Los Angeles, United States | AFP | A group of teens in the Los Angeles area are paying it forward during the COVID-19 pandemic, making grocery runs for seniors — and learning some life lessons along the way. “This experience has been really great,” said 16-year-old Mira Kwon as she did …
Read More »Cuba dreading Trump re-election, says diplomat
Havana, Cuba | AFP | The re-election of Donald Trump as president of the United States would be “the worst” scenario for Cuba, Havana’s top diplomat in charge of relations with Washington told AFP. “If the Republicans win … it’s a very negative scenario,” said Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, the foreign …
Read More »Hydroxychloroquine shows no virus benefit, raises death risk: study
Paris, France | AFP | A study of nearly 100,000 coronavirus patients has shown no benefit in treating them with anti-viral drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine and even increased the likelihood of them dying in hospital. Hydroxychloroquine is normally used to treat arthritis but pronouncement from public figures including US President Donald …
Read More »Eid al-Fitr to start on Sunday
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | The Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, will begin on Sunday in Saudi Arabia, authorities in the kingdom said on Friday. “Saturday will be the last day of the sacred holy month of Ramadan and Eid …
Read More »China takes massive economic hit as Russia virus toll mounts
Beijing, China | AFP | China warned Friday that its huge economy will suffer an immense hit from the coronavirus, as the ongoing pandemic and national lockdowns cause massive global job losses and Russia faces a steep increase in deaths. As Beijing’s communist rulers failed to set an annual growth target …
Read More »Biden: African Americans mulling Trump vote ‘ain’t black’
New York, United States | AFP | White House hopeful Joe Biden told an African-American radio host Friday that he “ain’t black” if he was unsure who to support in November’s election, igniting controversy and accusations of racism from President Donald Trump’s camp. The comments by the presumptive Democratic nominee came …
Read More »Trump urges quicker US reopening from virus lockdown
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Thursday pressed for a broader reopening of the United States as coronavirus-related job losses mounted, while parts of Europe embraced post-lockdown life. With summer approaching on both sides of the Atlantic, more stores opened their doors and beaches welcomed tourists, despite …
Read More »A world redrawn: Top Spain chef sees fewer restaurants, more home cooking
Barcelona, Spain | AFP | When the pandemic struck, top chef Ferran Adria was in the final phases of preparing to reopen his world-famous El Bulli restaurant nine years after it closed. Although the rest of the world ground to a halt, this highly-decorated Catalan chef has been using the lockdown …
Read More »Pakistan passenger plane crashes in Karachi, 100 feared dead
Karachi, Pakistan | AFP | A Pakistan passenger plane with more than 100 people believed to be on board crashed in the southern city of Karachi on Friday, the country’s aviation authority said. Images shown on national television showed the Pakistan International Airlines flight had smashed into a residential area. “The …
Read More »In Savannah and Charleston, early reopenings draw tourists
Savannah, United States | AFP | Tired of claustrophobic coronavirus stay-at-home orders, some restless Americans are opting for a change of scenery and heading to states like Georgia and South Carolina, preferred destinations of quarantine-defying tourists. Ghosts are no longer the only ones wandering the shady, tree-lined squares of seductive Savannah, …
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