The number is larger than in Italy and Spain
Reported by Wales Online 11 hours ago.
The number is larger than in Italy and Spain
Reported by Wales Online 11 hours ago.
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More than 900 UK deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours
The number is larger than in Italy and Spain
Reported by Wales Online 11 hours ago.
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Exclusive: Italy's government set to reappoint Eni and Enel CEOs - source
The chief executives of Italy's top two energy groups Eni and Enel are on course to secure third terms next week when Rome decides on roles at key state-controlled companies, a senior government official said.
Reported by Reuters 11 hours ago.
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EU agrees on virus economy aid but split over way ahead
BRUSSELS (AP) — Faced with a mounting coronavirus death toll and the prospect of a deep recession, European finance ministers have backed a major half-trillion-euro (about $550 billion) rescue package.
But the agreement does little to paper over divisions about how best to tackle the impact of the coronavirus and pave the way for a return to normal life.
Hard-hit countries like Italy and Spain have demanded funds for weeks as they’ve battled to save lives and keep their economies afloat. As of Friday, more than 64,000 Europeans had been killed by the disease — two thirds of the global toll — the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control says.
After a chaotic response when the virus first broke out in northern Italy, the European Union has taken unprecedented measures, and the new support program makes an extra 240 billion euros ($263 billion) available in cheap loans to pay health costs.
EU state aid and border rules were already virtually dropped. Now, more money will be funneled into businesses facing bankruptcy and to help pay the wages of people on shorter working hours. Since the initial panic subsided, the 27 member countries have also begun sharing scarce medical equipment.
Yet Europe’s leaders, who will hold talks again via video-conference on April 23 to take stock of the fight, no longer even try to hide the fact that the lack of solidarity exposed by the virus poses an existential threat.
Usually measured in her remarks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said this week that the EU is “facing its greatest test since its founding,” when the Treaty of Rome — the text on which the world’s biggest trading bloc is built — was signed in 1957.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that the EU is fighting “a war against an invisible... Reported by SeattlePI.com 11 hours ago.
But the agreement does little to paper over divisions about how best to tackle the impact of the coronavirus and pave the way for a return to normal life.
Hard-hit countries like Italy and Spain have demanded funds for weeks as they’ve battled to save lives and keep their economies afloat. As of Friday, more than 64,000 Europeans had been killed by the disease — two thirds of the global toll — the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control says.
After a chaotic response when the virus first broke out in northern Italy, the European Union has taken unprecedented measures, and the new support program makes an extra 240 billion euros ($263 billion) available in cheap loans to pay health costs.
EU state aid and border rules were already virtually dropped. Now, more money will be funneled into businesses facing bankruptcy and to help pay the wages of people on shorter working hours. Since the initial panic subsided, the 27 member countries have also begun sharing scarce medical equipment.
Yet Europe’s leaders, who will hold talks again via video-conference on April 23 to take stock of the fight, no longer even try to hide the fact that the lack of solidarity exposed by the virus poses an existential threat.
Usually measured in her remarks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said this week that the EU is “facing its greatest test since its founding,” when the Treaty of Rome — the text on which the world’s biggest trading bloc is built — was signed in 1957.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that the EU is fighting “a war against an invisible... Reported by SeattlePI.com 11 hours ago.
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AP Top Stories April 10 A
Here's the latest for Friday, April 10th: President Donald Trump predicts 'sunny skies' ahead for US economy; Italy reports drop in intensive care cases; OPEC oil production proposal awaits Mexican; Easter masses go online amid coronavirus outbreak.
Reported by USATODAY.com 10 hours ago.
Reported by USATODAY.com 10 hours ago.
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How 5,000 relics found a home in a Pittsburgh chapel
Pittsburgh, Pa., Apr 10, 2020 / 09:00 am (CNA).- Nestled in a sleepy neighborhood in the hills rising over Pittsburgh lies a small chapel. Inside St. Anthony’s Chapel lies a piece from the Crown of Thorns, a tooth of St. Anthony of Padua, and more than 5,000 other verified relics, or remains, of saints from around the world.
Indeed for the fragments from the bodies and scraps of the belongings of countless saints, these relics continued to have earthly adventures long after the saints’ deaths. Many of the relics traveled across the world to escape war, confiscation, and desecration to make it into the safe hands of a Belgian-born physician and priest, Fr. Suitbert Mollinger, who founded the chapel.
The chapel now holds the largest collection of relics outside of Rome.
“Fr. Stewart Mollinger, well, he had an unusual hobby in which he liked to acquire relics of the saints,” Carole Brueckner, chairperson of the committee for St. Anthony’s Chapel, explained to CNA.
But in the midst of the political and social turmoil which Europe experienced at the end of the 19th century, this curious hobby was crucial to saving relics from across the continent.
Since the second century, Catholics have honored the relics of saints- either pieces of body parts or cherished belongings of holy men and women. While theologians and Church documents clarify that relics are not to be worshiped, nor do they hold magical powers, the teaching adds that relics must be treated with respect, as they belong to persons now in heaven. While relics do not have power in and of themselves, God can continue to work miracles in the presence of the saint’s body even after death, the Church teaches. Relics are present in, or below, many Catholic altars.
Because of their important place in Catholic devotion as well as their presence at Mass, relics became a target of anti-Catholic persecution in Europe.
“It was a very chaotic time, in a sense, for Catholics, because people were fighting for territories and countries,” Brueckner said. During the mid- to late- 19th century the political boundaries – and also religious identities – of regions across Europe shifted as the modern nation-states of Germany, Italy, France, and Belgium formed, the power of the nobility and the Church ebbed, and secular governments arose.
Many nobles and religious “were afraid that their governments or the monarchies under which they lived would commit and confiscate the relics from them,” she explained. In some regions, Brueckner continued, authorities even “desecrated the relics and on occasion they would put someone in prison for having a relic in their possession.”
“Due to what was happening in Europe, this was an opportune time for Father to enrich upon his own personal collection of relics of the saints,” she elaborated. While it is forbidden for Catholics to sell or purchase relics, Fr. Mollinger was loaned or granted relics from friends in his home country of Belgium, as well as from his travels in the Netherlands, Italy, and elsewhere.
“Many times, his friends, who are also religious, would write and ask him if he could take some of their relics and keep them in safekeeping, until their countries or monarchies became stable, and Father always responded 'yes',” she explained. “Father also had agents that he had throughout Europe that were looking for the relics, because in essence, he would try to rescue them from being destroyed by governments and monarchies that existed in Europe at this time.”
Initially, Fr. Mollinger kept the growing relic collection in his rectory. Medical patients as well as faithful Catholics would visit the doctor-priest for both spiritual and physical treatment, and “they had the opportunity to venerate them those relics when they were there.”
Many pilgrims, Brueckner said, “were cured of their anomaly or disability” after receiving physical or spiritual aid in the presence of the relics. As a result, “Father was gaining the reputation as a priest-physician-healer,” she elaborated. Records of local Pittsburgh newspapers of the time documented Fr. Mollinger’s treatments, as well as the thousands of people who traveled to venerate the relics.
Fr. Mollinger, however, “thought they belonged in a beautiful church so that everybody could visit and venerate the relics,” and thus built with his own funds a chapel to house them.
The first section of the chapel was completed on the feast of St. Anthony in 1883, and houses the thousands of relics collected by Fr. Mollinger at the time. The second section was also completed on the feast of St. Anthony, nine years later in 1892, and contains the Stations of the Cross and relics collected after the chapel’s completion. Fr. Mollinger died two days after the last section of the chapel was completed.
Among the relics the chapel currently claims are splinters from the True Cross and the Column of Flagellation; stone from the Garden of Gethsemane; a nail that held Christ to the Cross; material from Jesus, Mary and Joseph’s clothing; a “piece of bone from all of the apostles”; and relics from St Therese of Liseux, St. Rose of Lima, St. Faustina, St. Kateri Tekawitha.
“If I had to name all the saints, we’d be here forever,” Brueckner exclaimed.
Nearly all these relics have been verified, as well.
“When a relic is placed within that reliquary, it is sealed and it can never be opened again,” Brueckner said, explaining that the Church’s strict rules guard against tampering and forgery of relics. “For a relic to be venerated, you do need to have a document, and the document comes from the hierarchy in the Church. That document will tell you who the saint is, what the relic is, and it is saying that the Catholic Church has done their research and we can say what the relic is.”
“We do have the certificates of authenticity for almost all of our relics here within the chapel.”
While belief in the authenticity of the relics relies on a trust that “the Catholic Church has done their research, and I’m going to believe what the Catholic Church is saying,” Brueckner said, visitors still experience the same presence documented by the first pilgrims to the collection of saintly relics. “Many times when people come into the chapel they will say that they actually feel a presence.”
“I say that it’s like stepping into a little piece of heaven, because you are surrounded by so many people that our Church tells us are in heaven,” she remarked.
This story was originally published on CNA Aug. 20, 2015. Reported by CNA 10 hours ago.
Indeed for the fragments from the bodies and scraps of the belongings of countless saints, these relics continued to have earthly adventures long after the saints’ deaths. Many of the relics traveled across the world to escape war, confiscation, and desecration to make it into the safe hands of a Belgian-born physician and priest, Fr. Suitbert Mollinger, who founded the chapel.
The chapel now holds the largest collection of relics outside of Rome.
“Fr. Stewart Mollinger, well, he had an unusual hobby in which he liked to acquire relics of the saints,” Carole Brueckner, chairperson of the committee for St. Anthony’s Chapel, explained to CNA.
But in the midst of the political and social turmoil which Europe experienced at the end of the 19th century, this curious hobby was crucial to saving relics from across the continent.
Since the second century, Catholics have honored the relics of saints- either pieces of body parts or cherished belongings of holy men and women. While theologians and Church documents clarify that relics are not to be worshiped, nor do they hold magical powers, the teaching adds that relics must be treated with respect, as they belong to persons now in heaven. While relics do not have power in and of themselves, God can continue to work miracles in the presence of the saint’s body even after death, the Church teaches. Relics are present in, or below, many Catholic altars.
Because of their important place in Catholic devotion as well as their presence at Mass, relics became a target of anti-Catholic persecution in Europe.
“It was a very chaotic time, in a sense, for Catholics, because people were fighting for territories and countries,” Brueckner said. During the mid- to late- 19th century the political boundaries – and also religious identities – of regions across Europe shifted as the modern nation-states of Germany, Italy, France, and Belgium formed, the power of the nobility and the Church ebbed, and secular governments arose.
Many nobles and religious “were afraid that their governments or the monarchies under which they lived would commit and confiscate the relics from them,” she explained. In some regions, Brueckner continued, authorities even “desecrated the relics and on occasion they would put someone in prison for having a relic in their possession.”
“Due to what was happening in Europe, this was an opportune time for Father to enrich upon his own personal collection of relics of the saints,” she elaborated. While it is forbidden for Catholics to sell or purchase relics, Fr. Mollinger was loaned or granted relics from friends in his home country of Belgium, as well as from his travels in the Netherlands, Italy, and elsewhere.
“Many times, his friends, who are also religious, would write and ask him if he could take some of their relics and keep them in safekeeping, until their countries or monarchies became stable, and Father always responded 'yes',” she explained. “Father also had agents that he had throughout Europe that were looking for the relics, because in essence, he would try to rescue them from being destroyed by governments and monarchies that existed in Europe at this time.”
Initially, Fr. Mollinger kept the growing relic collection in his rectory. Medical patients as well as faithful Catholics would visit the doctor-priest for both spiritual and physical treatment, and “they had the opportunity to venerate them those relics when they were there.”
Many pilgrims, Brueckner said, “were cured of their anomaly or disability” after receiving physical or spiritual aid in the presence of the relics. As a result, “Father was gaining the reputation as a priest-physician-healer,” she elaborated. Records of local Pittsburgh newspapers of the time documented Fr. Mollinger’s treatments, as well as the thousands of people who traveled to venerate the relics.
Fr. Mollinger, however, “thought they belonged in a beautiful church so that everybody could visit and venerate the relics,” and thus built with his own funds a chapel to house them.
The first section of the chapel was completed on the feast of St. Anthony in 1883, and houses the thousands of relics collected by Fr. Mollinger at the time. The second section was also completed on the feast of St. Anthony, nine years later in 1892, and contains the Stations of the Cross and relics collected after the chapel’s completion. Fr. Mollinger died two days after the last section of the chapel was completed.
Among the relics the chapel currently claims are splinters from the True Cross and the Column of Flagellation; stone from the Garden of Gethsemane; a nail that held Christ to the Cross; material from Jesus, Mary and Joseph’s clothing; a “piece of bone from all of the apostles”; and relics from St Therese of Liseux, St. Rose of Lima, St. Faustina, St. Kateri Tekawitha.
“If I had to name all the saints, we’d be here forever,” Brueckner exclaimed.
Nearly all these relics have been verified, as well.
“When a relic is placed within that reliquary, it is sealed and it can never be opened again,” Brueckner said, explaining that the Church’s strict rules guard against tampering and forgery of relics. “For a relic to be venerated, you do need to have a document, and the document comes from the hierarchy in the Church. That document will tell you who the saint is, what the relic is, and it is saying that the Catholic Church has done their research and we can say what the relic is.”
“We do have the certificates of authenticity for almost all of our relics here within the chapel.”
While belief in the authenticity of the relics relies on a trust that “the Catholic Church has done their research, and I’m going to believe what the Catholic Church is saying,” Brueckner said, visitors still experience the same presence documented by the first pilgrims to the collection of saintly relics. “Many times when people come into the chapel they will say that they actually feel a presence.”
“I say that it’s like stepping into a little piece of heaven, because you are surrounded by so many people that our Church tells us are in heaven,” she remarked.
This story was originally published on CNA Aug. 20, 2015. Reported by CNA 10 hours ago.
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German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas: "It's Like in an Airplane: Everyone Must First Put Their Own Mask On"
In an interview with DER SPIEGEL, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, 53, criticizes the U.S., China and Hungary for their handling of the coronavirus pandemic. He also promises not to abandon Italy and explains why he doesn't want to say that he's actually in favor of corona bonds.
Reported by Spiegel 9 hours ago.
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Italy's daily coronavirus death toll and new cases decline slightly
Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy rose by 570 on Friday, down from 610 the day before, and the number of new cases also slowed modestly to 3,951 from a previous 4,204.
Reported by Reuters 8 hours ago.
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UK sees almost 1,000 new virus deaths; Johnson improving
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson needs time to recover from the new coronavirus and is unlikely to be back at work soon, his father said Friday, as millions of Britons began an Easter holiday weekend in lockdown and the U.K. recorded almost 1,000 more COVID-19 deaths than the day before.
Britain’s official death toll of people with the coronavirus leapt by 980 Friday to 8,958 — a bigger daily increase than was seen in Italy and Spain, the two European countries with the greatest number of fatalities. Italy recorded a high of 969 deaths on March 27 and Spain 950 deaths on April 2.
The figures may not be directly comparable, however. The U.K. deaths reported each day occurred over several days or even weeks, and the total only includes deaths in hospitals.
Johnson, 55, spent three nights in the intensive care unit at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London after his COVID-19 symptoms worsened. He was moved back to a regular ward on Thursday evening, and his office said he was in “the early phase of his recovery.”
On Friday, Johnson's Downing St. office said he was able to take “short walks” between periods of rest and had spoken to his doctors to thank them “for the incredible care he has received.”
Johnson's spokesman, James Slack, said the prime minister “was waving his thanks to all the nurses and doctors that he saw as he was being moved from the intensive care unit back to the ward.”
Johnson's father said the prime minister needs to “rest up.”
“He has to take time,” Stanley Johnson told the BBC. “I cannot believe you can walk away from this and get straight back to Downing Street and pick up the reins without a period of readjustment.”
Johnson was diagnosed with COVID-19 two weeks ago, the first world leader confirmed... Reported by SeattlePI.com 9 hours ago.
Britain’s official death toll of people with the coronavirus leapt by 980 Friday to 8,958 — a bigger daily increase than was seen in Italy and Spain, the two European countries with the greatest number of fatalities. Italy recorded a high of 969 deaths on March 27 and Spain 950 deaths on April 2.
The figures may not be directly comparable, however. The U.K. deaths reported each day occurred over several days or even weeks, and the total only includes deaths in hospitals.
Johnson, 55, spent three nights in the intensive care unit at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London after his COVID-19 symptoms worsened. He was moved back to a regular ward on Thursday evening, and his office said he was in “the early phase of his recovery.”
On Friday, Johnson's Downing St. office said he was able to take “short walks” between periods of rest and had spoken to his doctors to thank them “for the incredible care he has received.”
Johnson's spokesman, James Slack, said the prime minister “was waving his thanks to all the nurses and doctors that he saw as he was being moved from the intensive care unit back to the ward.”
Johnson's father said the prime minister needs to “rest up.”
“He has to take time,” Stanley Johnson told the BBC. “I cannot believe you can walk away from this and get straight back to Downing Street and pick up the reins without a period of readjustment.”
Johnson was diagnosed with COVID-19 two weeks ago, the first world leader confirmed... Reported by SeattlePI.com 9 hours ago.
↧
Italy’s coronavirus death toll rises by 570 as new cases decline slightly
Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy rose by 570 on Friday, down from 610 the day before, and the number of new cases also slowed modestly to 3,951 from a previous 4,204.
Reported by France 24 8 hours ago.
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Coronavirus Pandemic: Global death toll crosses one lakh, total cases touch 16.5 lakh
While the US has the most number of cases in the world, Italy tops the death toll chart.
Reported by DNA 7 hours ago.
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MacRumors Giveaway: Win an iPad or MacBook Stand From Yohann
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Yohann to offer MacRumors readers the chance to win an artfully crafted wooden stand for one of Apple's iPads or MacBooks.
Yohann's iPad stand, priced at $109 to $149, is available in either walnut or oak wood, and each stand is crafted in Italy.
A lip at the bottom of the stand holds the iPad in place, while a rounded, angular design provides multiple viewing angles that users can take advantage of, as well as support for use in landscape or portrait mode. The design of the stand allows it to be used on hard or soft surfaces, such as in bed or on a couch.
The bottom of the stand also features a series of cutouts that leave the charging port accessible and provide an opening for the speakers. The iPad stand comes in multiple sizes, featuring a normal and a mini version for Apple's iPad mini models.
The standard version fits the 11-inch iPad Pro and all iPads dating back to the 2011 iPad 2, and there's also an iPad Pro-specific stand coming in late June that features a cutout designed for the Apple Pencil. The iPad Pro stand fits both the iPad Pro models, while the standard iPad stand is limited to the smaller iPad Pro.
Yohann also makes a stand for the MacBook, also available in walnut or oak wood, priced at $159 to $179. The MacBook stand features a design similar to the iPad stand, and is meant to allow users to position the top edge of the MacBook screen at eye level, in accordance with principles of ergonomics.
The stand elevates the MacBook by six to nine inches, depending on the model of the MacBook, and when paired with a keyboard and mouse, it allows a Mac notebook to be used while maintaining an upright and relaxed sitting posture. It can also be used to hold a MacBook while the MacBook is partially closed in sleep mode or in clamshell mode.
Created to work with multiple MacBook models, the stand is compatible with the 2015 and later 12-inch MacBook, all MacBook Air models, all 13-inch MacBook Pro models from 2012 and later, all 15-inch MacBook Pro models from 2012 and later, and the 16-inch MacBook Pro introduced in 2019.
There's a leather pad at the bottom of the stand to keep it in place, and weight is evenly distributed across the entire width of the stand so that it holds each MacBook securely. All of Yohann's stands are made sustainably, and for each product sold, a new tree is planted. The walnut and oak woods used for Yohann stands are sourced from select European plantations and forests maintained with sustainable forestry.
We have three stands from Yohann to give away to MacRumors readers, with winners able to pick either an iPad stand or a MacBook stand. To enter to win our giveaway, use the Gleam.io widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.
Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only *U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter*. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.
Yohann Giveaway
The contest will run from today (April 10) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on April 17. The winners will be chosen randomly on April 17 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.
Tag: giveaway
This article, "MacRumors Giveaway: Win an iPad or MacBook Stand From Yohann" first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums Reported by MacRumours.com 7 hours ago.
Yohann's iPad stand, priced at $109 to $149, is available in either walnut or oak wood, and each stand is crafted in Italy.
A lip at the bottom of the stand holds the iPad in place, while a rounded, angular design provides multiple viewing angles that users can take advantage of, as well as support for use in landscape or portrait mode. The design of the stand allows it to be used on hard or soft surfaces, such as in bed or on a couch.
The bottom of the stand also features a series of cutouts that leave the charging port accessible and provide an opening for the speakers. The iPad stand comes in multiple sizes, featuring a normal and a mini version for Apple's iPad mini models.
The standard version fits the 11-inch iPad Pro and all iPads dating back to the 2011 iPad 2, and there's also an iPad Pro-specific stand coming in late June that features a cutout designed for the Apple Pencil. The iPad Pro stand fits both the iPad Pro models, while the standard iPad stand is limited to the smaller iPad Pro.
Yohann also makes a stand for the MacBook, also available in walnut or oak wood, priced at $159 to $179. The MacBook stand features a design similar to the iPad stand, and is meant to allow users to position the top edge of the MacBook screen at eye level, in accordance with principles of ergonomics.
The stand elevates the MacBook by six to nine inches, depending on the model of the MacBook, and when paired with a keyboard and mouse, it allows a Mac notebook to be used while maintaining an upright and relaxed sitting posture. It can also be used to hold a MacBook while the MacBook is partially closed in sleep mode or in clamshell mode.
Created to work with multiple MacBook models, the stand is compatible with the 2015 and later 12-inch MacBook, all MacBook Air models, all 13-inch MacBook Pro models from 2012 and later, all 15-inch MacBook Pro models from 2012 and later, and the 16-inch MacBook Pro introduced in 2019.
There's a leather pad at the bottom of the stand to keep it in place, and weight is evenly distributed across the entire width of the stand so that it holds each MacBook securely. All of Yohann's stands are made sustainably, and for each product sold, a new tree is planted. The walnut and oak woods used for Yohann stands are sourced from select European plantations and forests maintained with sustainable forestry.
We have three stands from Yohann to give away to MacRumors readers, with winners able to pick either an iPad stand or a MacBook stand. To enter to win our giveaway, use the Gleam.io widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.
Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only *U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter*. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.
Yohann Giveaway
The contest will run from today (April 10) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on April 17. The winners will be chosen randomly on April 17 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.
Tag: giveaway
This article, "MacRumors Giveaway: Win an iPad or MacBook Stand From Yohann" first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums Reported by MacRumours.com 7 hours ago.
↧
Apple, Google to adapt phones for virus infection tracking
Apple and Google launched a major joint effort to leverage smartphone technology to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
New software the companies plan to add to phones would make it easier to use Bluetooth wireless technology to track down people for who may have been infected by coronavirus carriers. The idea is to help national governments roll out apps for so-called “contact tracing” that will run on iPhones and Android phones alike.
Software developers have already created such apps in countries including Singapore and China to try to contain the pandemic. In Europe, the Czech Republic says it will release such an app this month. Britain, Germany and Italy are among other countries developing such apps.
Apple and Google plan to release their toolkit in May and say user privacy and security are baked into its design. Privacy and civil liberties activists have warned that such apps need to be so governments cannot abuse them to track their citizens.
Security experts also note that technology alone cannot effectively track down and identify people who may have been infected by COVID-19 carriers. Such efforts will require public health care workers to track people in the physical world as well as other tools, they say. In South Korea and China, such efforts have included credit card and public transit records. Reported by SeattlePI.com 7 hours ago.
New software the companies plan to add to phones would make it easier to use Bluetooth wireless technology to track down people for who may have been infected by coronavirus carriers. The idea is to help national governments roll out apps for so-called “contact tracing” that will run on iPhones and Android phones alike.
Software developers have already created such apps in countries including Singapore and China to try to contain the pandemic. In Europe, the Czech Republic says it will release such an app this month. Britain, Germany and Italy are among other countries developing such apps.
Apple and Google plan to release their toolkit in May and say user privacy and security are baked into its design. Privacy and civil liberties activists have warned that such apps need to be so governments cannot abuse them to track their citizens.
Security experts also note that technology alone cannot effectively track down and identify people who may have been infected by COVID-19 carriers. Such efforts will require public health care workers to track people in the physical world as well as other tools, they say. In South Korea and China, such efforts have included credit card and public transit records. Reported by SeattlePI.com 7 hours ago.
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Global death toll due to coronavirus COVID-19 crosses 1 lakh, over 16.5 lakh infected
The US continues to record the highest number of cases at 475,749, followed by Spain at 157,053, Italy at 147,577, Germany at 119,624, and France at 118,790.
Reported by Zee News 7 hours ago.
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Italy extends coronavirus lockdown until May 3: Prime Minister
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Friday the government was extending the nationwide lockdown to contain the coronavirus until May 3, though a few types of shops would be allowed to re-open from April 14.
Reported by Reuters 6 hours ago.
↧
Apple, Google to harness phones for virus infection tracking
Apple and Google launched a major joint effort to leverage smartphone technology to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
New software the companies plan to add to phones would make it easier to use Bluetooth wireless technology to track down people for who may have been infected by coronavirus carriers. The idea is to help national governments roll out apps for so-called “contact tracing” that will run on iPhones and Android phones alike.
The technology works by harnessing short-range Bluetooth signals. Using the Apple-Google technology, contact-tracing apps would gather a record of other phones with which they came into close proximity. Such data can be used to alert others who might have been infected by known carriers of the novel coronavirus, although only in cases where the phones' owners have installed the apps and agreed to share data with public-health authorities.
Software developers have already created such apps in countries including Singapore and China to try to contain the pandemic. In Europe, the Czech Republic says it will release such an app after Easter. Britain, Germany and Italy are also developing their own tracing tools.
Privacy and civil liberties activists have warned that such apps need to be designed so governments cannot abuse them to track their citizens. Apple and Google plan said in a rare joint announcement that user privacy and security are baked into the design of their plan.
Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum, said she’ll be looking closely at the companies' privacy assurances and for evidence that any health data they collect will be deleted once the emergency is over.
“People are dying. We have to save lives. Everyone understands that," she said. "But at some point, we’re going to have to understand the... Reported by SeattlePI.com 6 hours ago.
New software the companies plan to add to phones would make it easier to use Bluetooth wireless technology to track down people for who may have been infected by coronavirus carriers. The idea is to help national governments roll out apps for so-called “contact tracing” that will run on iPhones and Android phones alike.
The technology works by harnessing short-range Bluetooth signals. Using the Apple-Google technology, contact-tracing apps would gather a record of other phones with which they came into close proximity. Such data can be used to alert others who might have been infected by known carriers of the novel coronavirus, although only in cases where the phones' owners have installed the apps and agreed to share data with public-health authorities.
Software developers have already created such apps in countries including Singapore and China to try to contain the pandemic. In Europe, the Czech Republic says it will release such an app after Easter. Britain, Germany and Italy are also developing their own tracing tools.
Privacy and civil liberties activists have warned that such apps need to be designed so governments cannot abuse them to track their citizens. Apple and Google plan said in a rare joint announcement that user privacy and security are baked into the design of their plan.
Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum, said she’ll be looking closely at the companies' privacy assurances and for evidence that any health data they collect will be deleted once the emergency is over.
“People are dying. We have to save lives. Everyone understands that," she said. "But at some point, we’re going to have to understand the... Reported by SeattlePI.com 6 hours ago.
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'I am close to the People of God': Pope startles host with call on live TV
Vatican City, Apr 10, 2020 / 01:20 pm (CNA).- “I am close, I am close to you all,” Pope Francis said on Good Friday, making a surprise call-in to a live Italian television program.
“Good evening, Lorena. How are you?” the pope said to the visibly surprised host of a religious show called “A sua immagine” (“In His image”), on Italy’s Rai 1 channel.
The pope called the show during the airing of a special for Good Friday. He has been celebrating the Holy Week liturgies in St. Peter’s Basilica without the presence of the public due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On the TV program, Francis said that during Holy Week he was thinking about Christ’s crucifixion and the many sacrifices men and women were making during the global health emergency caused by COVID-19.
“In these days, I am thinking about our crucified Lord. And the stories of the many crucified people, those of history and those of today, [in] this pandemic: the doctors, nurses, religious sisters, priests, who have died at the ‘frontlines’ like soldiers,” he said.
These men and women, he continued, “have given their lives for love.” They are “resistant, like Mary, under their crosses, they and their communities, in hospitals, taking care of the sick.”
He said that today there are people “who die for love. This is the thought which comes to me in this moment.”
"Sono vicino ai più sofferenti, al dolore nel mondo ma guardando la speranza, che non delude"
La telefonata di #PapaFrancesco oggi #10aprile a #ASuaImmagine#Rai1 #venerdìsanto pic.twitter.com/lIbP2nbIh9
— Rai1 (@RaiUno) April 10, 2020 Asked what he will be thinking about during the praying of the Stations of the Cross April 10, he said, “I am close to the People of God, those suffering most, especially the victims of this pandemic, close to the pain of the world.”
He added that he will be, however, “looking up, looking with hope, because hope does not disappoint. It does not remove the pain, but it does not disappoint.”
He assured viewers that “Easter exists always in the Resurrection and in peace.”
But the Resurrection is not just a happy ending, he said, “it is the promise of love which helps us pass this difficult road… This comforts us and gives us strength.”
Francis completed his short call by saying “may the Lord bless you, may he bless everyone.”
Later the same day, Francis celebrated the Lord’s Passion and the Via Crucis, or Stations of the Cross.
Reported by CNA 5 hours ago.
“Good evening, Lorena. How are you?” the pope said to the visibly surprised host of a religious show called “A sua immagine” (“In His image”), on Italy’s Rai 1 channel.
The pope called the show during the airing of a special for Good Friday. He has been celebrating the Holy Week liturgies in St. Peter’s Basilica without the presence of the public due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On the TV program, Francis said that during Holy Week he was thinking about Christ’s crucifixion and the many sacrifices men and women were making during the global health emergency caused by COVID-19.
“In these days, I am thinking about our crucified Lord. And the stories of the many crucified people, those of history and those of today, [in] this pandemic: the doctors, nurses, religious sisters, priests, who have died at the ‘frontlines’ like soldiers,” he said.
These men and women, he continued, “have given their lives for love.” They are “resistant, like Mary, under their crosses, they and their communities, in hospitals, taking care of the sick.”
He said that today there are people “who die for love. This is the thought which comes to me in this moment.”
"Sono vicino ai più sofferenti, al dolore nel mondo ma guardando la speranza, che non delude"
La telefonata di #PapaFrancesco oggi #10aprile a #ASuaImmagine#Rai1 #venerdìsanto pic.twitter.com/lIbP2nbIh9
— Rai1 (@RaiUno) April 10, 2020 Asked what he will be thinking about during the praying of the Stations of the Cross April 10, he said, “I am close to the People of God, those suffering most, especially the victims of this pandemic, close to the pain of the world.”
He added that he will be, however, “looking up, looking with hope, because hope does not disappoint. It does not remove the pain, but it does not disappoint.”
He assured viewers that “Easter exists always in the Resurrection and in peace.”
But the Resurrection is not just a happy ending, he said, “it is the promise of love which helps us pass this difficult road… This comforts us and gives us strength.”
Francis completed his short call by saying “may the Lord bless you, may he bless everyone.”
Later the same day, Francis celebrated the Lord’s Passion and the Via Crucis, or Stations of the Cross.
Reported by CNA 5 hours ago.
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Behind Andrea Bocelli’s Easter Concert in a Locked-Down Italy: ‘It Is a Strong Message of Hope’
Ahead of an Easter concert, Billboard spoke with organizers of an Andrea Bocelli performance about the challenges of putting on a live event in a country on lockdown.
Reported by Billboard.com 4 hours ago.
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How People Imitating Masterful Paintings Launched a Sweeping Trend From Italy to Iceland
Reported by TIME 5 hours ago.
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UK overtakes Spain and Italy for highest daily death toll
There were 980 deaths from coronavirus in the 24 hours before Thursday evening, it was announced on Friday.
Reported by Al Jazeera 1 hour ago.
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Doctors, nurses in Good Friday procession at Vatican
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Nurses and doctors wearing their white hospital coats joined a torch-lit Good Friday procession in an hauntingly almost empty St. Peter's Square, as Pope Francis presided over the ceremony which couldn't be held at Rome's Colosseum as tradition holds because of Italy's lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The participation of Vatican medical personnel provided a stark reminder of how the virus outbreak has infused almost all walks of life.
Francis watched from the steps outside St. Peter’s Basilica as the procession, which included a uniformed police officer, a Padua, Italy, prison chaplain and a former inmate, circled around the square’s central obelisk. The Way of the Cross procession evokes Jesus suffering on his way to be crucified.
Earlier, at a Good Friday service inside the basilica, the papal preacher said pandemic has alerted people to the danger of thinking themselves all-powerful. During that service, in a sign of humble obedience, Francis prostrated himself for a few minutes on the basilica floor.
With rank-and-file faithful not allowed into the basilica in accordance with virus containment measures, and as Francis listened attentively, the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa told a few prelates, choir members and about a score of other participants that “it took merely the smallest and most formless element of nature, a virus, to remind us that we are mortal” and that “military power and technology are not sufficient to save us.”
Cantalamessa said that when the pandemic is over, “returning to the way things were is the ‘recession’ we should fear the most.” He said the virus broke down “barriers and distinctions of race, nation, religion, wealth and power.” Reported by SeattlePI.com 5 hours ago.
The participation of Vatican medical personnel provided a stark reminder of how the virus outbreak has infused almost all walks of life.
Francis watched from the steps outside St. Peter’s Basilica as the procession, which included a uniformed police officer, a Padua, Italy, prison chaplain and a former inmate, circled around the square’s central obelisk. The Way of the Cross procession evokes Jesus suffering on his way to be crucified.
Earlier, at a Good Friday service inside the basilica, the papal preacher said pandemic has alerted people to the danger of thinking themselves all-powerful. During that service, in a sign of humble obedience, Francis prostrated himself for a few minutes on the basilica floor.
With rank-and-file faithful not allowed into the basilica in accordance with virus containment measures, and as Francis listened attentively, the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa told a few prelates, choir members and about a score of other participants that “it took merely the smallest and most formless element of nature, a virus, to remind us that we are mortal” and that “military power and technology are not sufficient to save us.”
Cantalamessa said that when the pandemic is over, “returning to the way things were is the ‘recession’ we should fear the most.” He said the virus broke down “barriers and distinctions of race, nation, religion, wealth and power.” Reported by SeattlePI.com 5 hours ago.
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