PITTSBURGH: US and EU officials pledged to join forces to deal with a host of technology and trade issues to secure semiconductor supplies and counter China’s dominance. 

DUBAI: Dubai opened its extravagant Expo 2020 yesterday with a flashy ceremony boasting fireworks and lights displays as it attempts to woo the world despite the pandemic. 

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden postponed yesterday a trip to Chicago to stay in Washington and fight for his domestic agenda, which hangs from a thread in Congress, the White House said. 

HANOI: From shoes and sweaters to car parts and coffee, Vietnam’s strict and lengthy coronavirus lockdown has sparked product shortages among worldwide brands such as Nike and Gap which have grown increasingly dependent on the Southeast Asian nation’s manufacturers. 

LONDON: British troops are expected to be deployed within days to help ease a fuel supply crisis, the government said yesterday as the retail and hospitality sectors called for foreign workers to be allowed to fill post-Brexit vacancies. 

KUWAIT: Kuwait listed zero COVID-19 deaths yesterday for the first time since February 6, 2021, and 33 new COVID-19 cases; the lowest daily rate registered since April 2, 2020. Meanwhile, the number of patients in intensive care units has witnessed a significant drop, reaching only nine patients as of yesterday; the lowest number since March 26, 2020.

DOHA: Qatar Airways said yesterday it received $3 billion in state aid to weather the coronavirus travel downturn and to offset losses it blamed on the cost of grounding aircraft. The airline reported an overall loss of $4.1 billion for the year to March 31, double the figure for the same period the year before. 

LONDON: The UK government yesterday faced calls for nurses, police, teachers and other key workers to be given priority at petrol pumps, as the army was put on standby to ease a fuel supply crisis. 

SAINT HELIER, Jersey: Fishermen on Jersey are voicing concerns at repeated delays to post-Brexit arrangements for fishing rights, as the latest deadline looms for EU access to waters around the British Crown dependency.