Virginia Mayo
Johan Vandewalle sits near a photo of Australian brothers and World War I soldiers John "Jack" and Jim Hunter at the Brothers in Arms Memorial in Zonnebeke, Belgium, Thursday, April 22, 2021. Johan Vandewalle is leading a team of volunteers that has almost finished a 40 meter long memorial to Australian John "Jack" Hunter in Flanders Fields in Belgium, where Anzac forces also fought, some 2,750 kilometers (1,700 miles) west from Gallipoli along the immense frontline. On another Anzac Day turned lonesome by the global pandemic, solitary actions show all the more how the sacrifices of Australia and New Zealand during World War I are far from forgotten. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
On another lonely Anzac Day, solitary memorials stand out

By Raf Casert Apr. 24, 2021 08:21 PM EDT

FILE - In this Thursday, March 26, 2021 file photo, a sign asking people to observe social distancing and keep 1.5 meters, or five feet, apart to reduce the spread of the coronavirus was put up in a field of tulips in Lisse, Netherlands. Across the world, authorities are seeking to stave off a new surge of COVID-19 infections to contain a death toll which already exceeds 3 million. Crowds are anathema to health. Yet at the same time, the soothing glories of nature are said to be an ideal balm against the psychological burdens of loneliness, disorientation and fear that the pandemic has wrought. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
Pandemic puts tulips, bluebells, cherry blossoms in hiding

By Raf Casert Apr. 20, 2021 08:26 AM EDT

FILE - This undated photo provided by the University of Oxford shows of vial of coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University in Oxford, England. AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna have all reported promising results with their vaccines, according to preliminary data, but it could be well into 2021 before they're rolled out on a large scale. (University of Oxford/John Cairns via AP, File)
EU says first virus vaccinations possible by Christmas

Lorne Cook And Virginia Mayo Nov. 25, 2020 04:31 AM EST

A member of staff prepares to put a pizzette into an oven as she prepares take-away orders at Sergio Herman's Le Pristine restaurant in Antwerp, Belgium, Friday, Nov. 6, 2020. Of all the many challenges the pandemic throws up for all kinds of professions, this one has been particularly tough: How to put a three-star chef into a takeout box. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Pandemic holds few lessons for European chefs, mostly misery

By Raf Casert And Virginia Mayo Nov. 15, 2020 03:37 AM EST

Last Post bugler Tonny Desodt stands on social distancing markers at the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing prior to an Armistice Day ceremony in Ypres, Belgium, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. In a town usually crowded with visitors, coronavirus restrictions prevented the general public from attending a ceremony under the Menin Gate, with even dignitary attendance reduced to a minimum. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Virus makes for one of Europe's loneliest WWI remembrances

By Raf Casert And Virginia Mayo Nov. 11, 2020 10:06 AM EST

Stef Pottums sits on his step next to a miniature scene of the cell of Belgian writer Roger van de Velde in a boot scraper in Antwerp, Belgium, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. Belgian artist Elke Lemmens is transforming disused boot scrapers in the port city of Antwerp into miniature scenes depicting what is important in the lives of the owners of the house. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Artist gives life to Belgian boot-scrapers during pandemic

By Virginia Mayo Nov. 11, 2020 02:43 AM EST

In this Oct. 23, 2020 file photo, a waiter clears a table at a cafe in Piazza Navona Square before the start of a curfew. In times when a pandemic unleashes death and poverty, the concept of what is essential to keep society functioning in a lockdown is gripping Europe. What may stay open in one country may be designated as non-essential just across the border. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
Books? Hairdressers? Europeans split on lockdown essentials

By Raf Casert Nov. 07, 2020 02:50 AM EST

FILE - In this Wednesday, June 5, 2019 file photo, a WWII enthusiast watches French and British parachutists jumping during a commemorative parachute jump over Sannerville, Normandy, France. In sharp contrast to the 75th anniversary of D-Day, this year's 76th will be one of the loneliest remembrances ever, as the coronavirus pandemic is keeping nearly everyone from traveling. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
On sad anniversary, few to mourn the D-Day dead in Normandy

By Raf Casert Jun. 05, 2020 02:51 AM EDT

In this photo taken on Saturday, May 9, 2020, Martine Escoyez, right, and her friend Michelle Ullens, left, wave goodbye after visiting their friend Parvine Djazayeri via a crane platform from a fourth floor window at the La Cambre senior living home in Watermael-Boitsfort, Belgium. Tristan Van den Bosch, an operator of mobile platforms, saw his equipment stand idle because of the coronavirus pandemic and realized too many families could not see their locked-up elderly in care homes. Two problems created one solution and Van den Bosch has been driving his cranes to care homes in several towns across Belgium to lift the spirits of all involved. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Uplifting idea: Cranes reunite families in corona crisis

By Raf Casert And Virginia Mayo May. 14, 2020 03:18 AM EDT

In this Wednesday, April 22, 2020 photo, Ship Captain Tim Daghelet, background, approaches deckhand Gerard Bakulikira, both wearing a Romware COVID Radius digital bracelets, which flashes red when people are too close to each other, as they demonstrate how it works on the deck of a tugboat in the Port of Antwerp, Belgium. Europe's second biggest port is readying to test an electronic device aimed at helping people respect social distancing as the spread of the coronavirus eases and they return to work. From next month, two teams of workers at the Belgian port of Antwerp will be wearing chunky plastic bracelets that vibrate and flash lights when they get too close to each other. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Belgian port to test virus bracelets amid tech tracing fears

By Mark Carlson And Lorne Cook Apr. 23, 2020 07:51 AM EDT