According to a new study, many African nations struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic may find themselves defaulting on debt repayments, DW reports. Weak currencies, higher interest rates, and reduced oil prices could result in African governments losing an estimated US$45 billion in revenue this year alone, the study found.
Russia has begun a week-long vote on constitutional reforms that could allow President Vladimir Putin to rule until 2036.
As governments around the world battle the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published a further grim forecast, predicting a 4.9% contraction in global GDP (gross domestic product) for 2020, a lower figure than the 3% forecast in April, CNBC reports. The IMF also downgraded its GDP prediction for 2021, lowering it to 5.4% from the 5.8% forecast in April.
Amid declining polls, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed a military parade on Wednesday, ahead of a vote that could pave the way for him to remain in office until 2036.
An infectious diseases specialist in Italy has said he believes the COVID-19 virus has weakened and may disappear by itself without a vaccine, Fox News reported Monday. Dr Matteo Bassetti, head of the infectious diseases clinic at San Martino hospital in Genoa, said the virus weakening may be caused by genetic mutations resulting from lockdown and social distancing measures.
Praying and marching against racism Friday, thousands of Christians took part in the “March on Atlanta” event organized by OneRace Movement, a Christian coalition aiming to “displace the spirit of racism and release racial reconciliation,” The Christian Post reported. Participants also prayed in support of the Atlanta Police Department which is reeling from nationwide rage against law enforcement following the police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta itself.
Hope but also frustration and uncertainty marked the world’s efforts Sunday to deal with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The Israeli government’s ad hoc “Corona Cabinet” approved on Monday several new measures to deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. President Donald Trump has blamed mainstream media and “radical protesters” for scaring away attendees during his first election rally in more than three months.
Serbia’s ruling populists were due to tighten their grip on power in the first European national election since the coronavirus pandemic. Voting began Sunday in the, heavily Orthodox, Balkan nation despite concerns about ongoing COVID-19 cases and what critics view as the autocratic style of the current president.
The first judge to rule in favor of churches during COVID-19 lockdowns has been confirmed to the influential Court of Appeals, the Washington Examiner reports. President Trump nominated 38-year-old Kentucky Judge Justin Walker to the seat being vacated by retiring Judge Thomas B. Griffith.
The Gospel is being spread in difficult-to-reach former Soviet Union countries, Mission Network News reported Wednesday. Local Christians have been reaching out to share the Gospel and offer practical help to neighbors struggling with poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Religious freedom group Open Doors USA has been told that Christians in Iran are risking their lives to help fellow citizens with food and hygiene parcels during the coronavirus outbreak, Fox News reported Thursday. Known internationally for its radical Islamic terrorism, Iran is the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Middle East.
The UK’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has announced a “major breakthrough” in the treatment of patients who are seriously ill with COVID-19. On Twitter Tuesday the NIHR said a RECOVERY trial it supported showed that the steroid dexamethasone “significantly reduces” the risk of dying for coronavirus patients requiring respiratory intervention.
On Tuesday night, for the second time in one week, US fighter jets intercepted Russian military planes off the coast of Alaska, the Hill reports. Russian aircraft have been flying increasingly closer to US airspace: in March and April Russian planes were intercepted 50 nautical miles off the Alaskan coast.
Hungarians dressed in white have braved pouring rain to mourn those who died of the government’s coronavirus measures and COVID-19 patients who passed away. Their ‘White Silence’ rally in Budapest was, at times, interrupted by the tolling of small church bells on top of two ladders.
American consumers are getting their groove back as a record surge in May retail sales offered some hope of a quicker recovery from the pandemic-induced recession.
Israeli firm Pangea, a maker of smart digital ID cards and border control software, is hoping to use its know-how to help airports reopen during the coronavirus pandemic to jumpstart travel and tourism.
A human rights group supports a European court case against Hungary for “failing to protect its citizens” and “causing death” by emptying hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic.
Turkey has announced it will buy a second batch of the S-400 air defense missiles system made by Russia, UPI reported Wednesday. In an interview on Turkish TV this week, head of Turkey’s Defense Industries Administration Ismail Demir said the basic purchase agreement for a second batch was in place, while technical transportation issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic were being resolved.