WORLD

London, United Kingdom | AFP | The British government has expanded its overdraft with the Bank of England to help weather coronavirus disruption, it said Thursday. The government’s “ways and means facility” — effectively its overdraft account at the BoE — is also being used to temporarily help finance spending on …

Madrid, Spain | AFP |  In the week leading to Easter Sunday, hundreds of colourful processions featuring penitents in cone-shaped hoods and centuries-old religious floats traditionally flood the streets of villages and cities across Spain. But with a nationwide lockdown in place to curb the spread of COVID-19, Spaniards are finding …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP |  The World Health Organization on Wednesday pleaded for global unity in fighting the coronavirus, following US President Donald Trump’s stinging attack on its handling of the pandemic. As the WHO prepares to mark 100 days on Thursday since it was first notified of the outbreak in …

Havana, Cuba | AFP |  Cuban doctors are back in global demand as overwhelmed national health care services tap their crisis experience as they battle with the coronavirus pandemic. Communist-run Havana has long used its “white coat diplomacy” as an arm of its foreign policy but has fallen foul of a …

Washington, United States | AFP |  A mask on his face and gloves on his hands, Anthony Lorenzo Green navigated a silver Cadillac through the streets of northeast Washington, delivering groceries to needy people, no strings attached. He knew where to go thanks to the efforts of a mutual aid network …

Paris, France | AFP | In the three months since China first came across a new coronavirus, the world has been plunged into turmoil. A pandemic has been declared, schools and shops from New York to New Delhi shuttered, half the global population is confined in some form, while governments have …

Washington, United States | AFP | US Senator Bernie Sanders suspended his presidential campaign Wednesday, clearing the way for rival Joe Biden to win the Democratic nomination and challenge incumbent Donald Trump in November. “I have concluded that this battle for the Democratic nomination will not be successful,” the leftist Sanders told supporters in a …

Wuhan, China | AFP | Thousands streamed out of the Chinese city of Wuhan Wednesday after a lockdown on the birthplace of the coronavirus was lifted, offering a ray of hope even as Europe and the United States faced rising deaths and crippling economic pain. As Wuhan reawakens, Western countries remain …

Brussels, Belgium | AFP |  EU finance ministers were mired in marathon talks on Wednesday unable to bridge differences on how to rebuild their economies after the coronavirus, with a North versus South split on burden-sharing for hard-hit countries. The European economy has been battered by the pandemic as national governments …

Washington, United States | AFP |  The economy may have slowed and normal life come to a standstill, but in the world of hair, a follicle free-for-all unencumbered by coronavirus has Americans asking one critical question — to cut or not to cut? For Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot, the answer was …