Luxembourg on Saturday became the first country in the world to offer free public transport, as the small and wealthy EU country tries to help less-well-off workers and reduce road traffic. Some cities elsewhere have already taken similar, partial measures. But the transport ministry said it was the first time such a decision covered an […]

Three people have died at a Moscow birthday party after around 30 kilogrammes (65 pounds) of dry ice meant to create special effects was tipped into a pool, investigators and reports said Saturday. The party at the Moscow pool complex late Friday was to mark the birthday of Ekaterina Didenko, a popular Instagram influencer focusing […]

Mexico’s health ministry said the country has confirmed three cases of the coronavirus, becoming the second Latin American nation reached by the global outbreak. The three men — two in Mexico City and one in the northern state of Sinaloa — are all believed to have visited northern Italy, the epicentre of the virus in […]

Cleaners scrub and sterilise the floors of Mecca’s Grand Mosque after fears of coronavirus led Saudi Arabia to suspend pilgrim visas, but worshippers appear unfazed — confident of God’s protection. Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest sites, on Thursday suspended entry by foreigners for the year-round “umrah” pilgrimage, an unprecedented move that has left tens […]

Opposition leader Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who swore himself in as the new president of Guinea-Bissau, sacked the Prime Minister on Friday after soldiers were seen occupying the premier’s office. Embalo’s swearing-in on Thursday was held in defiance of a bitter ongoing row about the outcome of elections nearly two months ago. “The Prime Minister Aristides […]

Guinea’s President Alpha Conde on Friday announced a “slight postponement” of Sunday’s referendum on whether to adopt a new constitution, after months of protests sparked by fears the poll is a ruse to keep him in power “It is due to our national and regional responsibilities that we have accepted a slight postponement of the […]

Advertising spending on the US presidential primaries has surpassed an “unprecedented” $1 billion, half of which came from the coffers of billionaire Democratic White House hopeful Michael Bloomberg, a tracking firm said Friday. The former New York mayor, who was the ninth richest man in the world last year, has spent $539 million on television […]

Confusion between coronavirus and Corona beer has been a punchline of questionable taste during the outbreak, but for the brand, the matter may be no joke. The phrase “38% of Americans” was trending Friday on Twitter in the US following a survey showing that proportion of beer drinkers “would not buy Corona under any circumstances […]

China is slowly starting to get back to work, as it battles the coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 2 600 people and sickened tens of thousands. Government controls and the fear of going outside have curtailed spending, and many factories are still not working at full capacity due to a lack of staff, […]

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned top party officials of the “serious consequences” of failing to prevent an outbreak of the new coronavirus in the country, state media reported Saturday. The country has closed its borders to prevent the spread of the disease into its territory. Kim told a meeting of the ruling Workers’ […]