NEW YORK (THE CONVERSATION-AP) – The spread of the new coronavirus, which has infected over 80,000 people worldwide and resulted in the death of more than 3,000, has raised alarms around the world. At the same time, the seasonal influenza, known as the flu, causes severe illness in between 3 million and 5 million people, […]

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The national news agency Australian Associated Press said Tuesday it will close in late June, its 85 years in business vanquished by a decline in subscribers and free distribution of news content on digital platforms. “The saddest day: AAP closes after 85 years of excellence in journalism. The AAP family will […]

NEW YORK (THE CONVERSATION-AP) – As the threat from the coronavirus grows, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health officials are stressing the importance of hand-washing. Prevention becomes essential to stopping the spread of the virus because there is no vaccine to prevent it and no anti-virals to treat it. How […]

PARIS (AP) — Tens of thousands of students in virus cluster zones are home from school in France on Tuesday, with a smaller number in Germany and Poland facing quarantines or days without class. France’s education minister, Jean-Michel Blanquer, said around 120 schools have been ordered to close , most in Brittany and the Oise […]

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader put the Islamic Republic’s armed forces on alert Tuesday to assist health officials in combating the outbreak of the new coronavirus — the deadliest outside of China — that authorities say has killed 77 people. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s decision was announced after state media broadcast images of the […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — American factories expanded in February for the second straight month, despite disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The winning streak, however, may prove short-lived. The Institute for Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, said Monday that its manufacturing index registered 50.1 last month. That is down from 50.9 in January. But […]

ROME (JTA) — The Vatican unsealed its secret archive relating to the controversial Holocaust-era Pope Pius XII. Critics accuse Pius of having turned a blind eye to Jewish suffering, and researchers hope the archive will reveal why the pope did not intervene to help the Jews during the Holocaust. The Vatican maintains that Pius worked […]

PARIS (AP) — A global agency says the spreading new virus could make the world economy shrink this quarter for the first time since the international financial crisis more than a decade ago. In a special report on the impact of the virus, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Monday that the world […]

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Major travel disruptions due to the new coronavirus have already caused the equivalent of a roughly $100 million loss to airlines in the Middle East, which serves as a connection hub for east-west travel, the industry’s main trade association said Monday. The Persian Gulf city of Dubai, which […]

An urgent election update was sent by email from Jennifer Brodkey Kaufman, Chair, URJ (Union for Reform Judaism) and Rabbi Rick Jacobs President, URJ last week. The email read: Today, we are writing to share an urgent appeal concerning the World Zionist Congress election… …The results of the election are nothing short of essential for […]