Worldcrunch
Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, no sector in the economy has been hit harder than the travel industry. Following rolling global lockdowns through last spring, and resulting border closures and travel bans, both tourism and business travel was at a virtual standstill, with an estimated 98% drop in the number of international tourists […]
In both Okinawa and Iwakuni, locals worry that American soldiers and their families are importing the virus and not doing enough to contain it.
MILAN — I recently spent a weekend at the Lago d’Iseo, a picturesque area of Lombardy at the foot of the Alps east of Milan, the city where I live. The air was hot and still, resting damp and heavy like a warm towel placed over your face. Dark clouds loomed all day across the […]
It’s just one of many images of schoolchildren circulating around the world this week, but it comes with extra symbolism: 1.4 million students returned to their classes today in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where COVID-19 originated last last year. Eventually, nearly one billion children around the world — and their parents — faced months […]
On the Italian island’s Emerald Coast, the summer lifestyles of the rich and famous ignored the threat of a new coronavirus breakout. Now hundreds are testing positive, including Billionaire nightclub owner Flavio Briatore.
The coronavirus outbreak has changed our relationship with work, health and… cash. The fear of contamination while handling coins and banknotes has accelerated a trend that had already been growing for years: contactless payments. Both consumers and businesses that may have been previously reluctant to go digital are changing their preferred payment methods. Does this […]
As borders closed and lockdowns were rolled out around the world, the steady flow of illegal immigration that has plagued southern Europe for years was also temporarily halted. But new arrivals are now accelerating again, and some of the countries hit hardest by the pandemic are now also forced to deal with a worsening refugee […]
There’s been plenty of finger-pointing during the pandemic. But does calling someone out for being ‘reckless’ and ‘irresponsible’ actually effect positive change?
Social distancing, disinfecting common areas and accessing health care: All three key tactics for curbing the spread of coronavirus are particularly complicated inside jails and prisons. While it might seem like an already self-isolating bubble, life inside prisons has changed dramatically since COVID-19 arrived. In an effort to keep healthy, many have lost their rights […]
I’ve worked from home long before the coronavirus outbreak forced the rest of the world to go remote. When I used to talk about my job as a freelance writer and video editor — and the fact that virtually all my working hours were spent alone in my apartment, on my computer — my friends […]
Consumer habits shifted dramatically as people sheltered in place. In-person shopping is picking up again, but everything’s still in flux for sellers, who will have to adapt or say ‘adios.’
French President Emmanuel Macron is among those demanding that an eventual vaccine be available to all. But there’s also money in play, and a market guided by a whole different set of priorities.
For a long time, urbanization has been one of the defining features of our societies — a tendency that has accelerated with the growth of the information economy, with now half the world’s population living in cities. But some believe that we may have reached a peak, as COVID-19 has not only paused the trend […]
The world found out quickly that COVID-19 would be a major interruption to the way we worked. By now, there is little doubt that the health pandemic — and resulting lockdown measures and travel bans — will leave permanent traces in company policies, employee behavior and our relationship with work spaces and technology. Yet it […]
In developed countries, this long period of self-isolation has caused waistlines to bulge — a serious matter, especially since obesity is a clear COVID-19 risk factor.
As the novel coronavirus races its way around the world, we are also witnessing a rush of changes in the delivery industry. No longer just an option, delivery has all but become a necessity during the pandemic, and the sector as a whole has proven itself extremely adaptive. From creative innovations to corporations venturing into […]
The powers that be responded to the pandemic with an array of life-altering directives that, to an astonishing degree, people quietly accept. So what happens next?
In the rush to vilify ‘irresponsible’ young people, we too often overlook the efforts they’re making every day to help us through the pandemic and make the world a better place.
It’s official: Zoom parties are here to stay. And to anyone who ever attended an actual party, no need here to spell out why there’s no comparison. Yet there I was last week in a text exchange with a friend turning down my invitation to our bi-weekly drinks at my … er … place, suggesting […]
The pandemic has thrown the sector into a tailspin. But if European states are willing to work together, there’s an real opportunity to revamp it — and help the planet in the process.
From Bali to Mexico and everywhere in between, countries that have come to rely on a steady stream of tourism revenue are experiencing serious fallout from the pandemic.
Contagion fears and extreme attachment to the internet are reinforcing that most traditional of moral injunctions
Rather than offer discounts, high-end brands like Chanel are asking even more for their products. Silvia Ihring, style editor-at-large for German daily Die Welt, explains why.
The pandemic is putting the squeeze on hospitals and clinics, and making things particularly difficult — and dangerous — for pregnant women.
The super rich are buying residency papers and passports from places like Cyprus and Vanuatu to be able to travel — despite quarantines — for health reasons, business or pleasure.
Even if researchers’ quest for the coronavirus vaccine concludes quickly — and that’s a big if — the solution would still need to me manufactured, packaged, paid for and distributed.
Summer is normally the time for France’s immigrants or their descendants from Algeria, Senegal and other African countries to head back to the home country. This year? Not so much.
Real estate markets are starting to stir from their Covid-induced slumber. After months of plummeting listings and frozen transactions, new deals are finally being made and prices have begun to recover. But the extent to which real estate will share the longer-term pain of a global economic downturn is still unclear, with some predicting that […]
In the race to to find a cure, scientists are rushing to release their study results. There are dangers in skipping the standard peer-review procedures, but they may be outweighed by the benefits.
Welcome to Tuesday, where the first person charged under Hong Kong’s national security law is found guilty, the final victim of the Miami building collapse is identified, and Tesla reports skyrocketing profits. Meanwhile, The Conversation offers a deep dive into the Australia vs. UNESCO spat over the decision to list the Great Barrier Reef as […]
How is the pandemic panning out in the world’s second most populous country? Science editor for The Wire, Vasudevan Mukunth, offers some statistical insight.
In the movie version, the contagion would lead to lawlessness and chaos. But in reality, institutions are encouragingly resilient.
PARIS — It was only back in May that experts palmed off the 12-month goal post for a COVID-19 vaccine as wishful thinking. Now, with more than 140 candidate vaccines being developed, including three already in the final phase-3 trial, it seems we may be sprinting towards a new speed record in medical development. “The […]
Throwback ideas and the next big thing are working for some, even as many other parts of the economy slide into recession.
COVID-19 makes us think about things we should’ve been thinking about anyway. And since the beginning of the outbreak, we’ve all been keeping a closer eye than usual on the hard truths of statistics: From daily global emissions (down by 17%) to the number of precarious workers in the world (1.6 billion), as well as […]
For some, France’s strict shelter-in-place period sank their relationships. Others say it helped. Either way, couples in the would-be land of romance found themselves at a real crossroads.
Face mask policy has been a moving target since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. With some countries and localities facing shortages, and the World Health Organization itself initially suggesting that masks were not effective in containing the spread of the virus, governments were reluctant to implement rules to force people to wear face coverings. But since, […]
The South American nation has the second highest number of coronavirus fatalities in the world (after the United States), and with ICU beds in short supply, the death toll will continue to rise.
Welcome to Friday, where the European flood death toll tops 100, Lebanon’s prime minister steps down and a teenager gets a seat on Jeff Bezos’ trip to space. We also get a look from Kommersant on the rising hopes of the reformist revolution in the post-Soviet state of Moldova. • Germany death toll rises to […]
The Covid-19 crisis is likely to reshape globalization while benefiting China and other ‘illiberal’ regimes.