WORLD

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Qatar has blocked Saudi planes from transporting hajj pilgrims, Saudi state media said Sunday, after Riyadh reopened the border despite a major diplomatic crisis roiling the Gulf. Riyadh last week reopened its land border with Qatar and allocated seven flights of the Saudi national carrier …

Berlin, Germany | AFP | Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday she was glad a Spanish court had ordered the conditional release of a Turkish-German writer wanted by Ankara and warned Turkey not to “misuse” Interpol to pursue its critics. “That’s not on. We must not misuse international organisations such as Interpol” …

Miami, UNITED STATES | AFP | Everyone who plans to look skyward when the solar eclipse sweeps across the United States on Monday should have the proper protective eyewear, or risk lasting blind spots, experts warn. Regular sunglasses will not do, the US space agency says. Only eclipse glasses that have …

Washington, UNITED STATES | AFP | When Donald Trump sought this week to lump white supremacists and those protesting against them into the same bag, he triggered a political firestorm with Republicans and Democrats warning “both sides” could not be treated alike. He also added fuel to an increasingly urgent debate …

New Delhi, India | AFP | India has drawn up a shopping list for tens of billions of dollars of foreign fighter jets, armoured vehicles, submarines and helicopters but it will only sign the cheques if they are made in India. The world’s largest defence importer has announced a new policy …

Miami, UNITED STATES | AFP | Eclipse-chasers are a dedicated crew of scientists who travel the globe to catch a few moments in eerie darkness, and even after seeing dozens of eclipses, they say they can’t get enough. Also known as “umbraphiles,” these self-described addicts live their lives in pursuit of …

Miami, UNITED STATES | AFP |On Monday, August 21, for the first time in 99 years, a total solar eclipse will march across the entire United States. “The Great American Eclipse” will cast a shadow over the whole country, moving diagonally from Oregon in the northwest to South Carolina in …

Boston, UNITED STATES | AFP | Thousands of anti-racism demonstrators flooded the streets of Boston Saturday, dwarfing a gathering of white nationalists in the city and triggering scuffles with police but avoiding the serious violence that marred a similar event a week earlier in Virginia. A so-called “free speech” rally by …

Miami, UNITED STATES | AFP |The first total solar eclipse to sweep North America in nearly a century will march across the continent August 21, casting a shadow over millions of people from coast to coast. The event, coined the “Great American Eclipse,” is inspiring a surge in tourism in …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Russia on Wednesday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, mainly focussing on the war in Syria, his office said late Saturday. The two leaders will meet in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi to “discuss the …