The NBA wants its teams to prepare to play games without fans if necessary because of the coronavirus crisis, but LeBron James already says he won’t play basketball in an empty arena. The league circulated a memo to its teams Friday telling them to prepare in case it becomes necessary to play games without fans […]

Pope Francis is further limiting his public appearances to prevent crowds from gathering as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus, which by Saturday had reached the tiny Mediterranean island nation of Malta. The coronavirus outbreak is tightening its grip on day-to-life life across Europe, particularly in Italy, which is the country with the most […]

Thousands of Burkina Faso civil servants took to the streets of Ouagadougou on Saturday to protest against a new tax on bonus payments. Between 10,000-20,000 took part in the demonstrations, some singing the national anthem and chanting “bread and freedom for the people”, an AFP reporter saw. The government in February extended an exceptional tax […]

Lebanon said Saturday it would default on its Eurobond debt for the first time and seek out restructuring agreements amid a spiralling financial crisis that has hit foreign currency reserves. The country, hit by a severe liquidity crunch and months of anti-government protests, was due on March 9 to repay a $1.2-billion Eurobond, while another […]

Saudi Arabia reopened Saturday the area around the sacred Kaaba in Mecca’s Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site, reversing one of a series of measures introduced to combat the coronavirus outbreak. Saudi authorities this week suspended the year-round umrah pilgrimage, during which worshippers circle the Kaaba seven times, and also announced the temporary closure of the […]