WORLD

Berlin, Germany | AFP |  Germans with holiday homes in Mallorca are clamouring to return to the sun-soaked island as the coronavirus lockdowns ease, but Spanish authorities are pushing back. Several hundred Germans have in recent weeks sent pleading, sometimes angry letters to the regional government of the Balearic Islands asking …

Detroit, United States | AFP |  Detroit’s auto giants are keen to resume production this week, but there will be unease on assembly lines where social distancing is difficult and worries about the deadly coronavirus persist. Motor City carmakers insist they are taking precautions to protect employees for the ramp-up that …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Former US President Barack Obama on Saturday criticized the response to the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging America, in what was widely regarded as a rare public rebuke of his successor Donald Trump. His remarks came as he spoke at two virtual commencements for high school and …

Ottawa, Canada | AFP |  Canada’s parliament has gone virtual through the pandemic, assembling MPs across six time zones and giving a rare peek at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s bookcase, a deer head and a stifled opposition. Every Tuesday and Thursday over the past month 338 Canadian MPs logged into Zoom …

  Washington, United States | AFP |  Barack Obama indirectly criticized his successor Donald Trump during a virtual graduation ceremony Saturday, in rare public judgment from the former US president during the coronavirus pandemic. “More than anything this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that …

Beijing, China | AFP | Beijing has urged the United States to stop the “unreasonable suppression of Huawei and Chinese enterprises” after Washington announced new export controls to restrict the tech giant’s access to semiconductor technology. The latest restrictions on the world’s second-largest smartphone manufacturer, which is at the centre of US spying allegations, are …

All eyes on Germany as Bundesliga football returns Berlin, Germany | AFP | The Bundesliga returns to action on Saturday with the resumption of the first top European league since the coronavirus lockdown watched closely to see if it provides a blueprint for other competitions. Matches will be played behind …

Berlin, Germany | AFP |  From anger over lockdown measures to a purported vaccine plan by Bill Gates: a growing wave of demonstrations in Germany by conspiracy theorists, extremists and anti-vaxxers has alarmed even Chancellor Angela Merkel. Initially starting as a handful of protesters decrying tough restrictions on public life to …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP |  As the World Health Organization prepares to host its main annual meeting next week, fears abound that US-China tensions could hamper the strong action needed to address the COVID-19 crisis. The UN health agency, which for months has been consumed by the towering task of trying …

Kiev, Ukraine | AFP |  In an almost empty terminal at Boryspil airport in Kiev, Yuriy was waiting in a busy line of 200 seasonal workers to check in for a lone flight to Finland. The flight was an exception after Ukraine closed its borders and grounded air travel in March …