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 …
Read More »Pandemic gives shot in the arm to Cuba’s medical missions
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 …
Read More »As virus batters government, US mutual aid groups step up
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 …
Read More »Coronavirus: three months of global upheaval
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 …
Read More »Bernie Sanders ends his US presidential bid
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 …
Read More »Wuhan opens, sparking hope despite rising global deaths and economic pain
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 …
Read More »EU nations battle to bridge bitter split over ‘coronabonds’
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 …
Read More »To cut or not to cut? In US, quarantine slows everything but hair growth
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 …
Read More »TikTok’s time: video platform sees appeal growing during lockdowns
New York, United States | AFP | This is TikTok’s time. The social video platform which was already a favorite of teens is increasingly being used by adults looking for ways to pass the time during coronavirus lockdowns. Users post short videos — no longer than 60 seconds but often as …
Read More »Lockdown tamps down Easter, Passover celebrations
Paris, France | AFP | Churches will be empty this Easter and Passover festivities will also take place behind closed doors owing to the COVID-19 lockdown. Christians will be obliged to turn to services broadcast on television or over social media this year owing to the coronavirus and Jews will mark the Passover holiday in …
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