Worldcrunch
In normal times, we might be writing this month about the annual momentum gathering for the Plastic Free July challenge. Launched in 2011 by the Australia-based Plastic Free Foundation, the idea is simple: refusing single-use plastics, from bags to packaging, for 31 days. But in 2020, that simple desire to go fully plastic-free for at […]
Social distancing measures and face masks will impact not only the atmosphere in theaters and concert halls, but also the bottom line.
Coronavirus travel restrictions have been a wake-up call for Europeans, especially since nearly a third of the population lives in cross-border areas like France and Belgium’s Eurometropolis Lillle-Kortrijk-Tournai.
“The worst is yet to come…” So warned World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in his assessment earlier this week of the status of the COVID-19 pandemic. The grim picture globally comes as many countries appear to be succeeding in greatly reducing the number of new cases, and quarantine and social distancing restrictions […]
In France more than anywhere else, employees seem to find it difficult to give up teleworking to come back to the office. They have more or less valid reasons to hesitate. But employers also have their own.
The coronavirus crisis could reshape how the country’s leadership goes about its business.
The most common symptoms are fever, a dry cough and loss of taste and smell. The majority of deaths are due to respiratory failure. But more studies about COVID-19 are now focusing on neurological factors in what is still a largely mysterious pandemic. In the last few weeks, findings from around the world give support […]
Reunited and it feels so…? In France, a number of young adults chose to spend the confinement period with their parents. Families butted heads, of course, but also bonded.
While it may make sense from a business perspective, healthcare facilities should focus on more than just optimizing space. Hospital architecture lessons from a pandemic.
-Essay- MEXICO CITY — Confinement has had few consolations, in spite of all the efforts to sell it as an “opportunity for personal growth.” The good news from where I sit is that I can see beer showing up again in Mexico City’s supermarkets and convenience stores. When the country imposed a nationwide shutdown, the […]
The world’s prevailing trade system was facing major challenges even before the pandemic. But that doesn’t mean globalization is destined to die.
Globalized supply chains may be good for businesses, but they’re not always ideal for consumers, especially when they’re suddenly disrupted.
From schedule changes and face shields to full operational shutdowns, the pandemic has directly impacted the country’s industrial sector.
It was the kind of definitive piece of information that has been rare since the COVID-19 pandemic began: On Monday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that coronavirus transmission has been officially eliminated in the country, since its appearance there in late February. According to the Director-General of Health, it has been at least […]
Beijing is stepping in to fill the leadership void left by a United States distracted and hobbled by its deep, structural divisions.
In India, Thailand and elsewhere, authorities have recently passed laws or decrees limiting what media can do and say.
Alcohol can be problematic. But it’s also a simple source of pleasure, and in moderation, may be just what the doctor ordered — until a vaccine is available instead.
Chinese officials are realizing that the ‘soul’ of a city is key to strength and prosperity.
When the coronavirus hit, Valérie, a rising business executive used to a grueling daily commute into Paris, realized her life needed to change. Now, she and her husband have revived a long dormant dream: a house in Normandy with an ocean view. “We have the impression of advancing — finally,” she told Le Monde, adding […]
From hospital beds in Mali to ventilators in Algeria to an airlift of supplies deliver by Ethiopian Airlines, China has used the pandemic to cement its economic footprint across the African continent. As socio-economics researcher Hicham Rouibah told Le Monde, “Chinese companies have seized the opportunity of COVID-19 to try to restore their image tarnished […]
For strongman leaders like Putin and Bolsonaro, the health crisis looked like a natural opening for greater top-down control — at least on paper.
The pandemic added an extra layer of obstacles for patients with already limited access to quality attention for their sexual and reproductive health needs.
The Brazilian president’s antics were cause for alarm even before the deadly pandemic. But with the illness running rampant, the story is taking an ever darker turn.
Working remotely has its advantages. But it can also be tricky to manage, as countless people pushed out of their offices by the pandemic are now discovering.
MILAN — In March, the first coronavirus outbreak in the West put Italy’s hospitals under unprecedented strain, with health authorities facing what they described as a “tsunami” of new patients. As intensive care units filled with COVID-19 patients, hospitals scrambled to convert other wards, freeing up corridors and operating theaters for patients of the potentially […]
We must remember the many lives lost to coronavirus. But we should also not forget the fate of many new lives that have been left up in the air as travel bans and strained health care systems have disrupted plans for surrogacy, adoption and in vitro fertilization around the world. Surrogacy: Some 100 surrogacy babies […]
To mitigate the high economic costs of the pandemic, it’s time to demand greater contributions from those who can afford to pay.
For a number of French people, the two-month confinement period offered time to reflect and reassess priorities.
PARIS — There’s a price to be paid, in euros and other things, when you choose to live in a city like Paris. But there’s a reason people pay: There’s only one Louvre, one Opera Garnier and exactly 114 Michelin-star restaurants. And even if you don’t have tickets, or the euros, to make it through […]
With people returning to work, there’s the question of how to get there. Many cities around the world are encouraging biking, walking and other private transportation methods to avoid clogging public transit systems that could be cesspools for the coronavirus as lockdowns ease. But for those without other options, taking trains, subways and buses will […]
When Lesotho recently discovered its first coronavirus case, it marked the arrival of the pandemic in every country in Africa. Already, 70,000 people have been infected across the continent and the World Health Organisation warns of upwards of 190,000 deaths in Africa this year from COVID-19. The economic impacts are also forecast to be devastating: […]
Large cities like Buenos Aires are prepping for life after the lockdown and anticipating changes, among other things, in the ways people commute.
Viruses spread, mutate and then become deadly because humans destroy the areas where wild animals live. We must learn from this, once the coronavirus pandemic is contained.
As COVID-19 lingers, protective masks are recommended and even mandatory in certain places. But our faces are also our windows to the world, and covering them creates serious new obstacles across our societies.
We have all, at some point, thought about the very first thing we’d do once lockdown restrictions start to lift. Going for a cup of coffee, dining out, meeting friends in the flesh (not on Zoom). But there’s one item on our list of mundane things we took for granted that we’re reminded of each […]
Every fictional plague has an origin story, and an ending — happy or otherwise. We hereby issue a pandemic spoiler alert!
Egyptian students won’t attend in-person classes again until September. In the case of most private schools, there won’t be any refunds either to the mostly middle-class families.
Known as UBI, Universal Basic Income has been a dream of progressive economists. Now it is effectively written into many COVID-19 relief packages. But it may turn out to have staying power well beyond.
Charles de Gaulle was the first world leader to truly understand the power of television, using regular presidential broadcasts as a way to circumvent French legislators, labor unions and other levers of democratic influence.
Not surprisingly, early indicators point to a less bleak future for Sweden’s still-open economy than for that of its European counterparts. A recent study by Swedbank shows that private consumption in Sweden shrank 17% between April 6 to April 19 compared to the same period last year, while revenue from hotel and restaurants was down […]