World News

EU travel bans: Bloc leaders agree to keep borders open...for now

Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, says all non-essential travel should be strongly discouraged both within a country and across borders.

22 January 2021

Travel News

How to travel safely in Europe during COVID-19

We answer the most common questions about booking, travelling safely and what to do if you have to cancel

22 January 2021

Spain

The Silence of the Trams: Barcelona commuters hushed to stop COVID-19

"People shouting or talking on the phone can emit up to fifty times more particles," according to the Spanish National Research Council.

22 January 2021

Earth News

Earthling Ed: How can you prevent future pandemics? Go vegan

WATCH | Earthling Ed on the four biggest reasons veganism is going to explode in 2021.

22 January 2021

World

COVID and communication: Lip-readers struggling behind the mask

Hard of hearing people use visual cues, like the movement of another person’s lips, to understand and interact with others. But since the pandemic struck, the use of face masks has interfered with people's ability to communicate clearly.

22 January 2021

World

Portugal election: turnout fears and power struggles amid lockdown

Sunday's presidential election in Portugal comes at a very difficult moment in the fight against COVID-19. The country is under lockdown and the traditional last round of political campaigning has been scrapped. Now candidates and observers fear a record-low voter turnout, casting doubt on polls.

22 January 2021

Albania

Albania expels Russian diplomat for violating pandemic measures

Albanian Foreign Ministry says the diplomat had "continued to violate measures to protect against the pandemic".

22 January 2021

France

Emmanuel Macron promises students one euro lockdown meals

Students whose mental health is suffering from prolonged isolation from classes and friends will also be offered "psychologist cheques".

22 January 2021

Japan

Tokyo 2020: Japan rebuffs claims Olympics Games will be cancelled

A majority of the Japanese think the Olympic Games in the capital should be postponed again or cancelled amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

22 January 2021

USA

Biden signs string of COVID orders and vows 'help is on the way'

US deaths have surged past 400,000, and the new president noted projections that they could reach 500,000 in a month.

22 January 2021

World News

Concerns grow COVID vaccine misinformation campaigns targeting Muslims

With vaccination programmes being rolled out across the continent, health authorities are keen to see them adopted by all communities. But against them are anti-vaxx campaigns.

22 January 2021

Europe News

Coronavirus: EU leaders aim to strengthen coordination on pandemic

European heads of state and government held a virtual meeting on Thursday to discuss how to collectively tackle the COVID-19 pandemic more effectively.

21 January 2021

United Kingdom

France 'prepared to help' struggling train operator Eurostar

Passenger numbers on the cross-channel train service have been down 95% since March and are currently believed to be less than 1% of pre-pandemic levels.

21 January 2021

World

European Medicines Agency an WHO advise against delaying second shot

International organisations are calling any breaks between the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine doses not to be extended beyond 21 days. Both Pfizer and Moderna also do not support the delay strategy touted by UK authorities.

21 January 2021

World

It's National Hugging Day, but how do you do it safely?

Millions of us have been living with severe restrictions and orders to stay socially distanced. But this can lead to 'touch starvation'. Find out more.

21 January 2021

France

French health minister says third national lockdown could be necessary

"If the level of this variant were to increase significantly and we followed an English trajectory, a lockdown would probably become an absolute necessity," Véran told the French Senate's Law Commission.

21 January 2021

Europe News

European leaders to discuss vaccination speed and immunity passports

It comes amid continued criticism that the vaccination drive has been too sluggish.

20 January 2021

United Kingdom

UK registers new record of 1,820 COVID-19 deaths in one day

A person is admitted to hospital in the UK every 30 seconds, UK officials have said.

20 January 2021

Germany

COVID-19: Germany tightens lockdown as Netherlands sets curfew

"The number of new infections has decreased. That gives us hope. But the virus mutation carries a great danger. Now is the time to prevent this danger," Chancellor Merkel said as she announced the new measures.

20 January 2021

Travel News

What is a vaccine passport and which countries are using them?

Here are the countries in Europe and beyond who have started implementing a 'vaccine passport' for travellers.

19 January 2021