The biggest anti-government protests in nearly 30 years took place in Cuba. Cubans are frustrated by economic conditions, the pace of vaccination against COVID-19 and the authorities' neglect of their needs. Thousands of Cubans took to the streets in cities from Havana to Santiago on Sunday. They protested against the authorities' economic policy, the neglect of people and the pace of vaccination...

Taiwan-based semiconductor companies Foxconn and TSMC have signed a contract to buy 10 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, Reuters reports, citing statements from the two companies. The deal is worth $350m. Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical, which represents BioNTech in China, said the parties had signed the agreement. The deal was announced a month after Taiwan authorities...

Japan will impose a state of emergency in connection with the coronavirus in Tokyo from 12 July. In the coming days, the organisers of the Olympics will have to agree on whether at least part of the spectators will be able to watch the competition live. Japan is getting ready to declare a state of emergency because of the coronavirus in Tokyo from July 12 to August 22, said Japanese Economy...

Growing demand for natural gas could prevent the world from reaching zero emissions by 2050 and avoiding global catastrophe. According to Reuters, a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) says the world will exceed pre-coronavirus consumption levels by 2024. Gas demand is expected to grow by 3.6 per cent in 2021 as the world economy recovers from the effects of coronavirus restrictions....

The proportion of teenagers among those hired in the US in June was several times higher than in the same period in previous years. The shortage of adult workers has given teenagers a rare opportunity to take on higher-paying jobs. The shortage of adult workers in the US has created a more lucrative local job market for teenagers, reports the Financial Times. Among those hired in June, 36% of...

The European Commission intends to introduce a pan-European fuel tax on airlines, Reuters reported, citing a draft document that was made available to the agency. Currently, the EU does not impose a fuel tax on airlines. However, as noted in the document, such a policy is "not consistent with the current climate problems" and the desire of European authorities to reduce harmful emissions. ...

China's debt has risen sharply over the past decade and has become one of the biggest challenges for the Chinese government, CNBC reported. Beijing sees the country's rising level of liabilities as a potential threat to economic stability. In recent years, the authorities have tried to reduce dependence on them, but the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting crisis have halted efforts in this...

G20 countries continue to roll back measures taken in response to the coronavirus pandemic. By May this year, 49% of the restrictions had been lifted, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO) report. The organisation estimated the value of trade-restrictive measures at $135.7 billion. It also reported that the coverage of trade facilitation measures implemented since the beginning of the...

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has pardoned nine Catalan separatist leaders convicted of a failed attempt to declare regional independence in 2017. Mr Sanchez announced the pardon in a televised address. The ban on those pardoned from holding public office remains in place, Reuters reported. Catalan separatist leaders were sentenced in 2019 to between nine and 13 years for offences of...