WORLD

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia cemented its place as the European country reporting the highest number of new coronavirus infections Tuesday as its total cases soared passed 155,000. Yevgeny Mikrin, chief designer at Energia, Russia’s top producer of spacecraft, has died from the coronavirus, becoming one of the infection’s highest-profile victims in the country, …

Paris, France | AFP | An antibody that can stop the new coronavirus infecting cells in laboratory tests has been identified by researchers in the Netherlands, in what scientists say could help the development of therapies for COVID-19. The antibody neutralised the new coronavirus, according to the research published in Nature Communications, and the authors …

Paris, France | AFP | Total said Tuesday its quarterly profit fell by 99 percent because of dropping oil prices and announced it would slash investments in response to ongoing turmoil in crude markets. The French oil major reported a net profit of $34 million for the first quarter, against $3.1 billion a year earlier. …

Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP |  Germany’s top court will rule Tuesday on mass bond-buying by the European Central Bank, a tool the Frankfurt institution has deployed like never before to cushion the impact of the coronavirus. “Will Germany’s supreme court constrain the European Central Bank’s response to the worst …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  A year after landing in jail without charge, her mercy plea unanswered by Saudi rulers and in fear of a coronavirus outbreak behind bars, a prominent princess did the unthinkable — and went public. Princess Basmah bint Saud, a 56-year-old royal family member long seen …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP |  The World Health Organization said Monday that Washington had provided no evidence to support “speculative” claims by the US president that the new coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab. “We have not received any data or specific evidence from the United States government relating to the …

Warsaw, Poland | AFP |  Voters are still in the dark as to whether Poland’s presidential election will go ahead as scheduled on Sunday, amid mounting pressure for a delay due to the coronavirus pandemic. The right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government is still seeking parliamentary approval to conduct the election …

Paris, France | AFP | As several nations begin relaxing their lockdowns following an initial peak in COVID-19 cases, attention is turning to how they can avoid a “second wave” of infections as social distancing is eased. Italy and Spain — two of the hardest hit countries — have already started …

Beijing, China | AFP | China’s southern Guangdong province has launched a raft of anti-discrimination policies targeting businesses and venues after a heavy-handed crackdown on the African community sparked international outrage last month. Authorities in the provincial capital Guangzhou had started mass testing its African community shortly after a cluster of COVID-19 cases was found …

  Berlin, Germany | AFP | One in five people infected with the novel coronavirus shows no symptoms, according to results published Monday of a German study into infections in a small district which could have an impact on disease containment measures. Researchers interviewed and tested 919 people in 405 households …