Just after 1230 GMT, gold rallied to $1,731.25 an ounce on the London Bullion Market, striking a peak last seen in November 2012. The dollar slid against main rivals Tuesday in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s ongoing stimulus policies that are aimed at cushioning the blow to the world’s …
Read More »Auschwitz online: raising Holocaust awareness in the digital age
Oswiecim, Poland | AFP | Every day, Pawel Sawicki, head of social media at the Auschwitz Museum, posts several photos of victims of the former Nazi German death camp on a Twitter account that has become a powerful tool in Holocaust education. A recent post to the account, which has a …
Read More »From father to son, the shared experience of the Holocaust
New York, United States | AFP | Daniel Terna experienced neither the Holocaust that nearly killed his father nor the war that spawned it, but since childhood he has been immersed in the inherited trauma. It’s been 75 years since the liberation of concentration camps in Nazi Germany, four of which …
Read More »Russia’s small businesses buckling under virus restrictions
Moscow, Russia | AFP | When President Vladimir Putin announced a paid holiday for the month of April to keep Russians home and prevent the coronavirus from spreading, many small business owners braced themselves. How would they keep to the president’s promise of paying employees while they were shut down? The …
Read More »US eyes virus ‘plateau’ as world weighs cautious reboot
Washington, United States | AFP | Coronavirus deaths in the hard-hit United States were flat for a second consecutive day, with New York’s governor saying the “worst is over” as many countries weigh a gradual reopening of their shattered economies. Since emerging late last year, the coronavirus pandemic has killed around …
Read More »Bolt goes viral with ‘social distancing’ Olympic photo
Washington, United States | AFP | Retired track star Usain Bolt showed he’s still a few steps ahead when he posted an AFP picture of him outstripping his rivals at the Beijing Olympics with the cheeky caption: “social distancing”. Bolt’s post, featuring a picture by AFP photographer Nicolas Asfouri of …
Read More »IMF approves debt relief for 25 poor countries
Washington, United States | AFP | The International Monetary Fund on Monday announced immediate debt relief for 25 poor countries to help them free up funds to fight the coronavirus pandemic. “This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six …
Read More »North Korea’s Kim reshuffles top governing body
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has carried out a major reshuffle of his State Affairs Commission, official media reported Monday, replacing more than a third of its members. Kim has established an iron grip on the levers of authority in his nuclear-armed country since …
Read More »UK’s Johnson recuperates as virus lockdown decision looms
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was recuperating Monday at his countryside retreat and remained off work after saying his battle with coronavirus “could have gone either way”. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is currently deputising for him, but the government is set to make a decision …
Read More »Pope prays for lockdown victims of domestic abuse
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis prayed Monday for the growing number of women subjected to domestic abuse while living under coronavirus lockdown. The Argentine pontiff livestreamed an Easter Monday prayer from his private library as the Vatican and Italy entered a second month of restrictions on most outdoor activities. Worries about …
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