worldwide news
Ready or not, Greece is opening back up. But it is not happening all at once, as the government plans to lift coronavirus restrictions in phases, keeping a ban on religious services to contain new outbreaks of COVID. The plan has infuriated the Greek Orthodox Church and it is now demanding preference over businesses like …
Read more “Greek Church Demands Government Ease Controls on Religious Services”
The U.K. held a minute’s silence Tuesday for all front-line workers who have died from the coronavirus, as official figures showed a new weekly high in the total number of deaths in England and Wales. As clocks struck 11 a.m., senior political leaders, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, joined hospital and nursing home staff in …
Read more “UK Mourns Front-Line Workers Who Have Died from Coronavirus”
Germany’s farmers, foresters, and firefighters are eagerly awaiting widespread rain forecast for later this week, as a warm, dry spring has raised fears of a third summer drought in as many years. Ahead of a virtual climate meeting Tuesday for officials from 30 countries, German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said the previous two years of …
Read more “Germany Hopes for Rain to Avoid 3rd Straight Summer Drought”
Doctors in Britain, Italy, Portugal and Spain are exploring a possible link between a severe inflammatory disease in children and the coronavirus. A growing number of children of various ages in several European countries have been admitted to hospitals with high fever and heart issues. Some also have suffered from gastrointestinal problems, such as vomiting and diarrhea. The children appear to be suffering from Kawasaki disease, which is more common in parts of Asia where it afflicts children younger …
Read more “COVID Link Suspected in Children’s Inflammatory Disease”
Scientists at Oxford University are racing to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus well ahead of the standard medical timeline. The scientists have expressed confidence in their ability to do it quickly, raising hopes around the world that a vaccine will not have to wait until next year. The first injections of the vaccine being developed by the university’s Jenner Institute in …
Read more “Scientists at Oxford Take Early Lead in Race to Create Vaccine “
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock expressed cautious optimism Monday about the COVID-19 outbreak in that country, but said the government is sticking with its lockdown restrictions to continue “flattening the curve.” Speaking at a news briefing in London, Hancock said the nation is coming through a peak in the outbreak but said it would “count for nothing if we let things slip now and risk a second peak.” He urged …
Read more “British Health Secretary Says Nation ‘Coming Through Peak’ of COVID-19 Outbreak “
Firefighters in Ukraine continue to battle a series of fires near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant nearly a month after they broke out.The State Service for Emergency Situations said on April 27 that brigades were still working to extinguish fires in the Lubyanskiy, Paryshivskiy, Dytyatkivskiy, and Denysovytskiy forest districts in the Chernobyl exclusion zone.”The …
Read more “Ukraine Continues Fighting Fires Near Defunct Chernobyl Nuclear Plant”
The holy month of Ramadan is underway, and the Central Jamia Mosque Ghamkol Sharif in Birmingham should be full of worshippers. But this year, the main arrivals are the dead. While the mosque in the central England city has been closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic, its parking lot has been transformed into a …
Read more “Mosque’s Makeshift Morgue Shows Virus Toll on UK Minorities”
In Spain the confinement began on March 14. Since then we have not been out on the street, except to buy food and throw away the garbage. There are 45 apartments in the building where we live with our young son, 200 meters from the sea in the Poblenou neighborhood of Barcelona. It was built …
Read more “COVID-19 Diaries: In Spain, Routine Keeps Adults and Children Sane”
European markets are starting the trading week in positive territory as governments around the world begin to gradually lift restrictions imposed to fight the coronavirus epidemic. London’s benchmark FTSE was trading 1.4% higher in Monday’s late-afternoon session, the CAC-40 in Paris had gained 1.9%, and Frankfurt’s DAX index was 2.8% higher. All of Asia’s indexes made significant …
Read more “European Markets Begin Week in Positive Territory “
The Dutch national birthday party for their king was a muted affair Monday, dubbed King’s Day at Home because of coronavirus restrictions. King Willem-Alexander was celebrating his 53rd birthday with his family at home in their palace in a forest on the edge of The Hague after a mass celebration in the southern city of …
Read more “King’s Day at Home: Dutch Monarch’s Birthday Muted by Virus”
Greeted by relieved parents, pet dogs, flares and a cloud of orange smoke, a group of 25 Dutch high school students with very little sailing experience ended a trans-Atlantic voyage Sunday that was forced on them by coronavirus restrictions.The children, ages 14 to 17, watched over by 12 experienced crew members and three teachers, were …
Read more “Dutch Students Complete Atlantic Crossing Forced by Virus”
The Russian Agriculture Ministry announced Sunday that it was suspending its export of most grains until July 1, seemingly ignoring warnings from international organizations who are asking countries not to disrupt global food supply chains during the current COVID-19 pandemic.The ministry said the Russian cutoff affected shipments of wheat, corn, rye, barley and meslin, which …
The itch to dance, to break out of coronavirus lockdown and bust a few moves in the fresh air, out on the street, has proved too strong for some to resist in Paris after weeks of staying home.Video of Parisians dancing in the street this weekend, some wearing face masks, triggered buzz and criticism on …
Read more “Parisians Defy Lockdown by Dancing, Briefly, in the Street “
The United Nations says persistent and serious long-term consequences remain more than 30 years after the explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine.The world body is marking International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day on April 26, the 34th anniversary of the accident that spread a radioactive cloud over large parts of Belarus, …
Read more “UN: Consequences Remain Decades After Chernobyl Disaster”
The Netherlands is sending urgent medical supplies to Greece to help shield tens of thousands of migrants and refugees following a series of COVID-19 outbreaks in Greek refugee camps. The government in Athens is boosting controls there, but it is also tightening lockdown rules for migrants, stripping violators of asylum rights and slapping them with …
Italians on Saturday celebrated the 75th anniversary of Liberation Day — and the end of World War II fascist rule — under a national lockdown.Stranded at home, they went out on their balconies waving flags, singing, clapping and cheering. Among them were elderly Italians who participated in the resistance movement in the 1940s against German …
Read more “Italians Mark Anniversary of Liberation Under Lockdown”
Weeks into France’s strict coronavirus lockdown, Mohammed, a 14-year-old with autism, took a pickax and started hitting the wall of his family’s house.His explanation: “Too long at home, too hard to wait.”The disruptions in daily life caused by the virus pandemic are a particularly trying ordeal for children with disabilities and the people who love …
Read more “Virus Lockdowns an Extra Ordeal for Special-Needs Children”
The mix of fury and disappointment among residents was palpable inside a cafe in the southeastern Turkish city of Mardin after the government replaced the popular mayor with a trustee.One year on from local elections, 40 out of 65 municipalities won by the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) are now under the control of government-appointed …
Read more “Cities Angered by Removal of Pro-Kurdish Mayors in Turkey”
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, issued a rare joint statement Saturday commemorating a 1945 World War II link-up of U.S. and Soviet troops on their way to defeat Nazi Germany as an example of how their countries can cooperate.The statement by Trump and Putin came amid deep strains in U.S.-Russian …
Read more “Trump, Putin Issue Rare Joint Statement Promoting Cooperation”
The World Health Organization warned Saturday that there was “no evidence” that recovered COVID-19 patients with antibodies were immune to a second coronavirus infection.The WHO issued the warning in a scientific brief as it confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide had topped 2.8 million. Worldwide fatalities exceeded 200,000, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics.”Some governments have …
Read more “Recovered Patients With Antibodies Not Immune to Coronavirus, WHO Warns”
The coronavirus lockdown in many European countries has led to less pollution. But policy decisions in coming months will make clear if an economic recovery helps or hurts environmental gains.Europe’s cities, where streets are usually congested, are now quiet, as people are forced to stay at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.Alberto Gonzalez Ortiz, an …
Read more “Economic, Environmental Interests Compete in a Post-COVID Europe”
The worldwide number of COVID-19 cases continues to climb, bringing misery and pain to all echelons of society.The global count of cases has reached more than 2.8 million people, and more than 197,000 people have died.There have been a growing number of coronavirus cases aboard an Italian cruise ship docked in Japan with a crew …
Read more “COVID’s Grim Tally Continues to Rise, With Global Deaths Nearing 200,000”
An unmanned cargo spacecraft with food, fuel and supplies docked at the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday.Russian Progress 75 cargo ship left the Baikonur Cosmodrom in Kazakhstan, a few minutes before 1 a.m. GMT and transported almost 3 tons of food and other supplies to the ISS.Scientists and staff, both in Baikonur and at …
Read more “Unmanned Cargo Spacecraft Docks at the International Space Station”