Samantha Salinas never planned to give birth during a global pandemic, but Mother's Day 2020 may be when her baby finally arrives.

Across Africa, centuries-old cultural traditions are being foregone in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen governments impose restrictions on gatherings and other practices around death and burial. Francesca Lynagh reports.

Britons stood in silence and Queen Elizabeth addressed the nation on Friday's 75th anniversary of "Victory in Europe" Day, though the coronavirus dampened commemorations for the end of World War Two on the continent. Lauren Anthony reports.

With its season cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, one of Austria's most popular glacial ski resorts covered its glacier in protective fabric earlier than usual this year to help preserve it for a still uncertain reopening.

Syria's government allowed mosques to open on Friday for worshipers willing to perform prayers. The mosque had remained closed as part of the measures taken to contain the spread of coronavirus.

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany on Friday said it appears that the FBI 'manufactured' a crime in the case of President Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, after the Department of Justice moved to drop the case on Thursday.

Countries must return to "basic principles" of public health surveillance if they are to bring the coronavirus outbreak under control, the World Health Organization's (WHO) top emergency health expert Mike Ryan said on Friday (May 8).

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany on Friday was asked about the U.S. economy that lost a staggering 20.5 million jobs in April, the steepest plunge in payrolls since the Great Depression, and she responded saying it was 'decided' by the president to 'stop the economy' to save lives.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth honored those who died in World War Two on Friday, the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, and used the occasion to say she was proud of how people had responded to the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary, the wife of one of President Donald Trump's senior advisors, has tested positive for the coronavirus, the second White House staffer to be diagnosed with the illness. This report produced by Chris Dignam.

Stone by stone, digital artists and game developers from Mosul are rebuilding Nineveh's heritage sites in the digital world. Francis Maguire reports.

Thousands of cyclists took over streets in the center of the Slovenian capital Ljubljana on Friday evening to protest against the government of Prime Minister Janez Jansa and the restrictions it has imposed to fight the coronavirus.

Russia marked 75 years since the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two on Saturday, but the coronavirus outbreak forced it to scale back celebrations. Olivia Chan reports.

Gymnasts all around the world are making the best of things as they try to keep fit while gyms are closed due to the coronavirus and Italy is no exception.

Olympic medallist Marco Lodadio of Italy transforms his garden swing into the rings gymnastic apparatus.

China's policymakers struggle to grapple with a property market, the world's largest, that is crucial for growth yet prone to bubbles springing up in unlikely places.

Indigenous elders from Alaska to Australia have come together to deliver some tough love in a new film for Earth Day. Francis Maguire reports.

May 20 - A device that projects text or pictures onto scented bubbles has been created by UK-based computer scientists. SensaBubble uses a concept called 'chrono-sensory experiences' to deliver messages its creators say, could be adapted for gaming, education, or even email communication. Jim Drury reports.

May 25 - A bed sensor developed by an Israeli team is proving to be an effective and more reliable alternative to conventional patient monitoring technology. The sensor is designed to unobtrusively monitor a patient's vital signs from beneath their mattress and is less prone to sending out false alarms to nursing staff. Tara Cleary reports.

June 15 - A community in East Java, Indonesia, is turning methane from the local garbage dump into gas for more than 400 homes. Local authorities have set up a system where methane produced by rotting waste is extracted and pumped to villages nearby, turning greenhouse gas emissions into useful energy. Tara Cleary reports.

June 16 - With attention focused on the world's greatest soccer stars in Brazil, conservationists are working hard to promote the plight of the animal being used as the official World Cup mascot. Known as Fuleco on posters and banners throughout the country, the three-banded armadillo is in decline, and conservation groups say FIFA and the Brazilian government should be doing more during the World Cup to ensure the animal's long term survival. Rob Muir reports.

June 18 - A bipedal robot modelled on the now extinct Velociraptor, can run faster than Usain Bolt, according to its developers. The Jamaican sprinter holds the 100 metres world record with a time of 9.58 seconds but South Korean researchers say their robot could leave him in the dust. Rob Muir reports.

A pizza chain in northern Russia begins to deliver pizza by Russian-made drones. Elly Park reports.

The minimum wage in Portland could increase to $15.52 an hour, and $13.50 an hour in the rest of the state, according to a plan unveiled by Oregon Governor, Kate Brown. Jillian Kitchen reports.

Retailers usually expect a nearly $20 billion bonanza on a Valentine's Day weekend -- but with an Arctic chill forecast for parts of the United States, will paramours be able to keep alive the retail heat? Mana Rabiee reports.

Amazon or UPS packages won't be dropped by drones anytime soon, but drones are finally getting a flight plan for business. And it starts in Rwanda.

The iconic marijuana magazine is set to launch an initial public offering as the pot industry booms.

The bloom is off seed funding, the business of providing money to brand-new startups, as investors take a more measured approach to financing emerging U.S. technology companies.

Josh Beasley and his fiancé bought Houston's Body3 Personal Fitness on July 1, less than two months before Tropical Storm Harvey swamped the gym with a foot of water and left behind the dank stench of fetid mildew.

The race among start ups to win the self driving car billions is heating up and the field is crowded with 75 of them in Silicon Valley alone and more than 240 around the world.

Five species of songbird and five subspecies have been discovered by scientists for the first time in mountainous areas of Indonesia

Olivia Colman and Helen Mirren have teamed up with the creators of Wallace & Gromit in a film called Turtle Journey to raise awareness about climate change and ocean pollution

Wolf pups have been seen playing fetch with humans, a behaviour we thought was unique to domesticated dogs

Nick Lehane's performance piece, Chimpanzee, in London for the first time, reveals how tragedy stalked the amazing achievement of raising chimps in human families

Artist Ken Rinaldo encourages the bacteria on banknotes to grow and spread to explore colonialism in his touring show, Borderless Bacteria/Colonialist Cash

Fossils now confirmed to be at least 715 million-year-old fungi could help us understand how they interacted with the earliest plants on Earth

We know viruses invaded animals’ genomes in the ancient past, but only now have we actually witnessed it happening and the DNA being passed to offspring

It’s not just about the sperm: the semen of male fish carries unidentified substances that influence how quickly the offspring develop and even how well they can swim

Olm are salamanders that spend all their lives in pitch-black caves, and it turns out they don’t move very much – sometimes lurking in the same spot for years

The genomes of 2514 new viruses have been identified in DNA recovered from human and animal cells, many of them belonging to wholly new families

Upside-down jellyfish release tiny balls of stinging cells that can move through water on their own and survive for days – leaving a network of mucus that can sting you

Amber from the Cretaceous period trapped a leaf-footed bug with extremely long and wide antennae, which may have helped disguise the insect or confuse predators

Blue tits and great tits don’t need to taste unpleasant foods to avoid them – they can learn not to try them by seeing another bird’s disgusted response, even if it’s only on video

The earliest cave-dwelling animal identified from the dinosaur era is a ghostly white cockroach with tiny eyes and wings that was preserved in amber

Healthy grey whales are four times more likely to become stranded when solar activity produces lots of radio noise, suggesting solar storms may be blinding their ability to sense magnetic fields

All animals rely on oxygen at least at some stage of their life, but a parasite that infects fish seems to have completely lost the ability to use it – where it gets its energy from is still a mystery

Seagulls are known for aggressively attempting to swipe people's food, and it seems that when given the choice between identical meals, they favour the one handled by humans

A worm-like creature from 518 million years ago evolved to lose its back legs, the earliest known example of an animal losing body parts it no longer needed

Watching brain activity in fish as they try to “swim” in virtual reality helps us understand their perception abilities and how they interact with other animals

Silver has an antibacterial effect by stopping the motors that bacteria use to move around from working properly and making them move more slowly