An Austrian who deserted Nazi Germany’s armies and switched to the Allied side in World War Two has died aged 97. Richard Wadani was drafted into the German army but escaped on his second attempt in 1944, going on to serve in a British-led unit. After the end of the conflict he campaigned for justice […]

Sir Richard Branson has pledged his luxury island resort as collateral to help get a UK government bailout of his stricken airline Virgin Atlantic. The billionaire Virgin Group boss said in an open letter to staff he was not asking for a handout, but a commercial loan, believed to be £500m. The airline’s survival was in doubt, […]

Facebook has launched a dedicated gaming app earlier than planned, in its latest attempt to grow its presence in the online gaming world. Facebook said the “accelerated” launch was a direct response to the Covid-19 lockdown. The app lets users follow high-profile gamers, watch live gaming streams and leave comments without interacting with the rest […]

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has come under criticism for joining protesters demanding that restrictions on movement introduced to stop the spread of coronavirus be lifted. Mr Bolsonaro has clashed in recent weeks with state governors who have imposed lockdowns, denouncing the measures as “dictatorial”. As of Sunday, Brazil had more than 38,000 confirmed cases, the […]

Germany has reopened small shops, car dealerships and bicycle stores, in a tentative easing of the coronavirus lockdown imposed nearly a month ago. The country has flattened the curve of new infections and last week said it had got the spread under control. But social distancing remains in force. In Saxony it is mandatory for […]

For the first time in 68 years, Queen Elizabeth II will not be marking her birthday with the traditional royal gun salute. The Queen canceled the celebration because she felt it would be inappropriate due to the coronavirus pandemic, a royal source told CNN on Saturday. The Palace is expected to celebrate the Queen’s 94th birthday […]

It is premature to think the novel coronavirus outbreak will further delay the Tokyo Olympics, which have already been postponed a year, Brian McCloskey, an expert on global health security and outbreak prevention told Reuters. Under increasing pressure from athletes, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Tokyo Games organizers last month postponed the 2020 Games for one year […]

U.S. lawmakers are very close to an agreement on approving extra money to help small businesses hurt by the coronavirus pandemic and could seal a deal as early as Sunday, congressional and Trump administration officials said. “I think we’re very close to a deal today and I’m hopeful we can get that done,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve […]

Legal Counsel of the African Union Namira Negm announced on Saturday the appointment of Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed as member at the board of the African fund to confront the novel coronavirus (Covid-19). In a press statement, Zayed said South African mobile company MTN will collect a one-dollar donation from all its clients in […]

Under the auspices of the Egyptian media platforms of Extra News and Egypt Today, the National Council for Women launched an awareness campaign to help people avoid the coronavirus (COVID-19) infection. This comes in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Health Organization. It […]