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WHO pushes to keep ties with “generous” US despite Trump’s exit move

WHO HQ

London, UK Reuters The head of the World Health Organization on Monday praised the United States’ “immense” and “generous” contribution to global health in a push to salvage relations after President Donald Trump said he was severing ties with the UN agency.  Accusing it of pandering to China and overlooking an initially secretive response to […]

Fires burn near White House in violent US protests

US protests White House

Minneapolis, US Reuters Fires burned near the White House, stores were looted in New York City and Southern California, and a tanker truck drove into marchers in Minneapolis as the United States struggled to contain chaotic protests over race and policing.  National Guard troops were deployed in 15 states and Washington, DC, in an attempt […]

Scientists hunt pandemic hotspots in race to test vaccines

Coronavirus vaccine hunt

London, UK/Chicago, US Reuters The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic may be waning. For vaccine developers, that could be a problem. Scientists in Europe and the United States say the relative success of draconian lockdown and social distancing policies in some areas and countries means virus transmission rates may be at such low levels […]

Spain to top up incomes of poorest as coronavirus hits livelihoods

Barcelona, SpainThomson Reuters Foundation An income support program approved by the Spanish government on Friday to help those most vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic is a step in the right direction in a country that has long lacked a proper social safety net, analysts have said. Spain is among the countries worst hit by the […]

First poverty, now pandemic threatens access to electricity

Barcelona, SpainThomson Reuters Foundation One in 10 people lack electricity and the pandemic will likely make it harder still to meet a global goal of getting power to everyone by 2030, international organisations said last week. An annual report tracking progress on sustainable energy said more than a billion people have won access to electricity since 2010, […]

With masks and gloves, Ukraine’s priests return to duties

Coronavirus Ukraine priest1

Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine AP Wearing a white biohazard suit, a face shield and a blue mask over his mouth and nose, Rev Yaroslav Rokhman is hard to recognise as a priest when he visits terminally ill patients at a Ukrainian care centre. But his words still bring comfort to the dying. Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church priest, […]