SCHWERIN, Germany—A sharp difference in the number of coronavirus cases between western Germany and the former communist East has emerged as a new divide, three decades after reunification. The five states that once made up the bulk of East Germany are among the regions of the country least affected by the pandemic. (Berlin, located in … Read more
SÃO PAULO—The Covid-19 pandemic has ravaged Latin America, killing more than 300,000 people, erasing years of social and economic gains and plunging millions back into poverty. But from Mexico to Brazil, a recent slowdown in new cases and fatalities is raising cautious hopes that the hard-hit region might be turning a corner. While the U.S. … Read more
SEOUL—For decades, North Korea’s ruling Kims portrayed themselves as quasi-gods, incapable of error. Now, as the country faces some of its toughest challenges in years on several fronts, leader Kim Jong Un is taking a different approach. He is showing himself to be fallible—even human. With the country contending with the coronavirus pandemic, flood damage … Read more
Drones mounted with megaphones buzz above Rwanda’s streets and villages, reminding pedestrians to social distance. In one clinic, sleek white robots chastise people for not wearing masks. Health workers in protective clothing take test samples from drivers at traffic intersections. The tiny central African nation of Rwanda is implementing one of the continent’s most aggressive—and technologically sophisticated—strategies to contain … Read more
SEOUL—South Korea appears to have cracked the code for managing the coronavirus. Its solution is straightforward, flexible and relatively easy to replicate. The country has averaged about 77 new daily cases since early April and recently suppressed a spike in infections. Adjusting for population, that would be the equivalent of about 480 cases a day … Read more
TOMSK, Russia—Shortly after Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny collapsed last month on a plane over Siberia with signs of poisoning, his supporters rushed to the hotel room where he had been staying to look for clues. Instead of calling the police, they said they bagged everything they could find there in the hopes of solving … Read more
Months after Italy’s lockdown against the coronavirus ended, Enrica Grazioli still sanitizes everything that comes into her Milan apartment, wears face masks diligently and limits interactions between her sons and their grandparents. Ms. Grazioli, a self-proclaimed social butterfly who loves to cook for guests, still hasn’t had friends over for dinner since the virus struck. … Read more