Friday Phenomena - Part 2

As a cool cloudy Friday heads toward evening, here are some more things going on:

From Free West Media, Belgium has the highest coronvirus death rate, but the U.S. state of New York exceeds all countries in total deaths.

From VRT NWS, will visitors to the Belgian coast require permits this summer?

From The Brussels Times, road work in the Belgian commune of Flanders resumes, but the commune of Wallonia waits.

From the NL Times, Pride Amsterdam is canceled due to the coronavirus.

From Dutch News, Dutch economic experts predict that the "intelligent lockdown" and 1.5 meter distancing in the Netherlands will have "profound impacts".

From Deutsche Welle, coronavirus aid in Germany resumes after scammers "clone" a government website.

From Voice Of Europe, three 15-year-old migrants from Bulgaria are convicted of raping a woman in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany.  (If you read German, read the story at Bild.)

From the CPH Post, the theme park Tivoli and the soccer club FC Copenhagen help the city of Copenhagen alleviate a shortage of space in schools, kindergartens and daycares.

From Polskie Radio, Poland's Institute of National Remembrance tributes Warsaw's World War II Jewish fighters.

From Radio Prague, a Czech government advisor warns against lifting coronavirus restrictions too soon.

From The Slovak Spectator, Slovakia passes new rules for entry into the country.

From the Hungary Journal,  according to Prime Minister Orban, the peak of the coronavirus outbreak in Hungary is still ahead.

From Daily News Hungary, are a lot of Hungarian bus drivers about to be fired?  (If you read Hungarian, read the story at Index.)

From Hungary Today, according to Hungarian central bank governor György Matolcsy, the country's economy is "on the brink of great opportunities".  (If you read Hungarian, read the story at Hirado.)

From About Hungary, Hungarian hospitals free up 50 percent of their beds for coronavirus patients.

From Russia Today, the number of new coronavirus cases in Russia passes exceeds 4,000.

From Sputnik International, a look at a largely empty Moscow under coronavirus lockdown and a permit system.

From The Moscow Times, Russia passes a law allowing dual citizenship, hoping to add 10 million citizens.

From Novinite, Orthodox Christians observe Good Friday.

From The Sofia Globe, Bulgaria confirms a total of 846 coronavirus cases, while the capital of Sofia imposes tight travel restrictions.

From Radio Bulgaria, Sofia closes its central bus station and railroad stations other than the central one.

From Ekathimerini, Greek police plan to step up their coronavirus lockdown during next weekend.

From the Greek Reporter, Greece's ancient respect for health helps the country deal with the coronavirus.

From Balkan Insight, a spire damaged by a recent earthquake is removed from a cathedral in Zagreb, Croatia.

From Total Croatia News, the Croatian Constitutional Court rules that politicians are allowed to talk [bleep] while at work.  (If you read Croatian, read the story at Jutarnji Vijesti.)

From Total Slovenia News, Slovenia's national exams for primary schools are canceled due to the coronavirus.

From the Malta Independent, Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela and 12 soldiers are under a criminal investigation over an incident in which migrants died in the Mediterranean.

From Malta Today, a bid by the NGO Repubblika to force Malta to rescue migrants in distress is by the European Court of Human Rights.

From ANSA, the number of new coronavirus cases in Italy is 355, the lowest daily rise since March 2nd.

From SwissInfo, the 2020 Montreux Jazz Festival is canceled due to the coronavirus.  (This festival, during the early 1970s, was the subject of the Deep Purple song Smoke On The Water.)

From France24, France reports 761 more deaths from the coronavirus, but fewer hospitalizations.

From RFI, more on French coronavirus deaths and hospitalizations.

From EuroNews, according to French President Emmanuel Macron, the E.U. is facing a "moment of truth" dealing with the coronavirus.

From El País, Spanish government advisors support reopening schools in September.

From The Portugal News, more than 200 companies in Portugal want to make face masks.

From Euractiv, the E.U. tells member states to comply with asylum laws even during the coronavirus pandemic.

From the Express, U.K. war veteran Captain Tom Moore's campaign to support the NHS reaches £20 million.

From the Evening Standard, U.K. Business Secretary Alok Sharma announces a task force to accelerate the development of a coronavirus vaccine.

From the (U.K.) Independent, U.K. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announces that the job retention scheme for furloughed workers will be extended for another month.

From the (Irish) Independent, a man from Dublin, Ireland tells about what it's like to volunteer at a coronavirus testing center.

From the Irish Examiner, Irish health officials plan to expand coronavirus testing capacity to 100,000 per week.

From The Conservative Woman, the U.K. has had enough of social science experimenting.

And from Snouts in the Trough, "beware the bleating of the care home multi-millionaires".