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Bloomberg Pret a Manger Ltd cut 2,800 jobs in UK shops, about a third of its store employees there, in the latest sign that the pandemic is hurting the retail industry. Sales at British stores are down about 60% from a year earlier and are now roughly the same level as in August 2010, Pret said in a statement. A ...

Bloomberg The global aviation industry has racked up more than 350,000 job losses in the past six months, with more pain on the way, according to new research delving into the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the once-buoyant sector. The total could approach half a million positions after including some 25,000 cuts that don’t fit into the main categories of airlines, ...

Bloomberg India triggered the latest clash with China on their Himalayan border by executing a stealth night-time operation to claim strategic outposts offering a clear view of troop movements in disputed territory, according to Indian officials with knowledge of the matter. In what they called India’s first offensive move since the conflict began in May, thousands of soldiers climbed up ...

Bloomberg Taiwan has unveiled a redesigned passport in an effort to stop its citizens being mistaken for Chinese while traveling abroad. The new passport omits “Republic of China” — the official name by which Taiwan refers to itself — in larger English print from the Taiwanese passport cover. “Republic of China” remains written in Chinese, and in smaller English writing ...

Bloomberg China’s rapid military buildup means the country is closer to joining the US and Russia as the top nations capable of deploying nuclear weapons on land, in the air and at sea, the Pentagon warned in a new report. China’s progress in upgrading its strategic bombers to carry nuclear payloads puts it on the cusp of achieving a “triad” ...

Bloomberg Bulgaria’s president renewed his call for the resignation of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov as protesters clashed with police after thousands demonstrated outside parliament. Opposition-backed President Rumen Radev, who has accused Borissov and Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev of harboring links to organised crime that they deny, said the premier’s departure was “unavoidable” after two months of anti-corruption demonstrations against the ...

Bloomberg Boris Johnson’s government announced another U-turn, caving in to pressure from opponents and keeping local lockdown rules in place amid a rise in Covid-19 cases. The prime minister is pushing to get Britons back to work and school, and his team had decided restrictions imposed in some areas of northwest England should be eased. But local politicians, including Greater ...

Bloomberg Switzerland’s financial regulator (Finma) started enforcement proceedings against Credit Suisse Group over a spying scandal that led to the ouster of ex-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tidjane Thiam. The move marks an escalation of regulatory involvement in the espionage charges, which also triggered probes by Swiss prosecutors. Finma said it will pursue any potential violations of supervisory law, and in ...

Bloomberg Australia’s central bank expanded a lending facility for banks as it kept key policies unchanged, and signalled a renewed willingness to explore additional measures to boost an economy still mired in recession. “The board will maintain highly accommodative settings as long as is required,” Reserve Bank chief Philip Lowe said after keeping both the cash rate and three-year yield ...

Bloomberg Nigerian naira strengthened to its strongest level in informal trading since at least April as supplies of the US currency surged ahead of an auction set for next week by the central bank. The local unit traded 440 naira per dollar on Wednesday from a peak of 477 naira last week, according to abokifx.com, which collates rates from street ...