WORLD

Havana, Cuba | AFP |  Monica Baro’s investigation into cases of lead poisoning in Havana won her a prestigious Latin American journalism award but few friends in the Cuban government, which views independent media outlets like hers with growing suspicion. Baro’s report for the Periodismo de Barrio website — which won …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP |  Medical staff caring for a California woman with the first US case of novel coronavirus of unknown origin were unable to get her tested for five days because she had not traveled to outbreak-hit regions, a lawmaker revealed Thursday. The development comes amid reports …

Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump has played down fears of a major coronavirus outbreak in the United States, even as infections ricochet around the world, prompting Saudi Arabia to ban pilgrims from visiting Islam’s holiest sites. China is no longer the only breeding ground for the deadly …

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi Arabia on Thursday suspended visas for visits to Islam’s holiest sites for the “umrah” pilgrimage, an unprecedented move triggered by coronavirus fears that raises questions over the annual hajj. The kingdom, which hosts millions of pilgrims every year in the cities of Mecca …

  Beijing, China | AFP | China would have seen far fewer infections from the new coronavirus if it had been quicker to adopt strict control measures, a top Chinese scientist said Thursday, in apparent criticism of the way the outbreak was handled. The government has been slammed for not acting …

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | A woman in Japan who contracted the new coronavirus and was released from hospital after recovering has tested positive again, officials said Thursday. The case is the first time a patient apparently cleared of the virus has subsequently tested positive for it, a local official in …

Rome, Italy | AFP | Governments worldwide were scrambling to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus Wednesday after fresh infections emerged linked to European hotspot Italy amid dire warnings that countries are not ready to contain the outbreak. Giving most concern on that score in the Middle East, Iran emerged …

Islamabad, Pakistan | AFP | With porous borders, creaking hospitals and large illiterate populations, Afghanistan and Pakistan face a potentially devastating health crisis after the new coronavirus erupted in neighbouring Iran. Islamabad has closed official border crossings while Kabul has suspended all travel to the Islamic republic, which has reported …

Rome, Italy | AFP |  Two US students are expected to appear in an Italian court on Wednesday on the first day of their trial over the fatal stabbing last year of a policeman during a botched drugs bust. Finnegan Lee Elder and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth have been charged with killing newlywed …

Manila, Philippines | AFP | Filipinos marked Ash Wednesday with a bow and a sprinkling of dust instead of a cross being daubed on their foreheads, as Asia’s bastion of Catholicism guarded against the spread of coronavirus. Leaders of the Philippine church urged priests to adapt the rite in order …