LONDON: Takeaway meals app Deliveroo yesterday said it had chosen London for its stock market listing, a major boost for the capital’s financial sector which has been roiled by Brexit. Deliveroo, in line with other home-delivery companies, has seen demand soar in the past year owing to lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic. No date has been set for the initial public offering (IPO), while the group could be valued at more than $7.0 billion (5.8 billion euros).

HONG KONG: Hong Kong has been removed from an annual index of the world’s freest economies because the think-tank that compiles the league table said the city was now directly controlled by Beijing. The announcement is a reputational blow for Hong Kong and comes as Beijing ramps up its bid to quash dissent after huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019.

PARIS: Airbus said yesterday that it would be able to avoid forced redundancies in Germany, France and Britain as the European aircraft maker reels from the fallout of COVID-19 on air travel. 

LONDON: Britain yesterday denied EU accusations it was violating the Brexit divorce treaty after announcing unilateral trade remedies for Northern Ireland. “These are sensible and practical steps,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesman told reporters after the government said it would extend a post-Brexit grace period and defer checks on agri-foods entering Northern Ireland from Britain.

KUWAIT: Kuwait set a new record in daily COVID-19 cases for the fourth straight day yesterday, after the Ministry of Health announced that 1,716 people tested positive over the previous 24 hours, while eight patients died over the same period. 

TOKYO: It’s the sort of chance that comes along just once in a blue Moon: a Japanese billionaire is throwing open a private lunar expedition to eight people from around the world. 

LONDON: Britain yesterday sharply cut the growth forecast of its virus-ravaged economy, warning the pandemic was still causing “profound damage” in an annual budget centered on safeguarding businesses and jobs. 

CAIRO: In gridlocked and heavily polluted Cairo, start-ups are searching for technological solutions to solve the transport headaches for an expanding megacity already struggling with over 20 million people. 

KUWAIT: Kuwait said 1,409 people tested positive for COVID-19 – a new daily record – with five related deaths yesterday, taking total cases to 194,781, while deaths rose to 1,097.