Europe

Greece will start vaccinating 12-15 yr-olds in August

ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — Greece will open Covid-19 vaccinations to youngsters aged 12-15 in August, Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias told local television on Monday. Vaccination for this group has been approved and will be optional, he said. The program is expected to start on Friday. Maria Theodoridou, president of the country’s vaccination committee, stressed that there had been a significant rise in infections among children and adolescents recently. “The constant contamination of children is going […]

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France reports 40 millon vaccinated with at least one jab

PARIS, France (AFP) — The number of people in France who have received at least one jab against Covid-19 has crossed the 40-million mark, President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday. After four million people received vaccines over the past two weeks, some 60 percent of the population are now partly or fully vaccinated, Macron tweeted during an official visit in French Polynesia. “All together, we will beat the virus. We will carry on,” he said. […]

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London roads flood as storms roll in

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Buses and cars were left stranded when roads across London flooded on Sunday, as repeated thunderstorms battered the British capital. Emergency services were battling “significant flooding across London”, Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted, adding that all public transport services were affected and advising people to avoid walking or driving through flooded areas. Social media users posted videos of partially submerged vehicles in southwest London, with more heavy rain set to fall […]

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As cases soar, Spaniards keep their masks firmly on

  by Marie Giffard with Rosa Sulleiro in Barcelona Agence France Presse MADRID, Spain (AFP) — It’s over 35 degrees Celsius and although masks are no longer obligatory in the streets of Spain, masks are everywhere in Madrid as people fear soaring Covid cases. Unlike people in many other European countries who have dropped their masks, Spaniards have largely opted to hang onto the face coverings that have become part of the daily lives of […]

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Increased testing needed to fight delta strain in Europe: WHO

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) — Increased free testing, contact tracing and other steps are needed to fight the Covid-19 Delta variant, now dominant in much of Europe, the World Health Organization and the EU’s disease agency warned Friday. WHO Europe and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) issued a joint appeal for “reinforced efforts” by European countries to check the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant, first detected in India. “WHO recommends […]

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New Covid variant ‘probable’ this year: top French expert

  PARIS, France (AFP) — The French government’s top advisor on Covid-19 warned Friday that a new variant of the disease would “probably” emerge in the winter months this year. The country is currently battling an unprecedented spike in new cases caused by the more infectious Delta variant, which was first recorded in India. “We will probably have another variant arrive during the winter,” Jean-Francois Delfraissy, head of the French government’s scientific council, told the […]

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Merkel worried by Germany’s ‘exponential’ virus growth

  BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday she was concerned about Germany’s rising Covid-19 infections, urging Germans to get vaccinated. “The infection figures are rising again and with a clear and worrying dynamic,” Merkel told a press conference in Berlin. “We are seeing exponential growth,” she said, adding that “every vaccination… is a small step towards a return to normality”. Germany has seen low infection numbers over the summer compared to […]

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Flood-battered Germany approves major relief package

by Deborah COLE BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet approved a huge emergency aid package Wednesday for flood-stricken regions of Germany and said billions would be needed to rebuild homes, businesses and vital infrastructure. A week into the region’s worst flooding disaster in living memory, which has killed at least 174 in Germany and 32 more Belgium, the right-left “grand coalition” government unlocked some 400 million euros ($470 million) in immediate relief. Half […]

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Covid Delta variant to dominate within months: WHO

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The highly contagious Delta variant of Covid-19 is expected to become the dominant strain of the virus over the coming months, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. Delta, which was first detected in India, has now been recorded in 124 territories — 13 more than last week — and already accounts for more than three-quarters of sequenced specimens in many major countries, the WHO said. “It is expected that it will […]

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Flooding death toll hits 169 in Germany, tops 200 in Europe

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — The death toll from devastating floods in Germany reached 169 on Tuesday, local officials said, bringing the total number of deaths in Europe to at least 200. A total of 121 people are now confirmed to have died in Rhineland-Palatinate, emergency services spokesman Aaron Klein told AFP, up from the previous total of 117 in the western German state. © Agence France-Presse  

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Russia’s S-500 missile system hits test target

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia said Tuesday it had successfully test-fired its new S-500 air defence missile systems at a southern training range and hit a high-speed ballistic target. Russia says the S-500, which is expected to have a maximum firing range of 600 kilometres, is the most advanced anti-missile system in the world and is capable of countering attacks from space. Its development however is years behind schedule. The military had previously said the […]

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Japan becomes first country to approve Ronapreve Covid treatment

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche said Tuesday that Japan had become the first country to fully approve its Ronapreve antibody treatment for patients with mild to moderate Covid-19. The approval was based on phase 3 trials finding that the antibody cocktail dramatically reduced the likelihood that mild or moderate Covid patients would develop into serious illness causing hospitalization or death. Ronapreve, developed in cooperation with US biotech firm Regeneron, was approved by […]

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