WORLD

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | The Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, will begin on Sunday in Saudi Arabia, authorities in the kingdom said on Friday. “Saturday will be the last day of the sacred holy month of Ramadan and Eid …

Beijing, China | AFP | China warned Friday that its huge economy will suffer an immense hit from the coronavirus, as the ongoing pandemic and national lockdowns cause massive global job losses and Russia faces a steep increase in deaths. As Beijing’s communist rulers failed to set an annual growth target …

New York, United States | AFP | White House hopeful Joe Biden told an African-American radio host Friday that he “ain’t black” if he was unsure who to support in November’s election, igniting controversy and accusations of racism from President Donald Trump’s camp. The comments by the presumptive Democratic nominee came …

Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Thursday pressed for a broader reopening of the United States as coronavirus-related job losses mounted, while parts of Europe embraced post-lockdown life. With summer approaching on both sides of the Atlantic, more stores opened their doors and beaches welcomed tourists, despite …

Barcelona, Spain | AFP |  When the pandemic struck, top chef Ferran Adria was in the final phases of preparing to reopen his world-famous El Bulli restaurant nine years after it closed. Although the rest of the world ground to a halt, this highly-decorated Catalan chef has been using the lockdown …

Karachi, Pakistan | AFP | A Pakistan passenger plane with more than 100 people believed to be on board crashed in the southern city of Karachi on Friday, the country’s aviation authority said. Images shown on national television showed the Pakistan International Airlines flight had smashed into a residential area. “The …

Savannah, United States | AFP |  Tired of claustrophobic coronavirus stay-at-home orders, some restless Americans are opting for a change of scenery and heading to states like Georgia and South Carolina, preferred destinations of quarantine-defying tourists. Ghosts are no longer the only ones wandering the shady, tree-lined squares of seductive Savannah, …

New York, United States | AFP |  As they gradually reopen, US shopping malls are requiring masks and implementing social distancing policies in hopes of convincing customers that they can shop safely in the coronavirus era. But these once-dominant shopping behemoths are in survival mode following lengthy pandemic shutdowns that have …

Ypsilanti, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump said Thursday he’d finally overcome his aversion to wearing masks against the coronavirus — but didn’t want be photographed. Touring a Ford auto factory in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where workers have converted to building respirators and other medical equipment for fighting COVID-19, Trump held up a mask …

Washington, United States | AFP | Leaders of China, France, Germany, and the World Health Organization want any coronavirus vaccine to be deemed a “global public good,” but President Donald Trump has another idea: vaccinate America first. Behind the principle of “global public good” lie two distinct issues: intellectual property rights …