WORLD

Moscow, Russia | AFP | President Vladimir Putin said Friday an “absolute majority” of Russians backed his controversial plan to change the constitution, as he made his first public appearance after weeks of lockdown. Russia, which has the world’s third-largest coronavirus caseload, this week lifted tight restrictions as Putin set the stage for a vote …

Washington, United States | AFP | America’s top general said Thursday he was wrong to appear with President Donald Trump in a photo op near the White House last week, staged after the area was forcefully cleared of anti-racism protesters. “I should not have been there. My presence in that moment …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday said a wave of anti-racism protests across Britain had been “hijacked by extremists”, as fears mounted about clashes between activists and far-right groups. In London, authorities boarded up several statues, including one of World War II leader Winston Churchill, …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | US and European stock markets were higher Friday as investors turned buyers again after the previous day’s rout on coronavirus economic fallout fears and the likelihood of a second wave of the pandemic in the United States. The magnitude of the earthquake caused by the …

Montreal, Canada | AFP |  Students soon to graduate from Montreal’s esteemed National Circus School expect months of uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which has closed shows around the world and thrust their career prospects into doubt. Head upside down, feet pointed to the sky, Antino Pansa balances on a …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  From dress designers to hat makers to the hospitality sector, Royal Ascot is usually a lucrative source of income for a whole industry connected with one of Britain’s most feted social and sporting events. However, Queen Elizabeth II will be absent this year, dresses will …

Havana, Cuba | AFP |  Cuba is planning to welcome tourists with COVID-19 tests and limit their contact with locals as part of a raft of measures designed to get its vital tourism industry back up and running. The government of President Miguel Diaz-Canel said it would gradually open up the …

Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump has praised a letter sent to him by one of Pope Francis’s most virulent opponents, who claims Black Lives Matter protests and the coronavirus crisis are a political conspiracy. Italian archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, a former Vatican envoy to Washington, is notorious for his accusations of corruption and …

Washington, United States | AFP | Joe Biden expressed fear that President Donald Trump will try to “steal” November’s election or not leave office if he loses, prompting the White House on Thursday to slam the Democrat’s comments as conspiracy theories. “My single greatest concern” is that “this president’s going to try and steal this …

Washington, United States | AFP | Surgeons have performed a double-lung transplant on a COVID-19 patient in Chicago, the hospital that carried out the procedure said Thursday, in what is thought to be a first in the United States. The patient is a young Hispanic woman in her twenties, and had spent six weeks on …