Italy

The town of Codogno remembers being at the centre of Italy's epidemic

In a ceremony on Sunday, Codogno will mark one year since it recorded the first locally acquired case of COVID-19 in Italy.

20 February 2021

Travel News

Meet the Cuban hotel owners turning to farming for survival

Cuba usually receives up to 4 million visitors a year. But the pandemic has left those who rely on the tourism industry turning to the land for survival.

20 February 2021

Netherlands

Dutch senators approve new coronavirus curfew law in late night vote

The government, which is appealing the decision by a judge to strike down the curfew, succeeded in gaining some opposition support for the new law.

20 February 2021

Netherlands

Dutch minister on thin ice after skate with star breaks COVID-19 rules

Wopke Hoekstra sparked anger after posting a photo of himself on Twitter with Sven Kramer, the winner of four Winter Olympics speed skating gold medals. His outing breached the Dutch coronavirus restrictions.

19 February 2021

World News

COVID-19 variants spark fears of a surge in central Europe

New restrictions were announced by Prague on Friday while the number of COVID-19 patients in Slovakia has reached a new record high.

19 February 2021

Europe

COVID, crisis & the constitution: Is Czech Republic set for change?

With elections due in the autumn, it's not looking great for the ruling party in the Czech Republic. Here's why.

18 February 2021

Europe News

Have Russia and China got enough COVID-19 vaccines to sell abroad?

Moscow and Beijing are pushing their homemade jabs abroad. But, what about their own populations?

18 February 2021

Next Series

Accenture CEO on designing business for a sustainable, digital future

“The companies that will master digital technology and the companies that will put sustainability at the heart of that strategy will probably be the winners in this future world,” says Jean-Marc Ollagnier, the Europe CEO of global consultancy firm Accenture.

18 February 2021

France

Air France-KLM Group loses €7.1 billion in 2020 amid COVID-19 chaos

CEO Benjamin Smith said that "2020 tested the Air France-KLM Group with the most severe crisis ever experienced by the air transport industry."

18 February 2021

World News

Airbus reports €1.1 billion in losses due to COVID-19 pandemic

The company said in a statement that 566 commercial aircraft were delivered in 2020. It took in a mere 268 aircraft orders in 2020, down from 768 in 2019.

18 February 2021

World News

Excess deaths: Country-by-country breakdown of COVID's impact in 2020

New data from Eurostat shows that EU countries reported more than 450,000 excess deaths between March and November 2020.

17 February 2021

United Kingdom

Ethnic minorities over-80 less likely to get COVID-19 vaccine in UK

New research shows that BAME communities are less likely to get vaccinated than white people, especially those aged 80 and above in the UK. But what are the underlying reasons for this low vaccine uptake and what efforts have been made to improve it?

17 February 2021

Europe News

COVID- vaccine: EU to get extra 350 million doses in 2021

The 27-country bloc is now expected to receive 500 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine this year. Enough to inoculate 250 million people.

17 February 2021

Nature

Tourist selfies could be spreading COVID-19 to endangered gorillas

New research from Oxford Brookes University studied Instagram posts from great ape trekking travellers.

17 February 2021

Kosovo

I would vote to unify Albania and Kosovo, says election winner Kurti

Kosovo opposition leader and election winner Albin Kurti says that if a referendum was held on his country joining Albania, he would vote yes.

16 February 2021

No Comment

Louvre closure brings opportunity to restore artworks and galleries

The Mona Lisa has good reason to smile, enigmatically of course, over her empty gallery - when the museum eventually reopens, it will be looking better than ever.

16 February 2021

Germany

New CDU chief Armin Laschet criticises COVID incidence rate policy

The head of Germany's CDU appeared to criticise the government's COVID measures, stating that life should not be dictated by virus incidence rates.

16 February 2021

France

As the COVID-19 crisis drags on, hard-hit French youth struggle

Nearly a quarter of French young people can’t find work — two-and-a-half times the national unemployment rate and one of the highest in the European Union's 27 nations.

16 February 2021

Netherlands

Netherlands COVID-19 curfew to continue after court ruling

A ruled earlier on Tuesday that the current curfew in the Netherlands to stop the spread of COVID-19 should be lifted as it violates freedom of movement.

16 February 2021

Travel News

UK quarantine hotels judged "completely unsuitable" by travel editor

Veteran travel journalist Simon Calder road tested a quarantine hotel and found it to be unsuitable for length of stay, especially given the €2,000 price tag

16 February 2021