Worldwide news. The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique while others talk of a “plurality of worlds”
At the start of their coronavirus lockdowns, European governments scrambled to shore up businesses and the public sector with subsidies — a bid to ensure that a post-virus recession is not prolonged because of cascading layoffs and bankruptcies. But the economic prospects look dim for Europe with the impact of the lockdowns, now being slowly relaxed, lasting years, analysts say. …
After some schools went through a “dry run” on Friday, more of Belgium’s schools opened Monday as the nation took its “next step” in easing its COVID-18 restrictions. Classes resumed with a limited number of pupils per school to make sure social distancing was fully respected. Temperatures were taken as students entered schools and face masks …
Read more “Students in Belgium Return to School After 2-Month COVID Break “
Churches across Italy prepared to reopen Monday with new rules at the end of a more than 2-month lockdown due to Covid-19. Pope Francis celebrated his last streaming morning mass to mark the centenary of the birth of Saint John Paul II. After intense preparations inside the churches, the faithful are returning to services Monday, as …
Brazil become the country with the fourth-largest number of coronavirus infections in the world, surpassing Spain and Italy. Overnight, the South American country had more than 15,000 confirmed new cases, bringing the total to more than 235,000 Sunday, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally. Health experts say the real number of cases could be higher because many people have not been tested. With the death toll …
Read more “Brazil Overtakes Spain, Italy In Number of COVID Cases”
Pirates attacked a British-flagged oil tanker off the coast of Yemen Sunday, causing some minor damage but no injuries.Operators of the Stolt Apel say six gunmen in two separate speedboats sped toward the tanker about 140 kilometers off Yemen in the Gulf of Aden.Armed guards aboard the boat returned fire, disabling one of the speedboats.A …
On a weekend when many pandemic-weary people emerged from weeks of lockdown, leaders in the U.S. and Europe weighed the risks and rewards of lifting COVID-19 restrictions knowing that a vaccine could take years to develop.In separate stark warnings, two major European leaders bluntly told their citizens that the world needs to adapt to living …
Read more “US, European Leaders Weigh Reopening Risks Without a Vaccine”
Albanian police clashed with demonstrators, including artists and opposition supporters Sunday who were protesting the demolition of the country’s National Theater in the capital Tirana.About 40 people were detained early in the morning and police pulled a group of artists away from the building, before heavy machinery started to bring it down.Protesters chanted “Down with …
Read more “Albanian Police Move to Demolish Country’s National Theater”
May 17 is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.First observed in 2004, the day was designed to focus “attention on the violence and discrimination experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexuals, transgender, intersex people and all other people with diverse sexual orientations, gender, identities or expressions, and sex characteristics,” according the May17.org website.The U.N. secretary general …
Read more “May 17 Is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, Biphobia”
Serbia has deployed troops near a town not far from the border with Croatia, where hundreds of migrants hoping to reach the European Union are located.In a statement issued Saturday, the Serbian Defense Ministry said President Aleksandar Vucic sent the troops to “secure” three migrant camps near the western town of Sid, where about 1,500 …
More and more migrants are crossing, Europe is closing its ports and no humanitarian ships are carrying out rescues. As the coronavirus pandemic dominates headlines, activists fear the Mediterranean is the scene of an overlooked “tragedy.”A handful of migrant landings have taken place in recent weeks, including 79 people who arrived last weekend in Italy …
Read more “Fears Mount Over Migrants Dying ‘Out of Sight’ in Mediterranean”
Thousands of Bosnians, many wearing masks, demonstrated Saturday against a Mass in Sarajevo for Croatia’s Nazi-allied soldiers and civilians killed by partisan forces at the end of World War II.The Mass in Sarajevo was a replacement for a controversial annual gathering usually held in Bleiburg, Austria, which was canceled because of restrictions imposed by the …
Read more “Bosnians Protest Mass in Sarajevo for Nazi-Allied Soldiers”
An Iranian court has sentenced a prominent researcher with dual French-Iranian citizenship to six years in prison on security charges, her lawyer said Saturday.Fariba Adelkhah was sentenced to five years for “gathering and collusion” against the country’s security and one year for “spreading propaganda” against the Islamic system, her lawyer, Saeed Dehghan, told The Associated …
Read more “Lawyer: Iran Sentences Dual National Academic to 6 Years”
Greek police have reinforced security around a community of Roma in central Greece as government health officials prepare to enter the settlement today to remove 35 people infected with the coronavirus.The infections mark a sharp uptick in Greece’s almost spotless record of COVID cases. Even so, members of the Roma community at the settlement of …
Read more “Fresh COVID Outbreak in Greek Roma Camp Sparks Violence”
Greece has opened up 500 of its beaches as the country eases lockdown restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.Authorities authorized the move as a heat wave was expected to hit the country this weekend. But sizzling temperatures aside, the measure is seen as a crucial test of readiness for Greece’s biggest challenge: summer …
Read more “Greece Reopens 500 Beaches as It Relaxes Lockdown Rules”
French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah has been sentenced to six-years in prison by an Iranian court, according to her lawyer.The lawyer, Saeid Dehghan, said Adelkhah was sentenced to five years for conspiring against Iran’s national security and one year for propaganda against the Islamic Republic.France has called for Adelkhah’s release, but Iran does not recognize dual …
Read more “French-Iranian Academic Sentenced to 6 Years in Iranian Prison”
A Montenegrin prosecutor on Friday ordered the release from detention of a Serbian Orthodox Church bishop and eight priests, whose arrests had sparked protests and clashes with police.Several hundred people gathered outside the detention facility in the western town of Niksic, greeting Bishop Joanikije and the other priests as they left it late Friday.”Let this …
The United States will donate 200 medical ventilators to Moscow via U.S. military transport beginning next week, to aid against the worsening coronavirus outbreak in Russia.Government communications obtained by VOA reveal that the first 50 ventilators are being produced in California and will be ready for shipment to a surgical center in Moscow on Wednesday. …
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven defended his country’s strategy in fighting the spread of COVID-19, pushing back on the notion Sweden has taken a “business as usual” attitude toward the pandemic.Speaking to foreign correspondents Friday in the capital, Stockholm, Lofven insisted life is not carrying on as normal in Sweden, as he said its international …
Read more “Swedish Prime Minister Defends COVID-19 Response”
Russia’s media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has asked Google to block an article about the controversy over official data on coronavirus deaths in the country on the website of MBKh Media independent online publication.MBKh Media said late on May 14 that its article was based on a report by the Financial Times, which estimated that the real …
Read more “Russia’s Media Regulator Asks Google to Block Article Questioning COVID Death Toll”
The Slovenian government has declared an official end to many of its coronavirus limits, becoming the first European country to do so, after authorities confirmed less than seven new coronavirus cases each day for the past two weeks.Speaking to parliament Thursday, Prime Minister Janez Jansa said Slovenia has the best epidemiological picture in Europe and …
Read more “Slovenia Lifts Many of Its COVID-19 Restrictions”
Protesters in Montenegro took on the streets again Thursday, a day after police arrested dozens of demonstrators demanding the release of priests detained after leading a religious procession in disregard to the lockdown regulations.Protesters had clashed with police at rallies Wednesday over the detainment of eight Serbian Orthodox Church priests who are facing charges of …
Turkey is easing COVID-19 restrictions as the government claims success in containing the virus. While infection and death rates are falling, concerns remain that the move may be coming too soon. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …
Once they scrambled to grab what they could from a disintegrating Soviet state, exploiting the political and economic chaos of the post-communist Boris Yeltsin era to secure state enterprises, oilfields and mineral deposits at knockdown prices. But now Russia’s uber-wealthy oligarchs are rushing to shore up a failing state effort to curb the spread of …
Read more “In Russia, Rumblings of Discontent Grow as Oligarchs Move to Plug Gaps”
In a world full of bad news on coronavirus, the good deeds of quiet people often go unnoticed. In a report narrated by Jonathan Spier, Ricardo Marquina and Sergey Smolyakov bring us the story of an octogenarian in St. Petersburg, Russia, who – despite being in the highest-risk group – goes out every day to …
Read more “80-Year-Old Russian Woman Defies COVID Fears to Help Others”