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STRASBOURG, France (AFP) — The European Union is to donate another 200 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to low-income countries, more than doubling its present pledge, the bloc’s chief said on Wednesday. The extra doses announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen come on top of 250 million shots the EU has already promised to give to other countries, particularly ones in Africa. “I can announce today that the commission will add a new […]
by Clare BYRNE PARIS, France (AFP) — The French government faces a stand-off with tens of thousands of health workers and carers Wednesday over a new rule requiring them to receive a Covid-19 vaccine or face suspension without pay. Starting Wednesday, hospital staff, ambulance drivers, retirement home workers, private doctors, fire service members and people caring for the elderly or infirm in their homes — some 2.7 million people in total — must be able […]
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The Netherlands said Tuesday it would further ease Covid-19 restrictions including an end to social distancing, but will introduce a pass for bars, restaurants and festivals. The pass showing proof of vaccination, recovery from the virus or a negative test will be needed for people aged 13 and over from September 25, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said. Infection rates are falling in the Netherlands, which early in the pandemic had […]
by James PHEBY LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — All children aged 12-15 will be offered Covid-19 vaccinations, Britain announced Monday, following the advice of four top medical officers. Britain has been one of the countries hardest hit by Covid-19, recording more than 134,000 deaths. Despite a succesful vaccination program, case rates remain stubbornly high due to the emergence of the Delta variant, and officials are anxious about them rising further now that schools have returned […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — France has granted citizenship to over 12,000 foreign-born health workers, security guards, checkout assistants and other frontline workers to thank them for their services during the Covid crisis, the government said Thursday. Marlene Schiappa, junior interior minister in charge of citizenship, said over 16,000 people had applied for a French passport over the past year under a special scheme allowing workers in essential services to apply for citizenship after just two […]
ESTEPONA, SpainA firefighter was killed on Thursday battling a wind-fuelled wildfire in southern Spain which forced the evacuation of hundreds of people and closed a key highway, local officials said. The 44-year-old was one of around 400 firefighters tackling the flames which had broken out late Wednesday in the Sierra Bermeja mountains in the southern province of Malaga, the Andalusia regional government said in a statement. “You can imagine the pain and sadness at his […]
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The European Medicines Agency has listed the neurological disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can cause temporary paralysis, as a “very rare” side effect of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. A causal relationship was “considered at least a reasonable possibility”, the EMA said in an update Wednesday after a total of 833 cases of the syndrome had been reported worldwide by July 31, from about 592 million doses of the AstraZeneca “Vaxzevria” shot […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization called Wednesday for countries to avoid giving out extra Covid jabs until year-end, pointing to the millions worldwide who have yet to receive a single dose. “I will not stay silent when the companies and countries that control the global supply of vaccines think the world’s poor should be satisfied with leftovers,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists. Speaking from WHO’s headquarters in Geneva, Tedros urged […]
SKOPJE, Republic of North Macedonia (AFP) — Ten people died in a fire Wednesday at a hospital treating coronavirus patients in North Macedonia, the country’s health minister said. The fire — the cause of which is not yet known — broke out in a Covid-19 clinic in Tetovo in the northwest of the Balkan country, health minister Venko Filipce wrote on Twitter. “A terrible accident has happened in Tetovo. At the moment, 10 people are […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — A group of thieves struck the Bulgari store in Paris’s Place Vendome on Tuesday, making off with around 10 million euros ($12 million) in jewellery after leading police on a high-speed chase that saw two of the suspects captured, sources told AFP. The attack on the luxury store in the heart of the French capital occurred around noon, and officers arrived at the scene shortly after, a police source said. The […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The UK government on Monday announced £5.4 billion (6.3 billion euros, $7.5 billion) in extra funding for the state-funded healthcare system to treat virus cases and clear a massive backlog in routine operations. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and health minister Sajid Javid announced the extra cash, to be handed out over the next six months, saying it would help “manage the immediate pressures of the pandemic”. The state-funded National Health […]
HELSINKI, Finland (AFP) — Finland’s last coronavirus restrictions will be lifted once 80 percent of over-12s have been fully vaccinated, the government said Monday, a target it expects to reach by October. “Our aim is to open up society and keep it open,” Prime Minister Sanna Marin told reporters in Helsinki after a cabinet meeting on the country’s coronavirus strategy. “The advancing vaccination coverage is our key to achieving that,” Marin said, adding that restrictions […]
