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by Vassilis Kyriakoulis with John Hadoulis in Athens DAMASI, Greece (AFP) — A strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit central Greece on Wednesday, injuring a dozen people, damaging scores of buildings and causing panicked crowds to rush into the streets. The state ambulance service said it had given assistance to 10 lightly injured people. In the main city of Larissa, a 55-year-old man was hospitalised with head injuries after being hit by falling masonry, a local hospital […]
ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — A strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit central Greece on Wednesday, damaging several buildings, including schools, and prompting residents near the epicentre to rush into the streets. “Everything happened very fast, people ran out of buildings, there are still aftershocks,” Chrissoula Katsiouli, a staffer at the mayor’s office in the local town of Elassona told AFP. The fire department said that according to the first reports, a local home and a school […]
YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — At least six people were killed as Myanmar security forces fired on pro-democracy protesters Wednesday, after the junta hit half a dozen detained journalists, including an Associated Press photographer, with criminal charges. The country has been in chaos since February 1 when the military launched a coup and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, ending Myanmar’s decade-long experiment with democracy and sparking daily mass protests. International pressure is mounting […]
by Louise DEWAST with AFP Africa bureaus ABUJA, Nigeria (AFP) — Millions of coronavirus shots from the global Covax scheme has arrived in Nigeria, Angola and Kenya, as African countries ramp up their vaccine rollouts. Richer countries have surged ahead with vaccinations but many poorer countries are still awaiting deliveries, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to warn that the crisis cannot end unless everyone can inoculate their populations. The Covax facility, run by the […]
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AFP) — At least seven students died and five were seriously injured when they fell from the fourth floor of a university building in Bolivia after a metal railing gave way Tuesday, the government said. Footage of the incident shows students crammed into a narrow passageway trying to enter an assembly hall. A metal railing can be seen giving way under the weight of the pushing and shoving students, with several plummeting […]
BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil on Tuesday registered a record 1,641 deaths in 24 hours from Covid-19, health authorities announced, as the country endures a further worsening of the pandemic. The country of 212 million inhabitants has recorded a total of 257,361 Covid-19 deaths, according to the health ministry, and has the second-highest national death toll after the United States. Brazil continues to have a piecemeal response, with individual cities and states setting their own […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday lifted a state mask mandate and said he was authorizing businesses restricted because of the coronavirus pandemic to open “100 percent.” “For nearly half a year, most businesses have been open either 75 percent or 50 percent and during that time, too many Texans have been sidelined from employment opportunities,” Abbott said. “Too many small business owners have struggled to pay their bills,” the […]
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday told French counterpart Emmanuel Macron he wants their countries to cooperate to fight terrorism, as Ankara moves to ease tensions with Paris. The two leaders, who have clashed over a range of issues including the conflicts in Syria and Libya as well as the eastern Mediterranean, spoke in a video call for the first time since September. According to a statement by the Turkish […]
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy’s new government ordered more school closures Tuesday after data showed the majority of coronavirus cases to be of the more contagious British variant. All schools in the highest risk regions will switch to distance learning under new rules to come into effect from Saturday, whereas previously only secondary schools in so-called red zones were shuttered. Regional authorities will also have new discretion to suspend face-to-face teaching in areas within lower […]
GENEVA, United States (AFP) — Pakistan, Nigeria and Indonesia will be among the biggest recipients of free Covid-19 vaccines before June — more than 10 million doses each — the Covax scheme announced Tuesday. Some 238.2 million doses will be distributed around the world by the end of May through the program aimed at boosting access to coronavirus jabs in poorer nations. Though vaccination campaigns have gathered pace globally, the majority of injections have been […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — At least 15 people were killed in southern California on Tuesday when a vehicle packed with people collided with a large truck, officials said. “We believe there was 27 passengers in this SUV that struck a semi-truck full of gravel,” said Judy Cruz, an official from El Centro regional medical center. She said 14 people died at the scene of the crash near El Centro, California, which is close […]
Sinopharm vaccine delivery paves way for immediate vaccination BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Iraq on Tuesday received 50,000 Sinopharm vaccines donated by China, the health ministry announced, launching a long-awaited vaccination campaign. Health ministry spokesman Seif al-Badr told reporters that the first delivery in the early hours meant inoculations could begin. “The doses will be delivered to Baghdad’s three main hospitals, and maybe to some provinces,” said Badr, who confirmed the jabs were donations. “We will […]
