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LYON, France (AFP) — Police in China and South Africa have seized thousands of fake doses of Covid-19 jabs, global police organization Interpol said on Wednesday, warning this represented only the “tip of the iceberg” in vaccine-related crime. The Lyon-based Interpol said 400 vials — equivalent to around 2,400 doses — containing the fake vaccine were found at a warehouse in Germiston outside Johannesburg in South Africa, where officers also recovered fake masks and arrested […]
by Johannes LEDEL STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) — A man attacked eight people Wednesday with a “sharp weapon,” seriously injuring two in the Swedish city of Vetlanda, police said, adding they were investigating a potential “terror motive”. The assailant was taken to hospital after being shot in the leg by police as he was taken into custody following the mid-afternoon attack in the southern city of 13,000 inhabitants. Speaking to AFP, police said the man in […]
by Patrick GALEY PARIS, France (AFP) — The AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccine appears to be more than 80 percent effective at preventing severe illness among elderly, at-risk individuals after a single dose, according to preliminary research published Wednesday. The results, which have yet to be peer-reviewed, added to the growing body of evidence that the vaccine — which several countries have advised against giving to over-65s — is both safe and effective in older people. Researchers […]
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AFP) — A small volcanic eruption could be imminent on the southwestern tip of Iceland some 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the capital Reykjavik, authorities said on Wednesday. Tremors signalling a potential eruption were detected on Wednesday afternoon, near Mount Keilir, inactive for the past 800 years, the Icelandic Met Office said. A 5.7-magnitude earthquake was registered in the area last week. “The magma is fracturing and it is so close to the […]
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 […]
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 […]
HELSINKI, Finland (AFP) — Finland on Monday activated emergency powers as the government prepared to introduce tougher restrictions to stem a rising tide of coronavirus infections. Prime Minister Sanna Marin signalled the move was imminent last week when she warned that controls limiting restaurants to takeaway service would come into force for three weeks from March 8 in some parts of the country. “The government along with the President of the Republic has declared a […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain on Monday appealed for a person infected with a powerful Covid-19 strain from Brazil to come forward, as experts fretted about its impact on new vaccines. The public appeal came a week before England is due to start slowly unwinding its third Covid lockdown, with progress hinging on the vaccines’ ability to curtail the pandemic. The variant that emerged in Manaus, northern Brazil, has been detected in six people […]
by Joseph Schmid with Michelle Fitzpatrick in Frankfurt PARIS, France (AFP) — Already facing a daunting Covid vaccination challenge, French and German authorities are fighting to convince more people that a jab from the pharma giant AstraZeneca is just as effective as others. Stocks of the vaccines from the British-Swedish firm are going unused in both countries despite the desire to end a pandemic that has sparked a social and economic calamity on a scale […]
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain suffered its second-worst month for coronavirus deaths in February with 10,528 fatalities, the worst figure since April last year, government figures showed on Monday. The overall toll now stands at 69,609, health ministry data showed. Although Spain’s third wave peak has passed — the 14-day cumulative case number has fallen from nearly 900 per 100,000 people in late January to 175 currently — the death toll has remained stubbornly high. […]
