Covid-19: England will remove the mask, record of contaminations in Africa

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced the upcoming end of wearing masks in England, despite a surge in Covid-19 cases attributed to the Delta variant, which worries the rest of the world and especially Africa, where the pandemic is in full swing with a record number of contaminations. The spread of the Delta variant also threatens Spain, where authorities are considering reinstating restrictions, while Norway has postponed its total reopening and in Asia, Bangladesh has extended its lockdown. Covid-19 has caused at least 3.98 million deaths since its appearance at the end of 2019, according to an estimate established by AFP

The Cannes Film Festival is back, with a big movie show

A flamboyant rock opera to mark the great return of cinema. After the cancellation in 2020 due to Covid, the Cannes Film Festival returns on Tuesday, with stars allowed to drop their masks on the steps and the screening of “Annette” by Leos Carax, a filmmaker as cult as it is rare. “Covid is still there, but to be present for the return of the festival, in the opening film (...) it is a great feeling of relief and excitement,” Adam Driver, headlining with Marion Cotillard in this unclassifiable musical, and the French director's first film since “Holy Motors” nine years ago, told AFP. The members of the jury, who arrived in Cannes and met on Monday evening for a first dinner, will give their traditional press conference in the afternoon, before starting their film marathon: 24 films in official competition to see, from the young Julia Ducournau to Paul Verhoeven via the Italian Nanni Moretti or the Russian Kirill Serebrennikov, and prizes to be awarded on

IN A NUTSHELL

Americans shot down a drone bomb on Monday evening that targeted their embassy in Baghdad, security sources said, hours after a new rocket attack on a base housing American soldiers in western Iraq.

Richard Donner, the prolific director of the first movie “Superman,” “The Goonies” and other masterpieces, died Monday at the age of 91.