Under the new legislation, many of Hong Kong’s protests that took place last year would be punishable by law.
It gives Beijing greater control on the city and has already had an impact on the protest movement, with prominent activist Joshua Wong resigning and withdrawing from his pro-democracy party.
The United States shocked European nations earlier this month when it pulled out of international negotiations over such a tax.
The United States has been a fierce opponent of plans to make digital giants pay more in taxes, as the majority of these firms are American. It is the White House’s view that digital taxes are unfair toward U.S. companies.
But Paschal Donohoe, the Irish minister of finance, told CNBC Wednesday: “I am actually optimistic about our ability to make progress on this inside the OECD.”
The new strain has descended from the type of flu (“swine flu”) that emerged in 2009 causing the first global flu pandemic in 40 years.
As with swine flu, however, the new strain has been identified as having “all the essential hallmarks of a candidate pandemic virus.”
The new strain of flu should be monitored closely, scientists say.
U.S. stock futures rose slightly in overnight trading and pointed to gains at the open on Tuesday, the final trading day of a volatile month for stocks.
Dow futures rose 20 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 were also set to open higher, with gains of 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 580.25 points higher, or 2.3%, at 25,595.80. It was the Dow’s best day since June 5, when it soared more than 3%. The S&P 500 jumped 1.5% to 3,053.24 while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.2% to end the day at 9,874.15.
British Airways plans to auction off art worth millions as the airline looks to raise capital amid the coronavirus crisis.
The auction, first reported by U.K. newspaper The Evening Standard, will include works from Damien Hirst, Peter Doig and Bridget Riley, with one of the pieces valued at more than £1 million ($1.26 million).
Fights broke out between groups outside Waterloo station, with fireworks thrown before police cordoned off areas.
On a nearby bridge, stones were lobbed at police. Sporadic skirmishes continued in parts of the city centre.
“Racist thuggery has no place on our streets,” Johnson said on Twitter. “Anyone attacking our police will be met with the full force of the law.”
Germany was lauded throughout the coronavirus crisis in Europe as a country that had seemingly managed to control the virus’ spread.
It was well-organized from the start, implementing a contact tracing system, and has kept its death toll low.
But in recent days it has seen a number of significant outbreaks of the virus.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said that doctors and infectious disease specialists are seeing “more and more” complications with Covid-19 in young people.
Early in the outbreak in the U.S., researchers said the virus appeared to be sparing young people while being particularly severe for the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.
That’s not the case, Fauci said Tuesday.
Apple iPhone sales and shipments fell in May versus April, according to third-party data compiled by CNBC.
But other areas of the business such as spending on the company’s App Store grew, which may point to some resiliency for the U.S. technology giant in one of its biggest markets.
Apple was affected by the shutdown in China during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in the country, but it has seen a sharp rebound as the the economy has re-opened.
