WORLD

Paris, France | AFP | Britain is to start giving seriously ill coronavirus patients a basic steroid treatment hailed as a “major breakthrough” Tuesday capable of reducing the global pandemic’s death toll as worrying new outbreaks surfaced. A new and “extremely severe” cluster of cases in Beijing cast doubt over efforts …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain’s government on Tuesday bowed to demands by Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford to change its policy on free school meals for the poorest children, amid growing concerns about the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on low-income families. The England international drew on his own experience of growing up …

Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP |  A team of medical students pressed into service by Cologne’s public health office are scrambling to cut off potential new chains of coronavirus infections by endlessly repeating the same questions. “What are your symptoms? Who have you met in the last few days?” they …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  The coronavirus outbreak has exposed existing inequalities but without reform, argues Nobel prize-winning economist Angus Deaton, it also risks making them much worse. In an interview with AFP, the Scottish-born Princeton professor called for changes to the US healthcare system and the power of the …

Paris, France | AFP |  James Lovelock — founder of the Gaia theory and, arguably, the field of Earth system science — thinks the world has lost perspective in responding to the new coronavirus, and should focus on a far more formidable foe: global warming. “My impression is that we have …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP |  George Floyd’s shocking death in police custody in the US has sparked belated soul-searching in Switzerland over the death of a Nigerian man two years ago in Lausanne in seemingly similar circumstances. The images of Floyd’s last agonising moments have circled the globe, sparking massive protests …

Minneapolis, United States | AFP |  As he watched the video of George Floyd’s dying moments, martial arts instructor Andre Balian recognized the white police officer kneeling on the black man’s neck for nearly nine minutes. “There’s no perceivable way that he could not know what kind of damage he was …

Washington, United States | AFP |  The US Supreme Court delivered a landmark victory for the gay and transgender communities Monday when it ruled that employers cannot discriminate against workers because of their sexual orientation. In a blow to the administration of President Donald Trump, the court ruled by six votes …

Washington, United States | AFP | The United States on Monday withdrew emergency use authorizations for two antimalarial drugs favored by President Donald Trump to treat the new coronavirus, effectively shutting the door on the politically charged treatments. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and chloroquine (CQ) were authorized in March after they were found …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | While the British government insists it has been “guided by science” and has taken “the right decisions at the right time”, the toll of 42,000 coronavirus deaths has fuelled criticism. Here are some of the reasons offered to account for Europe’s heaviest official toll. – …