Europe

Down Syndrome no obstacle for aspiring French politician

by Antoine POLLEZ ARRAS,  France (AFP) — When the mayor of Arras, a town in northern France, asked her to stand as a candidate in upcoming municipal elections, Eleonore Laloux, who has Down Syndrome, did not hesitate. “I would like Arras to change, for there to be improvements… mainly with regard to cleanliness and respect, but also accessibility” for disabled people, the 34-year-old administrative agent and activist told AFP. “I am ready to make this […]

UPDATED: France reports first French death from coronavirus

PARIS, France (AFP) — A 60-year-old man has become the first French victim of the coronavirus in the country, the health ministry announced Wednesday. The man died overnight after being rushed to a Paris hospital in serious condition on Tuesday evening, bringing the death toll in the country to two, said the ministry’s deputy head Jerome Salomon. The first victim was an 80-year-old Chinese tourist, who died in hospital in mid-February. France has reported four […]

China quarantines 94 people on Seoul flight after 3 show fever

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China quarantined 94 air passengers arriving from Seoul after three people on the flight were discovered to have fevers, state media reported Wednesday. The three passengers, all Chinese, arrived in the city of Nanjing on Tuesday morning and were discovered after customs personnel boarded the aircraft on the landing to screen passengers for symptoms, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said. The three were immediately sent by ambulance to a hospital for isolation […]

Croatia reports first confirmed coronavirus case in Balkans

by Lajla VESELICA ZAGREB, Croatia (AFP) — Croatia reported the first known case of the new coronavirus in the Balkans region on Tuesday after a man who recently returned from Italy was found to be infected. The announcement comes as Italy battles an outbreak of the virus, named COVID-19, with infections surging to nearly 300 in a matter of days, making it the hardest-hit country in Europe. “It has been confirmed that the first patient […]

Switzerland reports first case of new coronavirus

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Switzerland reported its first case of new coronavirus on Tuesday after outbreaks were identified in its main neighbors Austria, France, Germany, and Italy. The case is a man in his 70s who was infected near Milan where he attended an event on February 15, federal health office chief Pascal Strupler told reporters. The man is from the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino on the border with Italy and has been with his […]

Virus spreads to new countries as top official warns world ‘not ready’

by Dario THUBURN with Laurent THOMET in Beijing GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The coronavirus epidemic caused more death and disruption on Tuesday, spreading to new countries as a top health official warned the world was “simply not ready” to contain it. Even as the number of fresh cases declines at the epicenter of the disease in China, there has been a sudden increase in parts of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Entire towns and […]

Austria reports first two coronavirus cases after Italy outbreak

  VIENNA, Austria (AFP) — Two people in Austria have tested positive for the new coronavirus, authorities said Tuesday, marking the country’s first cases after an outbreak in northern Italy. The two 24-year-olds have been quarantined in a hospital in Innsbruck, the capital of Tyrol province, which borders Italy, according to Tyrol Governor Guenther Platter. One of them is from Lombardy, one of the Italian regions hit with the outbreak, but it is not yet […]

Italy coronavirus outbreak spreads south as cases spike

  by Ella IDE and Jastinder KHERA Agence France Presse Italy’s new coronavirus spread south on Tuesday to Tuscany and Sicily, as the civil protection agency reported a surge in the number of infected people and Rome convened emergency talks. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has blamed poor management in a hospital in the country’s north for the outbreak, which has caused seven deaths in Italy so far and infected the largest number of people in […]

18 children among 52 hurt in Germany car ramming

  FRANKFURT AM MAIN (AFP) — A car that rammed into a carnival procession in central Germany Monday injured 52 people, including 18 children, police said, adding that the perpetrator’s motive remains unclear. “Among the victims are 18 children (while)… at present 35 people are still undergoing treatment in the hospital and 17 were already able to leave,” police in Hesse state posted on Twitter Tuesday. A 29-year-old local man ploughed his car into the […]

Italy reports fourth coronavirus death

ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy reported Monday its fourth death from the new coronavirus, an 84-year old man in the northern Lombardy region, as the number of people contracting the virus continued to mount. It was the third death in Lombardy, where villages have been put in lockdown and security measures enforced in a bid to stem the spread of the disease, the region’s health department said. The head of Italy’s civil protection department, Angelo […]

Sandstorm forces closure of airports on Spain’s Canary Islands

  MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Airports on Spain’s Canary Islands were closed again Sunday after a sandstorm hit the archipelago, airport authorities said. Air travel was first disrupted on the archipelago on Saturday after strong winds carrying red sand from the Sahara shrouded the tourist hotspot, forcing flights to and from the islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife to be cancelled or diverted. Some flights briefly resumed Sunday morning before Spanish airport operator AENA was […]

Armani holds closed-door runway show as virus cases spike in Italy

MILAN, Italy (AFP) — Giorgio Armani held its Milan Fashion Week show behind closed doors Sunday after Italy announced a spike in coronavirus cases and imposed lockdown measures in some areas. Italy has confirmed 152 cases of the virus, including three deaths linked to it, and has imposed travel and movement restrictions for tens of thousands of residents in several northern towns. Most of Italy’s cases are centered around Codogno, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) […]