WORLD

Madrid, Spain | AFP |  With the coronavirus pandemic emptying the streets of Madrid, life has become even more precarious for sex workers Evelyn, Alenca and Beyonce under the lockdown. Already extremely vulnerable and with an ambiguous legal status, many of Spain’s sex workers have struggled to make ends meet during …

Miami, United States | AFP |  The controversial mixed martial arts card scheduled for Saturday in Florida will go ahead as planned despite one of the undercard fighters testing positive for coronavirus. Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza was dropped from the Jacksonville event after he was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Friday. He arrived …

Athens, Greece | AFP |  “For us, there is no return to normality.” Despite being one of Greece’s best-known folk singers, Natassa Bofiliou is among thousands of artists worried about the economic impact of coronavirus lockdowns that have only just begun to be eased. In a country where art is widely …

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP |  In full protective gear, two doctors climb the stairs four at a time. Their first task of the day: to test a woman who has had contact with a coronavirus patient in Istanbul. Visibly perturbed by the appearance of men in white bodysuits on her landing, …

United Nations, United States | AFP |  The United States on Friday stunned other members of the UN Security Council by preventing a vote on a resolution for a ceasefire in various conflicts around the world to help troubled nations better fight the coronavirus pandemic, diplomats said. Washington’s reversal came a …

Las Vegas, United States | AFP |  The marble statues at Caesar’s Palace are fenced off, the Venetian hotel’s gondolas sit empty, and the New York-New York casino rollercoaster has ground to a halt. Even the Bellagio’s famous dancing fountains are “completely shut” due to the coronavirus pandemic, says a surly …

Washington, United States | AFP |  The United States on Friday recorded its steepest job losses in history over the coronavirus pandemic as Europe, faced with rising deaths, moved to keep its borders shut for another month. Hopes have been rising that the worst of the global catastrophe, which has killed …

Paris, France | AFP | Oceans are likely to rise as much as 1.3 metres by 2100 if Earth’s surface warms another 3.5 degrees Celsius, scientists warned Friday. By 2300, when ice sheets covering West Antarctica and Greenland will have shed trillions of tonnes in mass, sea levels could go up …

Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump evoked the coronavirus crisis ahead of a wreath-laying ceremony Friday at the World War II memorial in Washington to mark the 75th anniversary of the Allied victory in Europe. Trump was to head to the memorial near the White House accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, …

Seibersdorf, Austria | AFP | Shortages of materials needed in tests for the novel coronavirus remain  “critical”, according to the head of a UN lab, which is supplying countries with COVID-19 detection kits. In particular the chemical reagents for the tests are still in short supply, said Giovanni Cattoli, head of the Animal Production and …