worldwide news
Public health officials and epidemiologists are at odds over how deadly COVID-19 will prove to be, with forecasts ranging from 1% to 3.4% of infected people dying. The disparity, disease modelers and virologists say, isn’t surprising for a novel virus. They warn national differences could skew predictions — especially if health care systems are …
Greeks and Turks are waging a proxy war on social media with photos, video and commentary purporting to show the other side behaving badly in a migrant crisis that has seriously strained already tense relations between Athens and Ankara.An estimated 35,000 migrants from the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere have been trying to enter …
Read more “Amid Migrant Crisis, Greece-Turkey Conflict Plays Out on Social Media”
European Union leaders are set to hold a teleconference “shortly” to discuss a coordinated EU response to the coronavirus outbreak, the president of the European Council Charles Michel said on Monday.”Following consultations I will hold a EUCO members conference call shortly on COVID-19 to coordinate EU efforts. We need to cooperate in order to protect …
Read more “EU Leaders Set to Hold Emergency Talks Over Coronavirus”
Italy’s coronavirus death toll spiked Sunday by 133 to 366, the most in any country outside China.With the growing health risks, Rome imposed a new emergency decree, locking down the northern part of the country with a quarter of Italy’s population.That includes the Lombardy region and the financial capital, Milan. In addition, Italy is closing …
Read more “Italy’s Coronavirus Death Toll Spikes as Lockdown Takes Effect”
Italy’s coronavirus death toll spiked Sunday by 133 to 366, the most in any country outside China.With the growing health risks, Rome imposed a new emergency decree, locking down the northern part of the country with a quarter of Italy’s population.The northern part of the country includes the Lombardy region and the financial capital, Milan. …
Relatives of the victims of the MH17 plane crash set up 298 empty chairs outside the Russian embassy in the Netherlands, a day before four individuals will stand trial at the Hague over their alleged involvement in the downing of the passenger jet.The Malaysian air flight crashed over territory in Ukraine held by pro-Russia separatists …
Read more “Families of MH17 Victims Stage Protest Ahead of Trial”
Countries hit by outbreaks of the novel coronavirus are celebrating International Women’s Day despite the cancellation of multiple events.In China, the epicenter of the COVID-19 virus which originated in the northeastern city of Wuhan, state-run news outlets celebrated the female health workers on the frontlines of the crisis.State-run media outlet Xinhua profiled female laboratory technicians, …
Read more “Celebrating International Women’s Day During an Epidemic”
The World Health Organization said Sunday that 100 countries are now reporting coronavirus cases with more than 100,000 people reported as being ill.”While very serious, this should not discourage us,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “There are many things everyone, everywhere can and should do now.”Tedros praised Italy for “taking bold, courageous steps aimed …
Read more “WHO: 100 Countries Now Reporting Coronavirus Cases”
More than 15 million people were placed under forced quarantine in northern Italy early Sunday as the government approved drastic measures in an attempt to halt the spread of the deadly coronavirus that is sweeping the globe.Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said via Twitter he had signed off on plans to strictly limit movement in and …
Read more “One-Fourth of Italy’s Population Under Virus Lockdown”
Over the years, villagers who live near Greece’s border with Turkey got used to seeing small groups of people enter their country illegally. The Greek residents often offered the just-arrived newcomers a bite to eat and directed them to the nearest police or railway station.But the warm welcomes wore off. When Turkey started channeling thousands …
Read more “Greek Villagers Enlisted to Catch Migrants at Turkey Border”
Britain is expected to announce next week a new levy on banks and other firms regulated for anti-money laundering to raise up to 100 million pounds ($130 million) to tackle dirty money, the government said Saturday.London has long attracted corrupt foreign money, especially from Russia, Nigeria, Pakistan, former Soviet states and Asia, and the police …
Read more “UK Plans Levy on Banks, Others to Help Fight Money Laundering”
Pope Francis’s Angelus prayer on Sunday will be livestreamed in a break with centuries-old tradition, the Vatican announced as the number of coronavirus deaths in Italy soared past 200.Worldwide, the number of cases exceeded 100,000 and the overall death toll was more than 3,500 across 95 nations and territories.The World Health Organization called the spread …
Read more “Pope’s Sunday Prayer to Be Livestreamed as Coronavirus Spreads”
The tent camps sprouting around Paris are a potent affirmation that Europe has never figured out a sustainable migration strategy since its 2015-16 migrant crisis. In periodic pre-dawn raids, police dismantle them. But eventually they sprout back, often in tougher, grimier places. Today, fears of another mass influx of asylum-seekers have come roaring back, and …
North Korea accused several European nations of “illogical thinking” Saturday after they called a closed-door U.N. Security Council meeting to condemn missile launches by the reclusive state earlier this week.Britain, Germany, France, Estonia and Belgium raised North Korea’s latest missile firings at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, calling them a provocative action that violated …
Read more “North Korea Slams European Nations for ‘Illogical Thinking’ Over Missile Launches”
In March 2012, a 25-year-old Russian computer whiz named Yevgeny Nikulin sat with several others in a conference room in a hotel in eastern Moscow. A video taken by a Ukrainian named Oleksandr Ieremenko showed them discussing plans for an Internet cafe business and other matters.In an earlier part of the video, Ieremenko, 19, drives …
Read more “Tangled Web of Russia’s Cyber Underground Further Exposed in US Hacker Trial”
The European Union said Friday that it would host an international donors conference in June for refugees from Syria and surrounding countries, even as the bloc criticized Turkey for using asylum-seekers as political pawns.Announcement of the June 29-30 donors conference came during an EU foreign ministers meeting in Zagreb that addressed two related refugee crises. …
Pope Francis on Friday accepted the resignation of a French cardinal who was convicted and then acquitted of covering up for a pedophile priest in a case that fueled a reckoning over clergy sexual abuse in France. Lyon Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, 69, had offered to resign when the Lyon court in March 2019 …
Read more “Pope Lets French Cardinal Embroiled in Abuse Cover-Up Resign”
European Union health ministers held an extraordinary meeting to discuss the latest developments regarding the coronavirus outbreak. The continental bloc is trying to improve its collective response to the coronavirus outbreak, aside from some members’ decision to ban the export of protective equipment such as masks. The last time EU health ministers met, on …
Read more “EU Ministers Meet to Tackle Coronavirus Outbreak”
Britain’s biggest domestic airline is the latest casualty of the coronavirus outbreak. Flybe was rescued from near collapse in January but finally went bankrupt Thursday, hit by low demand and customer cancellations in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. Britain had reported close to 100 infections as of Thursday. Flybe served mainly British and …
Read more “Bankrupt British Airline is Latest Victim of Coronavirus”
EU foreign ministers, meeting in Croatia’s capital, Zagreb, Friday on the crisis in Syria’s Idlib province cautiously welcomed the Russian-Turkish cease-fire.”For sure I am pleased for the cease-fire, the cease-fire is good news. At least it’s goodwill, let’s see how it works,” EU High Representative Josep Borrell said as he arrived for talks.”It is important …
Read more “EU Foreign Ministers Cautiously Welcome Russia-Turkey Cease-Fire”
Russia and Turkey agreed to a cease-fire deal in Syria’s troubled Idlib province following marathon talks in Moscow aimed at preventing the two countries’ often dueling political aims in Syria from spiraling into a direct military conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met for six hours of negotiations at …
Read more “Leaders of Russia, Turkey Agree to Cease-fire Deal in Syria’s Idlib”
A London court ruled Thursday that the ruler of Dubai had instilled fear in his estranged wife and had choreographed the kidnapping of their two young daughters.At the end of 2018, Britain’s High Court said, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, 70, began a campaign of intimidation against his ex-wife, Princess Haya, 45, daughter of late …
Read more “London High Court Rules Dubai Ruler Harassed Estranged Wife, Daughters”
The United States is accusing Russia of opening up its entire disinformation playbook to prey on growing fears about the spread of the coronavirus.Moscow’s effort, underway for weeks, according to officials, includes the use of state-run media outlets, fake news websites and “swarms” of fake online personas to churn out fabricated information in at least …
Read more “US Accuses Russia of Spreading Fear, Panic on Coronavirus”
As the coronavirus continues to spread in Europe, extraordinary measures are being put into place on the continent.Organizers of the London Book Fair, one of the publishing industry’s biggest gatherings, have canceled the event. Airlines have also significantly cut back on flights.In Italy, where the number of deaths from coronavirus is second only to China, …
Read more “Italy Closes Schools, Universities Due to Coronavirus Spread”