage captionJoe Biden is [...]

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20 Nov

Covid: Pizza worker’s ‘lie’ forced South Australia lockdown

South Australia decided to enter a state-wide lockdown after learning a man with Covid-19 had lied about his link to a pizza shop, police say.The strict six-day lockdown began on Wednesday after the state detected 36 infections, including its first locally acquired cases since April.But the order would have been avoided if a man had told health officials he had worked “several” shifts at a pizza shop, authorities said.He had said he was a customer there.“To say I am [...]

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20 Nov

US election 2020: Biden wins Georgia recount as Trump setbacks mount

US President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia has been confirmed by a recount, as legal efforts by Donald Trump’s allies to challenge his defeat were dismissed in three states.The Democrat beat his Republican rival in Georgia by 12,284 votes, according to the audit required by state law.Mr Biden said he was confident Mr Trump knew he was not going to win and had shown “incredible irresponsibility”.The Democrat is set to take office in January as the 46th US president.Melania [...]

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19 Nov

Covid vaccine: Pfizer says ‘94% effective in over-65s’

The coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech appears to protect 94% of adults over 65 years old.More data released from their continuing phase three trial suggests it works equally well in people of all ages and ethnicities.The companies say they will now apply for authorisation for emergency use of the jab in the US.The trial involved 41,000 people worldwide. Half were given the vaccine, and half a placebo.Last week, Pfizer and BioNTech published preliminary data suggesting the vaccine offered [...]

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