Euobserver.com

China, the world's biggest polluter, reduced its emissions by 25 percent since the coronavirus outbreak in January, according to an analysis of Lauri Myllyvirta at the University of Helsinki's centre for research on energy and clean air. "For something like this to happen virtually overnight is very much unprecedented," Myllyvirta told the DW on Thursday. So far, over 80,400 cases of coronavirus, and 3,013 deaths, were registered in China.

Following Iran and Italy's lead, Greece announced on Thursday a 48-hour shutdown of educational institutions, including "a suspension of all mass gatherings" at theatres, cinemas, museums, and sports events in three regions to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the Guardian reported. The Peloponnese regions affected are Achaia and Elis and the island of Zakynthos. The country recorded 31 infections, but no fatalities.

The European Parliament's committee on environment and public health stressed on Thursday the need to fund the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM) through the EU's next 2021-2027 long-term budget with at least €1.4bn - as initially proposed by the European Commission. CPM has supported member states when a natural disaster occurred - and also evacuated EU nationals from China during the coronavirus outbreak.

Julian King, the final UK European commissioner before Brexit, has joined Oxford University as a visiting fellow. King was responsible for security policy at the European Commission, focussing on counter-terrorism, cyber threats, political disinformation, and counter-radicalisation. He now joins the Oxford Internet Institute, part of the university. King said "I look forward to ... help deepen our collective understanding of EU and national internet security policy, and develop appropriate standards."

Scottish judges on Thursday halted the procedure to suspend the European arrest warrant issued against Catalan MEP Clara Ponsatí (who was residing in Scotland), until the European Parliament votes on the extent of her immunity as a member of the chamber, according to the daily Catalan News. Ponsatí's lawyer, Aamer Anwar, said that this decision was "another victory against Spain's abuse of the rule of law".

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Belgium has increased by 27, to 50, with most patients having returned from holidays in Italy. All patients have been isolated. Belgium's leading virologist Marc Van Ranst said there is no need for excessive measures, but voiced concerns about shortage of mouth masks for doctors and nurses as well as testing materials. The government expects the number to grow.

Flybe, a British regional airline, has gone into bankruptcy citing coronavirus as one of the reasons for its demise. "All Flybe flights are cancelled. Please do not go to the airport as your Flybe flight will not be operating," the British civil aviation authority said Thursday. The firm's demise comes after British tour operator Thomas Cook went bust in September, with trade unions saying the government should have recused Flybe.

Two EU officials have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus - amid different efforts by EU institutions to halt the spread of the virus.

The EU's border agency Frontex says Greece may have to wait until next week before receiving any extra border guards.

Turkey has accused Greece of using live ammunition against migrants, killing one man, amid growing violence on the EU border.

"Nature doesn't bargain, and you cannot make deals with physics", activist Greta Thunberg, and a group of 30 youth environmentalists warned, after dubbing the unprecedented EU climate law 'a surrender' for ignoring a carbon budget.

The EU's reluctance to take in hundreds of thousands more refugees means the bloc's best option is to try to renew migration co-operation with Turkey - even if this leaves a bitter taste in its mouth.

Italy adopted on Wednesday new emergency measures to contain the spread of coronavirus, as the country registered over 3,000 cases and 107 deaths. All schools and universities will be closed until 15 March, Reuters reported. The minister for education, Lucia Azzolina, said that she wants to ensure "essential public service, albeit from a distance" to students. Italy, the most-affected country in the EU, followed by Germany, France and Spain.

German chancellor Angela Merkel told German conservative MPs on Tuesday she favoured the creation of safe zones in Idlib, northwest Syria, where Turkish forces and their rebel allies are facing off against the Syrian government backed by Russia, Reuters reports. The Dutch foreign minister went a step further and called in an official statement to "stop humanitarian catastrophe with a no-fly zone over Idlib".

After two rounds of voting in the state parliament, Bodo Ramelow (Linke/Gue) has been elected as the new minister-president of the eastern German state of Thüringen. The former minister-president, the liberal Thomas Kemmerich (FDP/Renew), was elected with the support of CDU, FDP and the far-right AfD, which created a political crisis in Germany and the resignation of CDU party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. Ramelow will lead now a minority government.

Ukraine's parliament approved on Wednesday Denys Shmygal as the new prime minister, following the resignation of his predecessor Oleksiy Goncharuk after six months in the job after he was caught out criticising the president by a leaked recording, AFP reported. Before the vote, president Volodymyr Zelensky said he hoped that "we will finally have a government for people". Shmygal was previously deputy prime minister and minister of regional development.

Facebook is considering redesigning the Libra cryptocurrency project so that the network also accepts cash issued by central banks, such as the dollar or the euro, in a possible attempt to please regulators, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. In 2019, the Libra Association project was funded by Facebook to create its cryptocurrency and virtual wallet. According to the report, the launch of Facebook's virtual wallet will now be postponed until autumn.

A staff member at the Brussels-based European Defence Agency has contracted the coronavirus Covid-19. A spokesperson at the agency said the staff member had been diagnosed over the weekend and "is feeling fine." Agency staff members, who had been in close contact with the person, have been asked to self-isolate themselves for 14 days as a precaution. The EU agency is headed by the EU's foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell.

Germany is home to the most "super-rich" people in the EU and third worldwide after the US and China, according to a survey by consultancy firm Knight Frank. There were 23,708 people worth €27m each or more in Germany last year, it noted. France (18,776), the UK (14,367), Italy (10,701) and Ireland (1,343) also scored high in the ranking. Japan (17,013) came fourth top while Russia came ninth (8,924).

The EU must help Turkey in Syria as well as honour a 2016 migration pact if it wanted the flow of refugees to end, Turkey's EU embassy has said.