Europe
Global coronavirus infections near million mark after ‘near exponential growth’ | World news
Covid-19 infections are nearing the one million mark after “near exponential growth” saw global cases more than double in the past week. The World Health Organization chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned of the approaching milestone as new cases reached almost every country and territory across the world. “As we enter the fourth month since the …
Mass disinfections to combat coronavirus pose another health hazard
SURABAYA, Indonesia/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – A drone dispersed clouds of disinfectant in the sky above Indonesia’s second-largest city Surabaya on Tuesday, a response to the coronavirus pandemic which is catching on around the world despite warnings from health experts. Mass disinfections, often by workers in protective gear resembling characters from the comedy film Ghostbusters, have become …
Spain’s hospitals at breaking point as infections pass China
MADRID (AP) — Spain overtook China on Monday in confirmed coronavirus infections as the pandemic stretched scores of Spanish hospitals to their breaking point. As confirmed virus deaths in New York surpassed 1,000, President Donald Trump extended stay-at-home recommendations for a month in an abrupt turnaround. With a population of only 47 million people to …
Italy coronavirus death toll surges past 10,000; lockdown extension likely
MILAN (Reuters) – The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy barrelled past 10,000 on Saturday, a figure that made an extension of a national lockdown almost certain. Officials said 889 more people died in the previous 24 hours, the second highest daily tally since the epidemic emerged on Feb. 21, and that …
Central banks deploy record sums to break financial logjam, but may need more
LONDON/BOSTON (Reuters) – Central banks have offered trillions of dollars of support to markets in recent days to keep them from freezing up, as investors worried about the economic damage from the coronavirus and made a chaotic dash for the exits. FILE PHOTO: A trader wears a mask as he works on the floor of …
Picking up the quantum technology baton
In the Budget 2020 speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a welcome announcement for Indian science — over the next five years she proposed spending ₹8,000 crore (~ $1.2 billion) on a National Mission on Quantum Technologies and Applications. This promises to catapult India into the midst of the second quantum revolution, a major scientific …
Netflix to cut streaming quality in Europe for 30 days
Image copyright Getty Images Netflix will slightly reduce the video quality on its service in Europe for the next 30 days, to reduce the strain on internet service providers. Demand for streaming has increased because large parts of Europe are self-isolating at home due to the coronavirus outbreak. The video-streaming provider said lowering the picture …
Netflix is slowing down in Europe to keep internet from breaking
The company said it would reduce the bit rate of all its video streams for 30 days. “We estimate that this will reduce Netflix traffic on European networks by around 25% while also ensuring a good quality service for our members,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement. The announcement followed appeals from EU officials …
Worries grow over northern hospitals as Italy’s coronavirus toll grows
MILAN (Reuters) – Italian authorities voiced growing concern on Sunday over how much longer strained health systems could cope with the coronavirus outbreak, as thousands of new cases were recorded over the past 24 hours and several hundred more people died. A banner reads “The longer you stay at home, the sooner we hug”, on …