WORLD

Washington, United States | AFP |  World coronavirus deaths surged past 150,000 Friday as US President Donald Trump accused China of continuing to cover up its toll, even after Beijing revised figures sharply upward for Wuhan, the original epicenter of the global pandemic. COVID-19 fatalities mounted in the United States and …

Montreal, Canada | AFP |  Elderly residents left soiled and unfed after their caregivers fled the premises, 31 deaths in the space of a few weeks: a nursing home in Montreal has become the symbol of the terrible toll coronavirus is taking in Canada’s long-term care homes. The bleak situation discovered …

Wuhan, China | AFP | Nestled in the hilly outskirts of the city at the heart of the coronavirus crisis, a Chinese high-security biosafety laboratory is now the subject of US claims it may be the cradle of the pandemic. Chinese scientists have said the virus likely jumped from an animal …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain’s Prince William on Friday revealed his concern for his father Prince Charles after he contracted coronavirus — and his worries for his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II. Charles, 71, the monarch’s eldest son and heir, tested positive for COVID-19 last month but recovered after a week in isolation at …

Kiev, Ukraine | AFP |  Ukraine’s government on Thursday swapped prisoners with Russia-backed separatists in the war-torn east of the country, ahead of Orthodox Easter celebrations. Twenty people who had been held captive in two breakaway regions were handed over to the government, Kiev said. Separatists took back 14 prisoners but …

Berlin, Germany | AFP |  Sporting events may be on hold in Germany, but the race to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel is gathering pace as the country makes cautious progress in the fight against the coronavirus. North-Rhine Westphalia state premier Armin Laschet, 59, and his Bavarian counterpart Markus Soeder, 53, locked …

Washington, United States | AFP |  President Donald Trump on Thursday laid out guidelines for a gradual reopening of the United States after the battering of the coronavirus pandemic, saying normal life should resume quickly in some states. Trump’s new push came as he saw progress in his campaign to pressure …

Glen Burnie, United States | AFP |   In Glen Burnie, Maryland, the coronavirus is never far away for emergency teams of paramedics and firefighters on call over 24-hour shifts. In the suburban community south of Baltimore, these first responders have had to adapt everything they do to the COVID-19 threat, even …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP |  Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan handed out meals to sick people in Los Angeles, in their first known public activity since moving to California at the start of the state’s coronavirus lockdown. The pair, who have formally stepped down as senior members …

Britain turns to Europe to save its crops London, United Kingdom | AFP | To save fields of asparagus and strawberries threatened with rotting, Britain is mobilising a workforce of students, the unemployed — and workers from Europe. Little more than two months after leaving the European Union, accompanied by …