World News

American and British cybersecurity officials are warning that state-backed hackers and online criminals are taking advantage of the coronavirus outbreak to further their operations, echoing concerns from digital safety experts.

World powers scrambled on Thursday to build a global response to the human tragedy and once-in-a-century economic collapse caused by the coronavirus epidemic, as death tolls in the US and Europe soared higher.

Saudi Arabia and Russia ended their price war and are poised to deliver the oil production cut President Trump has been demanding in order to raise historically low prices that have damaged the U.S. shale industry.

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson was taken from intensive care late Thursday but remained in a London hospital recovering of the new coronavirus COVID-19, his office announced. “The prime minister has been moved this evening from intensive care back to the ward…He will receive close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery,” it added.

European Union finance ministers agreed Thursday on a half-a-trillion euro ($550-billion) rescue package for European nations hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The chairman of the Eurogroup, Mário Centeno, confirmed the deal following marathon talks in Brussels where Italy warned the EU would collapse without financial solidarity.

Powerful cyclone Harold slammed into the South Pacific island nation of Fiji Wednesday, cutting off communications, causing buildings to collapse and injuring residents in Suva, the capital. The category 5 cyclone has already killed 27 people in the Solomon Islands and wreaked havoc in Vanuatu. The cyclone crisis in the South Pacific comes as local Island nations brace for the coronavirus pandemic.

A new report shows the “dramatic reversal” of a five-year trend as US companies commanded a considerably larger share of manufacturing in 2019 than the 14 Asian exporters that were tracked for the study. According to the seventh annual Reshoring Index report by global manufacturing consulting firm Kearney, Chinese exporters suffered the greatest losses.

A disagreement over eurozone loans on Wednesday halted European Union (EU) efforts to agree on a deal on managing the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Negotiations between European finance ministers were suspended until Thursday after 16 hours of talks brought no resolution. Yesterday’s discussions followed similar talks that were held last month, when no agreement was reached either.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said Wednesday that it was halting military operations nationwide in support of U.N. efforts to end a five-year war that has killed over 100,000 people and spread hunger and disease.

Worldwide debt reached 322% of GDP last year, according to new figures which will worry governments planning post-coronavirus economic recoveries.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) rushed to defend his agency’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic after President Donald Trump threatened to cut U.S. funding to them. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appealed for unity and a halt to “politicization” of the global health crisis, saying China and the United States should show “honest leadership.”

The World Health Organization said Tuesday it had received assurances from North Korea that it continues testing for the new coronavirus and has more than 500 people in quarantine. The leadership of North Korea, one of the world’s most repressive states, has so far claimed there are no confirmed cases of the virus, known as COVID-19.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday declared a state of emergency to fight coronavirus infections in major population centers and rolled out a nearly $1 trillion stimulus package to soften the economic blow.

The Brexit trade deal will face greater challenges ahead as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now in intensive care because of the coronavirus, while other key negotiators have either been infected or are in self-isolation.

Americans are going to transit stations, retail and recreation locations and workplaces much less frequently now than they were just a month ago, according to a new mobility project from Google that traces human movements worldwide.

Cyclone Harold tore through the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu for the second day on Tuesday. Buildings collapsed and communications were cut off in some parts of the island. As of Tuesday afternoon, no casualties had been reported.

A spectacular Super Moon is set to appear in the night skies on April 7th and 8th. The best time to see it is anywhere in the world will be after sunset, when the moon rises over the eastern horizon, VOA reports. Those without an east-facing view should be able to see an equally spectacular moonset on April 8.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was rushed to the intensive care unit at a London hospital after his condition worsened in a battle with the new coronavirus, COVID-19. “Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the Prime Minister has worsened, and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital,” said his Downing Street office in a statement. “The PM has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is the First Secretary of State, to deputize for him where necessary.”

The United States and Britain braced Monday for what officials viewed as one of their darkest weeks in post-war memory as the social and financial toll of the coronavirus pandemic mounted and the British prime minister was in the hospital with the virus. Monday’s glooming scenario came as Italy, Spain, and France saw signs that they were flattening the pandemic curve, despite many people still dying there.

Efforts to combat the spread of locust swarms in East Africa are facing serious challenges as a result of border closures, flight shutdowns, and increased shipping prices, with the current swarms expected to grow 500 times by June.