100 scientists stranded on Arctic ship during COVID-19 pandemic after countries shut down borders

100 scientists are stranded on a research ship in the Arctic after the coronavirus pandemic causes countries shut their borders Researchers that were part of the MOSACiC expedition in the Arctic won’t be replaced by a new crew in mid-April as originally scheduled A replacement team had been set to fly out of Norway with … Read more

B&Q owner Kingfisher keeps stores open in six countries despite Covid-19

Kingfisher keeps its B&Q stores open in the UK despite Covid-19 pandemic but delays results following FCA moratorium All 221 Castorama and Brico Depot stores in France have shut until mid-April  Kingfisher’s e-commerce sales have soared while they have closed other stores  The firm has created crisis committees to respond to risks arising from COVID-19 … Read more

Air quality is improving in countries under coronavirus quarantine

Air quality is improving in countries under coronavirus lockdown as nitrogen dioxide level in quarantined areas has dropped, experts say. Despite dramatic decreases in toxic fumes over cities in Italy, Spain and China it is far too early to know if a long-term change has been made. Images by the United States space agency NASA … Read more

The world’s happiest countries revealed: Finland keeps the top spot

Finland has been named the happiest country in the world for the third year in a row by the World Happiness Report – and Afghanistan ranked the bleakest. The annual United Nations World Happiness Report ranks over 150 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be, according to their evaluations of their own … Read more

Coronavirus: 10 countries commit to WHO’s SOLIDARITY trial

The US will not be part of a new trial led by the World Health Organization examining which treatments work best against coronavirus. The so-called ‘SOLIDARITY trial’ will see researchers from several different countries compare the effects of different drugs on the highly-infectious disease.    Included in the trial are remdesivir, originally conceived as a drug … Read more

Coronavirus UK: Other countries’ tests can diagnose in minutes

Pressure is mounting on the UK Government to upgrade its coronavirus testing as other countries switch to diagnostic kits that take just minutes to produce results.   Boris Johnson today announced testing will be ramped up to 25,000 a day after coming under scathing criticism for letting thousands go undiagnosed. Only 5,000 people were being swabbed daily … Read more

Thousands of people trying to flee coronavirus queue for miles as countries restrict entry 

Traffic jams swelled along borders and some travelers appealed to their governments for help getting home Tuesday as countries in Europe and beyond imposed strict controls along their frontiers aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. Tens of millions around the world are already hunkered down in government-ordered isolation after many countries ordered stores, … Read more

EU’s coronavirus lockdown: European countries are poised to BAN Britons

The EU today revealed plans to shut itself off from all outsiders as it takes drastic measures to halt the spread of coronavirus.  European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a proposed ban on all non-essential travel by non-citizens into the 26-nation Schengen free travel area for 30 days. In addition, emergency medical and … Read more

Countries that have imposed restrictions on travellers from the UK amid coronavirus pandemic

Holiday plans for scores of Britons have been flung into chaos as countries shut their borders to seal themselves off from the coronavirus pandemic. Europe has been branded the epicentre of the global outbreak, and many nations have responded to a jump in infections by imposing flight freezes. After a string of countries closed their doors … Read more