Month: April 2020

Two planeloads of Eastern European farmhands arrived Thursday in Berlin and Duesseldorf amid strict precautions to protect the country from the new coronavirus, as an ambitious German program to import thousands of seasonal agricultural workers got underway.Seasonal workers had been caught up in the country’s ban on travel after the outbreak of the coronavirus. That …

Read more “Germany Flies in Seasonal Farm Workers Amid Virus Measures”

With humans away, the whales will play.In another sign that wild animals are roaming more freely while locked-down people are sheltering indoors from the coronavirus, a maritime patrol has filmed remarkable images of whales powering through Mediterranean waters off the coast of southern France.The graceful pair of fin whales was filmed Tuesday in waters off …

Read more “Whales Filmed Having Whale of a Time During Lockdown”

After a brutal 10-year financial crisis, Greece was on course to a promising rebound. Businesses and exports were slowly but consistently growing, and tourism was booming. With the coronavirus, however, the biggest money-making industry for Europe’s poorest economy, is in peril.This was supposed to be a record year, with this tiny, sun-kissed nation and its …

Read more “Coronavirus Threatens Greek Tourism”

A year after a fire that shocked the world and destroyed the roof of Paris’ ancient cathedral of Notre Dame, France is marking the first anniversary amid the coronavirus pandemic. Workers who were removing lead contamination ahead of reconstruction were sent home as part of efforts to contain the spread of the virus.It has been …

Read more “Rebuilding of Paris’ Notre Dame Stalled as Pandemic Rages”

Outside wartime nothing like it as ever been seen before in modern Western history. The lockdowns by democratic states with their draconian constraints on civil liberties and private enterprise fly in the face of an historical progression that’s seen the size and roles of governments shrunk and individual liberty boosted.As governments mobilize resources and coerce …

Read more “In Global Life-Death Struggle, Democracy Changes Course”

It is usually the most crowded week of the year in the Eternal City, but for the first time in recorded history, Rome  — including the Vatican — are deserted on Holy Week as travel and fear of contagion keep thousands of pilgrims away. For VOA, Sabina Castelfranco reports.  …

 Maddalena Ferrari lets herself cry when she takes off the surgical mask she wears even at home to protect her elderly parents from the coronavirus that surrounds her at work in one of Italy’s hardest-hit intensive care units.In the privacy of her own bedroom, where no one can see, the nursing coordinator peels away the …

Read more “Italy, Spain ICU Pressures Decline, but Emotional Toll Rises”

European markets reversed course Wednesday after two days of gains, as optimism about the trend of the coronavirus pandemic was tempered with news of a mounting death toll.Britain’s FTSE, the CAC-40 in Paris and the DAX in Frankfurt were all trending down over 1% by late Wednesday afternoon.  The selloff followed Asia’s mixed trading session, …

Read more “European Markets Fall Wednesday as Coronavirus Optimism Fades”

A British official said Prime Minister Boris Johnson was in stable condition Wednesday after spending a second night in the intensive care unit at a London hospital for coronavirus disease treatment. Junior Health Minister Edward Argar said Johnson was “comfortable and in good spirits.” The prime minister has been hospitalized since Sunday after his symptoms persisted during …

Read more “PM Johnson Spends Second Night in Intensive Care”

Tuesday saw an increase in deaths and new COVID-19 cases in Britain, France, some eastern European countries, Sweden, Japan and the United States, while China, South Korea and a handful of other countries reported a decline in deaths and new infections. China on Tuesday ended the 76-day lockdown in the city of Wuhan, Hubei province, where …

Read more “Countries Worldwide in Different Stages of COVID-19 Trajectory”

Russia and Saudi Arabia meet with other countries Thursday on cutting oil production while they continue a price war that has driven down U.S. gasoline and oil prices.The talks could calm prices that declined in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told Russian television several days ago that the coronavirus crisis is one of the principal causes of what he called the …

Read more “OPEC Meeting Could End Oil Tug-of-War Between Russia, Saudi Arabia”

Across a locked-down France, strawberries, lettuce and asparagus are ripening, near-ready for picking. Other plants are poking through the warming soil, thanks to rising temperatures and generous sunshine. But the tens of thousands of Polish, Romanian and Moroccan workers who normally flood in for spring harvest are nowhere in sight.France is not the only country …

Read more “To the Farms, Citoyens! France Urges Citizens to Fill Labor Gaps”