Coronavirus: Belgium hospital employs robot to protect against COVID-19
A robot that speaks dozens of languages, detects fever and calls out people if they’re not wearing face masks properly is helping a hospital in Belgium limit the spread of coronavirus. As patients arrive at Antwerp University Hospital (UZA) they are given a QR code...
G7 leaders reject Russia’s return after Trump summit invite
The UK and Canada have opposed Russia’s return to the G7, deepening a rift over US President Donald Trump’s wish for the country to rejoin. Mr Trump said on Saturday he would postpone the G7 summit scheduled to take place this month until September. The...
Iraq war: All but one war crimes claim against British soldiers dropped
British soldiers who have been accused of committing war crimes in Iraq are unlikely to face criminal prosecution. Independent investigators were asked to look at thousands of allegations made against the British military after the invasion of Iraq in 2003. But the director of the...
Lockdown latest from Europe
France becomes the latest European nation to further ease its lockdown. Here’s the latest from Europe: On Tuesday, France officially entered Phase 2 of its lockdown easing. Bars and restaurants reopen – though only the terraces in Paris – a 100km (62-mile) limit on travel...
Jerusalem’s holiest site reopens as coronavirus restrictions ease
One of the holiest sites in Jerusalem reopened Sunday morning for the first time in more than two months, in a further sign of the easing of coronavirus restrictions by the Israeli government. The site, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews...
Spanish government will seek a further extension of the state of emergency
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez celebrated the “great results of the last few weeks” when it comes to coronavirus cases during a news conference on Sunday, but said “we can’t relax” and said “the virus is still present in our country.” The prime minister announced...
Coronavirus: Lockdown eased in Moscow after nine weeks
Authorities in Moscow have eased lockdown restrictions, even as case numbers continue to rise. Parks and shopping centres in Russia’s capital reopened and people were allowed out for walks and limited exercise for the first time in nine weeks. President Vladimir Putin announced last week...
Faithful return to St. Peter’s Square to hear Pope Francis’ words
In a small sign of life getting back to normal, crowds returned to St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican City on Sunday as Pope Francis resumed his traditional greeting from his window, for the first time since lockdown began in Italy nearly three months ago....
Scotland’s First Minister warns coronavirus still poses “significant risk” as England prepares to lift restrictions
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned that coronavirus still poses a “significant risk,” calling on citizens to not become complacent as the UK government prepares to lift some lockdown restrictions in England on Monday. “We have got to be very cautious. The virus has...
World Health Organization releases new guidance for outdoor events and mass gatherings
The World Health Organization on Saturday released new guidance for mass gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic, recommending a number of possible changes to large events — once they’re allowed to take place. Holding gatherings outdoors, limiting attendance to healthy people and staggering arrivals could all...
Coronavirus: Belgian Prince Joachim tests positive after lockdown party
A Belgian prince has contracted coronavirus after attending a party during lockdown in Spain, the country’s royal palace says. Prince Joachim, 28, travelled from Belgium to Spain for an internship on 26 May, the palace said. Two days later, he went to a party in...
Merkel “cannot confirm” G7 attendance amid coronavirus pandemic
German Chancellor Angela Merkel “cannot confirm” that she will attend a possible G7 summit of world leaders in Washington amid the coronavirus pandemic, a spokesperson at the Chancellery said Saturday. US President Donald Trump has said the summit could be held in Washington in late...
More on the EU’s statement on Trump
Germany’s health minister Jens Spahn gave the first clear-cut European reaction to President Trump’s announcement, calling it a “disappointing backlash for international health. This latest reaction comes from the EU’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borell, and the head of the EU’s executive, Commission President Ursula...
Moscow more than doubles city’s Covid-19 death toll
Moscow’s authorities have more than doubled the official death toll from Covid-19 in the Russian capital for the month of April. The city’s health department now says 1,561 people died from the disease – not 639 as initially announced. The department stressed that the new...
Moscow revises Covid-19 death toll, more than doubling April fatalities
Moscow health authorities have revised the city’s coronavirus death toll for April, revealing that more than twice as many people died than previously reported. Officials raised the documented number of fatalities attributed to Covid-19 to 1,561 up from 636. CNN and other news outlets reported in mid-May that...
Berlin’s pubs and fitness studios allowed to reopen
Berlin is further easing its coronavirus restrictions, by allowing pubs and fitness studios to reopen and increasing limits for public gatherings, according to the region’s Senate. Starting this weekend, outdoor prayer services with an unlimited number of people will be allowed in Germany’s capital, in...
Renault cuts 15,000 jobs in major restructuring
Renault is cutting 15,000 jobs worldwide as part of a €2bn (£1.8bn) cost-cutting plan after seeing sales plunge because of the virus pandemic. “This plan is essential,” said interim boss Clotilde Delbos, who announced cuts in production to focus on more profitable car models. Some...
What’s the latest around Europe?
Russia has reported 232 more deaths, its highest number in a 24-hour period, bringing the total to 4,374. New infections, at 8,572, are well down from their peak. That death toll may be under-reported too, as our story on Moscow’s decision to revise its number...
WHO says Covid-19 caused 159,000 excess deaths in 24 European countries
The Covid-19 outbreak has been responsible for 159,000 excess deaths in 24 European countries since early March, World Health Organization (WHO) Europe Director Hans Henri Kluge announced on Thursday. Excess deaths is a term used to define the number of deaths which occurred in a...
“The next thing I knew he just spat at me”: London transport workers fear deadly Covid-19 assaults
Spencer Suckling has been driving one of London’s famous red buses for 16 years. In that time, he’s dealt with rude passengers, stressed commuters and speeding motorists. But the Covid-19 pandemic has brought new dangers for transport workers in the British capital. Suckling was spat...
UK opposition demands 24-hour coronavirus test guarantee
UK Labour Party leader Keir Starmer has demanded that the British government bring in a 24-hour guarantee for coronavirus testing. “I’m calling on the Prime Minister to introduce a guarantee that no one will have to wait longer than 24 hours to get a coronavirus...
Russia’s medical workers risk their lives with little applause
Frontline medical workers in the US, UK and elsewhere may face major risks in their efforts to battle the coronavirus pandemic, but they’ve also seen an outpouring of public appreciation. In Russia, health workers say they face fear, mistrust — even open hostility. Tatyana Revva,...
Spain had 43,000 more deaths than usual during two peak Covid-19 months
Mortality rates in Spain were 55% higher than usual between March 10 and May 10, the country’s top coronavirus health ministry official said Wednesday. “This excess of 55% represents more than 43,000 deaths than what is expected,” Fernando Simón, Spain’s director of the center for...
Russia reports more than 8,300 new infections
Russia has confirmed 8,371 new infections and 124 deaths linked to the virus in the past 24 hours, slightly more for both of those counts than the previous day. The total virus death toll has increased to 4,142 and the overall number of cases stands...
France cuts nearly 850,000 jobs in April
We should be getting the latest unemployment claims numbers in the US in about 30 minutes, at 13:30 BST (12:30 GMT). In the past eight weeks more than 30 million Americans have lost their jobs amid the pandemic. Meanwhile in France, nearly 850,000 people became...
Nissan backs UK plant as it unveils survival plan
Nissan’s UK factory in Sunderland will stay open as the Japanese carmaker carries out a global restructuring amid the coronavirus pandemic. It will close its factory in Barcelona with the loss of about 2,800 jobs after the firm plunged to a $6.2bn (£5bn) net loss...
Coronavirus: Cyprus to pay holiday costs of infected tourists
Cyprus has pledged to cover the holiday costs of anyone who tests positive for the virus after travelling there. In a letter made public on Wednesday, the government said it would pay for accommodation, medicine and food for patients and their families. Tourists “will only...
Coronavirus: EasyJet plans up to 4,500 job cuts
EasyJet is to cut up to 30% of its workforce as it struggles to cope with the collapse in demand for air travel caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The airline did not say exactly how many jobs would go, but it employed 15,000 people at...
Coronavirus: Von der Leyen calls €750bn recovery fund ‘Europe’s moment’
A recovery fund worth €750bn (£670bn; $825bn) has been proposed by the EU’s executive Commission to help the EU tackle an “unprecedented crisis”. The package will be made up of grants and loans for every EU member state. Economies across the 27-nation EU bloc have...
UK records more than 400 new coronavirus deaths within the last day
The United Kingdom recorded 412 coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 37,460, the Department of Health and Social Care said Wednesday. According to the latest government data, an additional 2,013 people tested positive for the virus since Tuesday and...
