Berliners have been given an unprecedented public holiday, to mark the end of World War Two in Europe but also liberation from Nazi rule. Not since reunification has a German city acknowledged 8 May as a day of liberation in this way; some Berliners are unaware of its significance.

A street party and several events have been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The holiday is one-off and is not being held outside Berlin. But there are growing calls for a public holiday to be held across Germany.

For some, particularly in areas of the old West Germany, 8 May has long been associated with defeat in World War Two. Many families preferred to draw a veil over the period, both those who had suffered persecution as well as those who hadn’t. In the areas of the old communist East Germany, 8 May was taught as a “Day of Liberation” from the Nazi regime by the victorious Red Army. Post-war Berlin itself was divided into four sectors – the Soviets in the east and the US, French and British in the west.

In the latter years of the West German state, the date was also seen as marking liberation from the Nazi regime.

In 1985 President Richard von Weizsäcker made clear the day should be seen as a day of liberation and not defeat. Ten years later, on the 50th anniversary of liberation, a reunified Berlin was at the centre of a state ceremony.

Nowadays the date is viewed more significantly as the rebirth of democracy. But the only national public holiday currently marking German history is 3 October, which celebrates the date of reunification in 1990.(BBC)…[+]

Coronavirus shutdowns around the world have pushed countries into crisis-mode, prompting a massive rescue spending in an effort to soften the blow from what is expected to be the worst economic contraction since the 1930s.

As of 7 April, countries around the world had approved more than $4.5tn worth of emergency measures, according to the IMF. That figure has only grown in the weeks since. So how do the responses compare?

Columbia economics professor Ceyhun Elgin has been working with colleagues around the world to track the responses in 166 countries. By his calculations, Japan’s response has been among the most aggressive, with a spending package estimated at roughly 20% of the country’s economy. (It is topped only by Malta, which benefits from European Union funds.) That compares to rescue spending estimated at roughly 14% of GDP in the US, 11% in Australia, 8.4% in Canada, 5% in the UK, 1.5% in Colombia and 0.6% in Gambia.(BBC)…[+]

Women in Italy have demanded a greater role in the country’s official response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Italy has one of the highest coronavirus death tolls in Europe, with almost 30,000 fatalities. Yet the Civil Defence’s daily briefings on the crisis are chaired by men, and the group of experts advising the government does not include any women. In response, Italian women have taken to social media to call for better representation. “We want to be able to exercise our right to be fairly represented,” the Dateci Voce (“give us voice”) Facebook page said. “Reconstruction of the country must be a project shared by women and together.”

A petition started by the group has been signed more than 4,500 times, including by MPs, scientist and researchers.

The page also encouraged Italians to post pictures of themselves wearing face masks with the hashtag Dateci Voce, which was soon trending in Italy. No women were included in Italy’s 20-member technical scientific committee (CTS) – a group of experts advising the government during the coronavirus outbreak.

In contrast, at least 17 of the approximately 55 members of the UK’s equivalent body, Sage, are women. The US only has two women in its 22-strong White House Coronavirus Task Force, although its high-profile response co-ordinator is Dr Deborah Birx. Italy’s taskforce charged with the post-Covid construction of the country fares somewhat better, with four women and 13 men.(BBC)…[+]