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US actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun that killed a cinematographer and wounded the director on a film set in New Mexico, US law enforcement officers said Thursday. The incident happened on the set of “Rust” in the southwestern US state, where Baldwin is playing the lead in a 19th-century western. Halyna Hutchins and Joel Souza “were shot when a prop firearm was discharged by Alec Baldwin,” the sheriff in Santa Fe said in […]
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The use of so-called “mix and match” Covid-19 vaccine boosters may give a stronger immune response than sticking to one type of jab, the EU’s drug watchdog said on Thursday. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said it was studying data to see if it will follow a decision by US authorities on Wednesday to allow the use of a different vaccine for follow-up shots. The Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Daily virus cases in the UK on Thursday soared to over 50,000 a day for the first time since July but the government again resisted calls to reimpose restrictions. According to the latest statistics, there were 52,009 new cases recorded in the UK — the highest figure since July 17. The UK has managed to administer two vaccine doses to 79 percent of those aged 12 and over and the […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thai Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha announced Thursday that vaccinated travellers from more than 40 countries will be allowed to enter the kingdom without undergoing quarantine come November 1, as it readies for a much-anticipated re-opening. The 46 countries and territories is a significant jump from the 10 initially announced last week by Prayut, when he unveiled plans to reopen the country next month. The ballooning list is due to Thailand’s urgent need […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Queen Elizabeth II spent a night in hospital after being advised to rest and cancel a visit to Northern Ireland this week, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday. “Following medical advice to rest for a few days, The Queen attended hospital on Wednesday afternoon for some preliminary investigations, returning to Windsor Castle at lunchtime today (Thursday), and remains in good spirits,” a statement said. Britain’s domestic Press Association news agency said […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australian authorities on Thursday offered Aus$1 million (US$750,000) for information leading to the discovery of a missing four-year-old girl feared abducted from a remote campsite last weekend. Cleo Smith disappeared from her family’s tent in Western Australia during the early hours of Saturday, sparking an extensive air, sea and ground search. But after six days of fruitlessly combing in the area surrounding the Blowholes campsite — a coastal tourist spot about […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Authorities in China cancelled hundreds of flights, closed schools and ramped up mass testing on Thursday to try and stamp out a new Covid-19 outbreak linked to a group of tourists. Beijing has maintained a relentless zero-Covid approach with strict border closures and targeted lockdowns, even as other countries tentatively try to ease restrictions. Domestic outbreaks have largely been eliminated, but as China logged a fifth straight day of new cases […]
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — One of the world’s most locked-down cities will reopen late Thursday, with Melbourne residents hoping this sixth bout of stay-at-home restrictions will be their last. Five million people in Australia’s second-biggest city have endured lockdowns totalling more than 260 days since the beginning of the pandemic. But now that 70 percent of eligible people in Melbourne and surrounding Victoria state are fully vaccinated, restrictions that began on August 5 will be […]
FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) — A third dose of the vaccine against Covid-19 developed by Pfizer/BioNTech is 95.6 percent effective against symptomatic infection, according to a study by the makers published on Thursday. The clinical phase three trial with “10,000 participants 16 years of age and older” showed “a relative vaccine efficacy of 95.6 percent against disease during a period when Delta was the prevalent strain”, the companies said in a statement. © Agence France-Presse
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo will lift curbs on bar and restaurant opening hours as virus cases in the Japanese capital hit their lowest level this year, officials said Thursday. It is the latest softening of virus restrictions in Japan, where cases have been in freefall for weeks, which experts ascribe to a rapid increase in the vaccination rate. Nationwide, new infections have plunged from record highs of over 25,800 in August to under 400 […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A gas explosion at a restaurant ripped through a busy street in a major Chinese city on Thursday, killing at least four people and injuring dozens, local authorities said. Dramatic footage from a nearby car’s dashboard camera, published by state media, showed a large cloud of smoke and dust erupting over the street as people ran to safety. State broadcaster CCTV showed windows ripped out of several buildings in a street […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — More than 250,000 homes in France were without electricity on Thursday after gale-force winds swept the north of the country overnight, power grid operator Enedis said. Rail traffic was also affected by storm “Aurore”, which has been causing devastation since Wednesday afternoon. Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said in a tweet that the Ile-de-France region around Paris, Normandy, northern France and eastern Lorraine regions were the worst affected. Social media were abuzz […]
