Alphabet Inc’s Google on Thursday published reports for 131 countries showing whether visits to shops, parks, and workplaces dropped in March when many governments issued stay-at-home orders to rein in the spread of the novel coronavirus. Google’s analysis of location data from billions of users’ phones is the largest public …
Read More »Spain deaths surpass China, as third of our planet in lockdown
Spain joined Italy on Wednesday in seeing its death toll from the coronavirus epidemic surpass that of China, as more than a billion Indians joined a lockdown that has confined a third of humanity. Markets rebounded after Washington vowed to spend $2 trillion to fend off a US economic collapse, …
Read More »Video: Germans sing from rooftops in solidarity with Italy during coronavirus lockdown
People in the Bavarian town of Bamberg stood on their rooftops and opened their windows to sing Bella Ciao, an Italian resistance song, in solidarity with Italy where the death toll from the Covid-19 outbreak continues to rise
Read More »Italy’s Prime Minister asks for help from EU crisis fund
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in an interview that the European Union must use “the full firepower” of its 500 billion euro ($534.10 billion) rescue fund to confront Europe’s economic crisis during the coronavirus outbreak. The Italian Prime Minister told the Financial Times newspaper that monetary policy alone is …
Read More »Coronavirus deaths in Italy overtake China as economic damage mounts
The world’s richest nations poured unprecedented aid into the global economy on Thursday as coronavirus cases ballooned in the new epicenter Europe, with the number of deaths in Italy outstripping those in mainland China, where the virus originated. With over 242,000 infections and nearly 10,000 deaths, the epidemic has stunned …
Read More »Dolphins, fish swim in Venice’s clear canals as Italians sit in quarantine
Italians took to social media to show the upsurge in marine life as Venice’s canals are clear of boats amid the coronavirus outbreak. As nonessential businesses in Italy come to a halt, the canals of Venice were cleared of the usual boat traffic, allowing Italians to see dolphins, fish, and …
Read More »China reports zero local transmissions for first time
China has for the first time reported no new locally transmitted cases of the new coronavirus at its epicenter since the country started recording infections in January. China’s National Health Commission announced on Thursday that there had been no new infections in the country’s central city of Wuhan, in Hubei …
Read More »Global death toll from coronavirus outbreak nears 3,000 as US confirms 2nd fatality
Two people sickened with the novel coronavirus have died in the United States, as the global death toll from the viral outbreak that began in China nears 3,000. Both patients who succumbed to the newly identified virus, known officially as COVID-19, were residents of Washington state’s King County, officials said. …
Read More »Qatar to become first Gulf country to get submarines and aircraft carriers
Qatar is reportedly expected to acquire submarines from Italy and turn into the first Gulf Arab country to operate those watercraft. The American business magazine Forbes reported that a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Italian company Fincantieri, Europe’s largest shipbuilder, covers the “supply of cutting-edge naval vessels and submarines” …
Read More »Italian Police Attacked with Bricks in Turin Migrant Centre
Eleven police and two army soldiers were attacked with bricks at a migrant repatriation centre in Turin over the weekend in just the latest case of violence at the centre. The migrants in the centre tore bricks off the walls of a structure and climbed onto the roof of a …
Read More »Italy court rules home-growing cannabis is legal, reigniting dispute
Italy’s Supreme Court has ruled that small-scale domestic cultivation of cannabis is legal, in a landmark decision triggering calls for further legalization from weed advocates and anger from the country’s conservatives. Called on to clarify previous conflicting interpretations of the law, the Court of Cassation decreed that the crime of …
Read More »Italy’s education minister quits over lack of funds for ministry
Italy’s education minister Lorenzo Fioramonti resigned after the government failed to provide the ministry with the extra €3 billion he asked in order to improve the country’s schools and universities. Fioramonti has been threatening to quit since just after the coalition government formed in September, following the collapse of the …
Read More »Another deadly Mediterranean rafting: 4 killed, 16 missing
Four refugees have died and up to 16 more are missing after trying to cross into Europe from North Africa on a small raft, Spain’s coastguard says. Rescuers saved 58 people from the raft, which was found drifting around 37 miles off the coast of Morocco on Tuesday night. Three …
Read More »Italy’s Venice underwater for the second day.
Venice residents woke up to find more than 70 percent of the city underwater for the second day in a row on Wednesday, after being hit by record tides and strong winds on Tuesday. Residents and tourists are struggling to make their way through the flooded St. Mark’s Square, while …
Read More »Italian police seize German rescue ship, will disembark over 100 migrants.
Italian police on Monday seized a German migrant rescue ship that had been stranded at sea for a week and will disembark more than 100 migrants soon, according to a police spokesman. The ship’s captain had earlier set course for the port of Pozzallo, on the island of Sicily, sparking …
Read More »Videos: Italy’s Stromboli volcano erupts, spewing lava & ash.
A volcano off the south of Italy erupted with a loud roar in front of gobsmacked tourists, spilling a river of lava into the sea and sending huge plumes of hot ash into the sky. The volcano on Stromboli island erupted at 12:17 pm local time on Wednesday, according to …
Read More »In a new migrant standoff, Italy’s Salvini blocks two NGO boats.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Tuesday he was working to prevent two rescue ships operated by French and Spanish charities from bringing more than 500 migrants to Italy in the latest Mediterranean stand-off. The Ocean Viking, which is run by French non-governmental groups (NGOs) Doctors Without Borders and …
Read More »Richard Gere visits migrants stuck at sea in the Mediterranean.
Actor Richard Gere is visiting rescued migrants on board a humanitarian ship that has been stuck in the Mediterranean Sea for over a week. The Hollywood star took food and supplies by boat Friday to 121 people aboard the Open Arms, a rescue ship floating in international waters near the …
Read More »Video: Mount Etna erupts, disrupting flights in Sicily
Europe’s highest volcano, Mount Etna in southern Italy, bursts into life with explosions and lava flows from one of the craters on the deserted area at the top of the Sicilian volcano.
Read More »Instagram removes ‘likes’ from the social media app.
Instagram started hiding “likes” on its platform in Australia, Brazil, and several other major markets Thursday, saying it wanted to ease pressure on users, following criticism about its impacts on mental health. The Facebook-owned social media giant’s trial changes mean users in the six countries will no longer be able …
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