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by Adam PLOWRIGHT Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — French President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday that French schools would close next week and a limited lockdown in place in Paris and other regions would be extended to the whole country to battle soaring Covid-19 cases. Macron said in an address to the nation that the current efforts to limit the virus “were too limited at a time when the epidemic is accelerating”. The spread […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday received the first dose of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, just two days after authorities recommended use of the controversial jab only for people aged 60 and over. “I trust the vaccines authorised in Germany,” Steinmeier, 65, said in a statement after getting inoculated at Berlin’s Military Hospital. “Vaccinating is the decisive step on the path out of the pandemic. Use the opportunities available. Join in!” […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Alcoholic drinks will be prohibited in French parks and other outdoor public spaces as part of the new limited nationwide lockdown to stem the Covid-19 crisis, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced Thursday. Addressing the National Assembly, Castex also said authorities would be quick to disperse groups of more than six people on riverbanks or squares after the new restrictions unveiled by President Emmanuel Macron late Wednesday. Castex said he “unreservedly” […]
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain’s health ministry announced Tuesday that it was extending the roll-out of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to the over-65s, after recent scientific reassurances about its safety. The vaccine, restricted until now to the 55-to-65 age group, will now be made available to over-65s in priority groups such as health workers, police officers or teachers. “In respect of the AstraZeneca vaccine, given the new scientific evidence … the age limit is raised,” […]
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Dutch police said a small explosion Tuesday damaged a church near Rotterdam which had reopened in defiance of government Covid advice and where a journalist was attacked when reporting the story. Residents of Krimpen aan den Ijssel said they were woken up by a loud bang around 4:30 am at the Mieraskerk church, scene of a scuffle between a churchgoer and a reporter on Sunday. “Nobody was injured in the […]
by Adam PLOWRIGHT PARIS, France (AFP) — The French government has vowed to do everything possible to avoid a third national lockdown, but with cases rising sharply almost everywhere and hospitals in Paris overflowing, can it avoid another crippling shutdown? This week will be decisive for the strategy overseen by President Emmanuel Macron and his government who argue that every day without a lockdown is a bonus for France which they see as exhausted after […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Amnesty International announced on Monday it had appointed global human rights expert Agnes Callamard as its new secretary general with immediate effect. The London-based rights group said it chose Callamard, who led the recent high-profile UN probe into the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, following an extensive global search. It added that the Frenchwoman, who is in her mid-50s and previously worked for Amnesty from 1995 to 2001, […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — A French court on Monday found pharma giant Servier guilty of “aggravated fraud” and “involuntary manslaughter” over a diabetes and weight loss pill blamed for hundreds of deaths in one of the country’s biggest recent health scandals. The drug Mediator was on the market for 33 years and used by about five million people before being pulled in 2009 over fears it could cause serious heart problems — more than a […]
PARIS, France (AFP) Paris hospitals are fast approaching saturation point because of snowballing Covid admissions and may be forced to turn patients away, top officials warned Sunday. “There’s a feeling of anger at finding oneself in a situation that will force you to do disaster medicine,” said senior Paris hospitals official Remi Salomon. “In 10 days, 15 days or three weeks we may be overwhelmed,” he told the all-news channel BFMTV, pleading for a new […]
UNITED NATION, United States (AFP) — A UN sanctions committee focused on nuclear-armed North Korea has asked its experts to investigate Pyongyang’s launch of missiles on Thursday, diplomats said. The panel is composed of the same 15 countries that sit on the Security Council. The request to the experts was made Friday in a closed door meeting of the committee. North Korea launched two weapons from its east coast Thursday, with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide […]
by Marc BURLEIGH / Dave CLARK Agence France Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The European Union warned Thursday that it will ban drugs firms from exporting coronavirus vaccines to the UK and other countries until they make good on their promised deliveries to the bloc. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen’s stark warning — which could hit UK-based AstraZeneca first — came after a video summit of all 27 EU leaders and stoked fears […]
by Jeremie RICHARD ICELAND (AFP) — A volcanic eruption in Iceland has transformed a tranquil green valley into an ominous-looking scene, its first dark secrets beginning to emerge as volcanologists suggest the eruption could last longer than previously thought. Experts had initially predicted that the eruption of the fissure near Mount Fagradalsfjall, just 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the capital Reykjavik, would be brief, likely dying out after a few days. But due to the […]
