PARIS — The restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris following a tragic blaze in April 2019 is a story of dedication and recovery. The iconic medieval monument immortalized in history, film and literature has been gradually rebuilt over the past five years, through challenges that have included delays during the pandemic and the loss … Read more
Also, in a disaster, there are no good decisions, there are only least-worse decisions. Every decision will come with a set of consequences. What the government really struggled to do was mitigate the consequences of decisions they felt that they had to take. My personal view is that what the UK’s going through at the … Read more
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — After almost five years of engagement and a postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern married longtime partner Clarke Gayford in a private ceremony Saturday. Details of the event were closely held by the pair, but the ceremony is reported to have been staged at … Read more
VATICAN CITY — Recalling Jesus’ birth in a stable in Bethlehem, Pope Francis in a Christmas Eve homily said that “the clash of arms even today” prevents Jesus “from finding room in the world.” The pontiff presided Sunday over the evening Mass attended by about 6,500 faithful who took their place amid the splendor of … Read more
ABUJA, Nigeria — At least three-fourths of Africans can’t afford a healthy diet, and a fifth are undernourished due to an “unprecedented food crisis,” United Nations agencies said in a report released Thursday with the African Union Commission. The continent’s 1.4 billion people are confronting high levels of hunger and malnutrition as the hit on … Read more
The author behind the best-selling book “The Psychology of Money” is trying to relieve investor anxiety over market downturns. “Realizing how inevitable it is makes it more palatable to deal with when you go through it,” author and behavioral finance expert Morgan Housel told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” recently. It’s one of the major themes in … Read more
‘I don’t have a lot of cash’: Billionaire Ron Baron says the US pays for its wars, pandemics by ‘making your money worth less’ — and he’s never owned a bond because of that. Do you agree? Markets are sensitive to geopolitical conflicts. With crises in Ukraine and the Middle East, investors are grappling with … Read more
LONDON — The former top aide to ex-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday painted a picture of widespread chaos and dysfunction in the U.K. government during the coronavirus pandemic. In keenly awaited testimony to the country’s public inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic, Dominic Cummings, a self-styled political disruptor, was withering about many of the … Read more
CANBERRA, Australia — A cruise operator that failed to cancel a voyage from Sydney that led to a major COVID-19 outbreak was ruled negligent in its duty of care to passengers in an Australian class-action case Wednesday. The Ruby Princess ocean liner left Sydney on March 8, 2020, with 2,671 passengers aboard for a 13-day … Read more
In the last hard days of World War I, just two weeks before world powers agreed to an armistice, a doctor wrote a letter to a friend. The doctor was stationed at the US Army’s Camp Devens west of Boston, a base packed with 45,000 soldiers preparing to ship out for the battlefields of France. … Read more