China said Sunday that its relations with the United States were "on the verge of a new Cold War," partially fuelled by tensions over the coronavirus pandemic that killed nearly 350,000 people worldwide and plunged the global economy into a major downturn.
New strains erupted between Beijing and Washington as virus controls kept forming and remaking lives around the world, and in somewhat different ways.
They muted Muslims' celebrations of the end of Islam's holy Ramadan fasting month; and they produced a decidedly mixed picture on newly reopened US beaches, with masks common to some and jeers drawing on others. One jam-packed pool party in Missouri was a joyous bedlam of bodies just feet or inches apart from each other, footage of which went viral.
