LONDON: Britain yesterday unveiled long-awaited reforms of the country’s railways, including a new centralized price and reservations system, but the government insisted it was not backtracking on the sector’s privatization.

BEIJING: The boss of the Chinese company behind viral video platform TikTok said yesterday he will leave the role because he lacks managerial skills and preferred “reading and daydreaming” to running the tech giant.

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s national airline reported yesterday its worst annual net loss of $3.2 billion in the aftermath of the “toughest year in its history” due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

BEIJING: Bitcoin plunged below $39,000 for the first time in more than three months yesterday after China said cryptocurrencies would not be allowed in transactions and warned investors against speculative trading in them, despite the country powering most of the world’s mining. 

DEARBORN, US: Joe Biden, sporting aviator sunglasses, looked out from the driver’s seat of Ford’s new electric truck and delivered a presidential proclamation: “This sucker’s quick.” The battery-powered Ford F-150 Lightning was unveiled yesterday as the auto giant’s new big bet on the emerging electric auto market. 

PARIS: Researchers in Australia want to transform single-use COVID masks into road material. In the United States, the protective gear is recycled into benches. And in France, they are reborn as floor carpets for cars. 

KUWAIT: Kuwait will press ahead with plans to ease COVID-19 restrictions as of next week, including allowing restaurants to resume dine-in services, the Cabinet said on Tuesday. 

TUNIS: TunisAir announced yesterday it has resumed flights to Libya, becoming the first foreign carrier to fly the route for seven years in the wake of UN-sponsored peace efforts. I

TOKYO: Japan’s economy contracted 1.3 percent in the three months to March after the government reimposed coronavirus restrictions in major cities as infections surged, data showed yesterday.