TOKYO: Yuichiro welled up as he collected a food parcel at a Tokyo outreach event offering help to the growing number of Japanese pushed into poverty by the coronavirus pandemic. 

LONDON: Scottish fishermen and seafood exporters rallied in central London, parking slogan-bearing lorries near the UK parliament in protest at post-Brexit rules they say are threatening the industry’s future. 

PARIS: The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) plans to clear the Boeing 737 MAX to fly again next week, 22 months after the plane was grounded following two fatal crashes. 

KUWAIT: Two Kuwaiti women who arrived from Britain have tested positive for a new COVID-19 strain, the first discovery of the more contagious coronavirus variant found in the United Kingdom and several other countries, the health ministry spokesman said yesterday.

BEIJING: China’s GDP grew at the slowest pace in more than four decades in 2020, official data showed yesterday, but it was still expected to be the only major economy to grow at all after a strong rebound from the coronavirus crisis. 

SEOUL: The de facto chief of South Korea’s Samsung business empire was convicted yesterday over a huge corruption scandal and jailed for two-and-a-half years, in a ruling that deprives the tech giant of its top decision-maker. 

FRANKFURT: A resurgence in the coronavirus pandemic and a bumpy start to vaccination drives are likely to weigh on the minds of European Central Bank governors when they meet on Thursday, but they are expected to stop short of taking fresh action. 

KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti Ministry of Health announced yesterday recording 467 new infection cases with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) during the past 24 hours, raising the caseload to 158,244. 

WASHINGTON: Fitch ratings maintained Britain’s AA- debt rating and outlook at negative, but warned rising deficits, the coronavirus surge and its fraught trading relationship with Europe pose risks.