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MADRID, Spain (AFP) — The death toll from an outbreak in southern Spain of West Nile virus, which is spread by mosquitos, has risen to four, local health authorities said Monday. An 87-year-old woman who was hospitalized with the disease in the town of Puerto Real in the southwestern province of Cadiz is the latest fatal victim of the outbreak, the health department of the regional government of Andalusia said in a statement. Three other […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Coronavirus could potentially cost one million jobs in Britain this year, with most losses anticipated during the current third quarter, according to a study published on Monday. Job losses could hit 450,000 between July and September, the Institute for Employment Studies forecast in a report, warning this could worsen to 690,000 positions under a worst-case scenario. Another 200,000 cuts could follow in the fourth quarter, or three months to December, […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Britain has secured access to up to 190 million doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine from Valneva in deal worth as much as 1.37 billion euros, the French-Austrian vaccine firm said Monday. It had already been disclosed in July that the British government had reserved 60 million doses of Valneva’s inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine under development. The firm said it expects to begin trials of the two-dose vaccine in December and if […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — France reported more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, its highest daily number since wide-scale testing was launched in the country. The number rose to 10,561 new cases on Saturday, up from the previous day’s 9,406 new cases on Friday, the French public health agency said. Over the 24-hour period, 17 people died in hospital, bringing the country’s total to 30,910. A total of 417 new patients were admitted […]
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The European Parliament on Thursday removed Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from the “Sakharov Prize community” because of her “acceptance” of state crimes against the Rohingya community. The EU assembly awarded the former democracy campaigner its top human rights prize in 1990, a year before she received the Nobel Peace Prize, but she will no longer take part in events for laureates. A source close to the parliament said […]
by Charlotte VAN OUWERKERK MIDDLEBURG, Netherlands (AFP) — A Dutch university is holding open-air classes in parks, public squares and parking lots to limit the number of lectures taking place online because of the coronavirus pandemic. At the foot of a majestic church in the historic center of the city of Middelburg, science professor Edward Nieuwenhuis demonstrates an experiment on a bench in front of 25 students bundled up in jackets. With a noisy street-cleaning […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Drugs giant AstraZeneca on Thursday said a Covid-19 vaccine could still be available by as early as the end of the year, despite a randomised clinical trial being paused. “We could still have a vaccine by the end of this year, early next year,” the UK-based company’s chief executive Pascal Soriot said in comments at a media event. AstraZeneca announced Wednesday it had “voluntarily paused” its trial of a drug […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany on Thursday confirmed a first case of African swine fever, threatening to severely hit the country’s key pork market. Scientists found swine fever in a dead wild boar near the German-Polish border in the eastern state of Brandenburg, the German agricultural ministry said. “Unfortunately, the suspicion has been confirmed,” said Julia Kloeckner, minister for agriculture, after the dead animal was tested overnight. Germany is Europe’s largest producer of pork, with […]
by Will VASSILOPOULOS with John HADOULIS in Athens LESBOS, Greece (AFP) — Thousands of asylum-seekers were left homeless on Wednesday after a fire gutted Greece’s largest migrant camp on Lesbos, provoking an outpouring of sympathy from around Europe and calls for reform of the refugee system. A second fire on Wednesday evening aggravated the crisis on the island, where the authorities have declared a state of emergency. The first blaze, which began hours after 35 […]
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The European Commission announced Wednesday it has reached a deal with a sixth pharmaceutical firm, this time BioNTech-Pfizer, to reserve a further 200 million doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine. “Our chances to develop and deploy a safe and effective vaccine have never been higher, both for Europeans here at home, or for the rest of the world,” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said. “To defeat coronavirus anywhere, […]
by Helen Roxburgh with AFP bureaus Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s leaders staged a triumphant ceremony to celebrate beating the coronavirus on Tuesday as billions of people around the world still suffer the fallout from the pandemic and the global death toll nears 900,000. The upbeat mood in Beijing comes as concerns grow about a resurgence of the virus across Europe, with France tightening restrictions, cases in Britain spiking and schools […]
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain’s total coronavirus cases have crossed half a million, health ministry data showed Monday, as the government struggled to contain a surge of infections in one of Europe’s hardest-hit countries. The country of around 47 million people has recorded 525,549 confirmed cases of Covid-19, and 29,516 related deaths, since its first case was diagnosed on January 31 on the remote island of La Gomera in the Canaries, the ministry said. This […]
