In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel has been praised for her realism and flexibility when it comes to using her country's reproduction rate to inform lockdown policies. During a press conference on April 16 she explained: "The whole evolution (of the rate) is based on the fact that we assume that we have an infection figure that we can monitor, that we can track and that we have more protection concepts and that, thanks to those, we can loosen restrictions. "But it is thin ice," as Mr Tschentscher (the Hamburg Mayor) said, "or a fragile situation, or really a situation where caution is the order of the day and not overconfidence". The Robert Koch Institute, the government’s health agency, provides regular updates on the country’s rate. On May 5, it stood at 0.71, slightly declining two days later to 0.65. Mrs Merkel’s caution is reflected across the border in France, where the R has fluctuated as the country began easing lockdown measures. On May 1, Jerome Salomon, France's public health chief, said it had risen to between 0.6 and 0.7 on average from 0.5, due to the “progressive return to activity”. But officials are not solely relying on the R, instead reviewing several indicators to decide when to loosen restrictions. At the end of April Spanish authorities said almost all areas of the country had a reproduction number below one, but that they would not consider easing restrictions unless this continues.

Comedian made the off-colour quip after the veteran actor starred in 'Cats'

The Nigerian musician was a restless creator who embraced the physicality of drumming and innovated until the end

• Tony Allen’s 10 best tracks
• News report: Afrobeat co-founder Tony Allen dies aged 79

Few musicians can claim to have invented a revolutionary rhythm, but then few are quite like the late Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen. Brian Eno called him “the greatest drummer that ever lived”, citing his style alongside James Brown’s funk breakbeat and the constant pulse of German band Neu! as the “three great beats of the 1970s”. Allen’s swirl of jazz, Yoruba and highlife was unlike anything the world had ever heard: a full-body polyrhythmic workout that would give most drummers sore wrists just thinking of it.

Allen came to prominence in Lagos alongside Fela Kuti. He started drumming in the late 50s while working at a radio station, looking to jazz icons such as Art Blakey and Max Roach for inspiration as he taught himself to play. In 1964 he met Kuti and they spent the next half-decade fine-tuning their fusion of west African party music and American funk and jazz, in the bands Koola Lobitos and, by 1969, Africa ’70. While Kuti, who died in 1997, is more well-known than his musical soulmate, he said that “without Tony Allen there would be no Afrobeat”.

A new study has identified thousands of incidents of previously rare or unprecedented extreme heat/humidity combinations in parts of Asia, Africa, Australia, South America and North America, including in the US Gulf Coast region.

How is it possible to prevent a future pandemic if the origins of the novel coronavirus still remain unclear?

Gradual easing of coronavirus restrictions brings hopes, fears

Researchers found that temperature extremes previously thought to be rare have been recorded more than 1,000 times in 40 years.

A round-up of stories addressing the global problem of food waste.

Margaret Wente trots out every 20-year-old trope spouted by tired old discredited climate change deniers.

The Swedish travel industry is woefully under-prepared for a changing climate, says researcher Stephen Gössling. Tourism to and from Sweden contributes 10 percent of the country's total measured CO2 emissions,

A Swedish IT start-up is behind BadBuster, a new plug-in (currently only for Internet Explorer, soon for Firefox) that gives an environmental score to 650 of the largest multinational firms, in the form of a 1-100 number rating. Thus each time your

The ring of giant Project Loon balloons will bring data service to people living below.

A last-minute menu change has switched out fish for mushrooms.

Whether your traveling tastes run rural or urban, green hostels offer an inexpensive and character-filled -- not to mention sustainable -- alternative to bland hotels.

The bath and body goodies hail from my hometown in Connecticut, handmade in small batches making it a pretty local treat for anyone in the NYC metro-area.

If you are sick and tired of being optimistic, I have the perfect thing for you, a No Globe snow globe. The tchotchke is a one of a kind--kinda. Only two were made and only one is left to purchase, so act quickly.

This is neat! We've never given much thought as to what "sounds" languages around the world would give certain animals. 

Not to sound naive but we definitely thought "meow" was universal for the sound a cat makes... turns out, not so much. 

Creator of this super interesting and well-drawn graphics is freelance illustrator James Chapman. You can follow his Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook and/or Twitter to be kept up-to-date with these fanasinating graphics! Did you know, in English, we say dogs go "Woof," but in Romanian they go "Ham Ham?"

Just something to think about. 

Researchers found that temperature extremes previously thought to be rare have been recorded more than 1,000 times in 40 years.

Need a history lesson? Check out Radio Madhuban in Mount Abu, where they play a dramatised enactment of Bhil warrior Bheema Nayak, and Daulat Singh, complete with dialogues, background music and caricaturish British accents. Or if you like, check out the theme song of Radio Luxembourg, which was taken over by the Nazis at the start of WWII and then used to broadcast wartime propaganda.

Music, with a dash of history, is what you would find at Radio Garden, a project launched in December by Dutch companies Studio Puckey and Studio Moniker in collaboration with the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision. It was first posted on Reddit before it went viral. The website/app takes the form of an interactive globe, with each station indicated by a green dot. Rotate the globe, choose a country or station and listen in.

You can listen to Urdu ghazals in Pakistan, hover over the United Kingdom and marvel at different accents, and browse through radio channels of hospitals. Hop over to the Vatican City radio, and listen to broadcasts in Tamil too. Occasionally, you will also find English music, like we did at Brno's Kiss Hady, which played Adele's Addicted to You or the hit Queen track, It's a Kind of Magic at Spain's Radio Andaludia Este.

Each station you choose gives you the region, their time, and a link to the station's website. Even if you cannot recognise the language, it's easy to figure when ads are on air (clue: look for fast-speaking, high-pitched, excited voices). You can also hear clips from history in the History section; stories from listeners in the Stories section and fun radio jingles, with detailed information about them in the Jingles section.

There are a few dead ends, with unresponsive stations or those that are unavailable for access from India, but there's over 8,000 others to choose from.

Log on to radio.garden

It is about time that we see these creatures as less of a nuisance to be avoided, and more of a “super-fly” with the ability to help us solve global food and energy problems at once.

As part of the ongoing work of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS, the OECD secretariat is seeking public comments on certain aspects of the Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) Proposal under Pillar Two.

On 8 November 2019, interested parties were invited to provide comments on certain aspects of the Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) Proposal under Pillar Two. The OECD is grateful to the commentators for their input and now publishes the public comments received.

As part of the ongoing work of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS, the OECD Secretariat is seeking public comments on the Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) Proposal under Pillar Two. This public consultation meeting will focus on the key questions identified in the consultation document and issues raised in the written submissions received as part of the consultation process.

Early-stage companies often have trouble dealing with the amount of data that can run through the organization, especially as it grows. Large sums are spent on data software, dislocated data, dealing with data pipelines. All of which involve data warehousing, cleaning tools and a visualization platform. Count is a startup that is an attempt to […]

Jolie kept warm in a long black overcoat which she wore over black leggings and paired with nude flats. Her long hair was loose and she sported sunglasses and drop earrings.

The Pussycat Dolls star, 41, looked incredible in a one-shouldered pink gown as she oozed elegance while her dashing beau swapped The X Factor

The blaze that devastated 850 years of history sparked a wave of solidarity with France across the globe as the international press reflected the tragedy with dramatic coverage.

After leaving viewers on the brink of tears following its recent Netflix release, Marriage Story has stolen the show with six Golden Globe nominations.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association also announced that others hitting the stage and podium will include Sofia Vergara, Octavia Spencer, Daniel Craig, Tiffany Haddish, and Glenn Close.

BAZ BAMIGBOYE: Cynthia Erivo once described herself to me as 'this little black girl from South London who wants a big career'. On Sunday, she is in the running for two Golden Globe awards.

The biggest stars in film and television have come together on one of Hollywood's biggest nights.

Pinned by Pearls provided vintage hat pins to several male celebrities at award shows this year. The pins symbolize a commitment to wokrking with female directors, producers, writers, and actresses.

The 36-year-old has been nominated for her role as Adelaide Wilson in horror mystery Us, from director-writer Jordan Peele, in the Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Leading Role category.

The stunning tune was written by Taylor Swift and Andrew Lloyd Webber for the 2019 Cats adaptation. The song was nominated for Best Original Song for the 2020 Golden Globe Awards.

The film star, who has long campaigned on environmental issues despite receiving criticism for making use of private jets, praised the move on Twitter on Thursday evening.

It seems Brad Pitt formed quite the bromance with Leonardo DiCaprio while filming Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. 

Ricky Gervais, 58, took aim at Prince Andrew at the Golden Globes award ceremony tonight, shocking actors with a joke about the royal's Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

The Russian-American businessman, 53, was an invaluable FBI source who helped the US government 'combat terrorists', a letter filed by prosecutors in 2009 and unsealed on Friday reveals.

Lady Gaga's custom Valentino gown that she wore to the Golden Globes is being put up for auction. The dress has been listed by maid Sara Corea at the hotel who claims that the singer 'left' her the gown.

The haute couture gown had been set to go under the hammer at Nate D. Sanders Auction House on October 31, but was removed from the sale just moments before bidding closed on the piece.

The 25-year-old's latest offering has made history as providing the biggest sales week for a solo UK male artist's album since Nielsen Music began electronically tracking sales data in 1991.

BAZ BAMIGBOYE: Stars of the hit Netflix drama The Crown led the British charge as nominations for the Golden Globe awards were announced yesterday.

The show lead, 50, and Reese, 43, both received nods for their roles in Apple TV's The Morning Show and Christina, 48, for the Netflix dark comedy Dead to Me

Reese Witherspoon was preparing for the big show with a run around her neighborhood in Brentwood Los Angeles. She kept an incognito look in all black for her run with a friend.

She's one of the most beloved stars of both the small and silver screens, and she's nominated Sunday for her fourth Golden Globe.

The former couple were both in attendance at Sunday's Golden Globes ceremony - held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel - but proved they are still on good terms as they rooted for one another to win.