International

Bangladesh begins Covid-19 vaccinations for Rohingya refugees

KUTUPALONG Bangladesh (AFP) — Bangladesh on Tuesday began vaccinating Rohingya refugees living in congested camps as the impoverished South Asian nation battles a record surge in coronavirus cases, officials said. Health officials say 2,600 Covid-19 cases and 29 deaths have been recorded in the camps housing some 850,000 Rohingya but many experts say this is likely a gross underestimate. The initial inoculation phase will see around 48,000 refugees aged over 55 get Chinese-made Sinopharm shots […]

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China virus cases rise as Delta variant challenges Beijing

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s coronavirus cases hit a seven-month high on Tuesday, after a cluster at a test site drove up numbers as the Delta variant challenges Beijing’s grip on the pandemic. State media has described the current outbreak — which has sparked local lockdowns, mass testing and travel restrictions — as the most severe since the virus emerged in the central city of Wuhan. Authorities had brought domestic infections down to virtually zero, […]

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Pentagon to mandate Covid shots for military

by Paul HANDLEY WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Pentagon said Monday it will make Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for all members of the US military by mid-September, amid an alarming surge in infections by the Delta variant. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a memo he would ask President Joe Biden to approve the move in about five weeks, even if none of the current vaccines gains full approval from the US Food and Drug […]

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Myanmar junta says had ‘nothing to do’ with UN envoy plot

YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Myanmar’s junta had “nothing to do” with an alleged plot to attack the country’s ambassador to the UN, who has defied the military and backed the pro-democracy movement, state media said Tuesday. Kyaw Moe Tun made headlines after the army’s February coup, brazenly disregarding its insistence that he no longer represents the country at the New York-based body. Last week United States prosecutors said they had charged two Myanmar citizens over […]

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Sydney hits new Covid case record as outbreak spreads

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Sydney posted a new record of Covid-19 infections Tuesday as the city struggles to control an outbreak that is sending other Australian regions into lockdown. New South Wales state announced 356 new cases, a fresh record for a Delta-variant outbreak that began in mid-June and continues to grow in a population with low vaccination rates. More than five million people in Sydney, Australia’s biggest city, are now in their seventh […]

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Canada welcomes fully vaccinated Americans across reopened border

by Geneviève NORMAND LACOLLE, Canada (AFP) — American visitors trickled across the Canada-US border on Monday, cheering the reopening of the world’s longest land boundary 17 months after all non-essential travel was halted to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Ottawa lifted quarantine requirements for US citizens and permanent residents arriving with proof of vaccination. “It’s absolutely wonderful,” Vicki Poulin said of the border reopening. “We’re just so happy to be here.” “I thought […]

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First West African case of deadly Marburg virus detected: WHO

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Guinea confirmed a case of Marburg disease, the World Health Organization said on Monday, the first recorded in West Africa of the lethal virus that’s related to Ebola and, like Covid-19, passed from animal hosts to humans. The virus, which is carried by bats and has a fatality rate of up to 88 percent, was found in samples taken from a patient who died on August 2 in southern Gueckedou prefecture, […]

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Nepal’s elderly get second Covid-19 vaccine shots after months-long wait

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP ) — Nepal on Monday rolled out second Covid-19 vaccine jabs for nearly 1.4 million elderly people, following a months-long delay after neighbouring India halted exports over a massive surge in infections. People aged over 65 became eligible from March to receive their first AstraZeneca-Oxford shots from India, but were unable to get their second dose after the stock ran out. The vaccination drive was later opened in stages to everyone above […]

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France extends Macron’s Covid pass despite protests

by Florian SOENEN with Sabine WIBAUX in Bordeaux PARIS, France (AFP) — France on Monday began enforcing a Covid pass championed by President Emmanuel Macron in cafes, restaurants and trains, a tightening of rules the government hopes will boost vaccinations but which has prompted weeks of angry protests. The pass, already needed for the last three weeks to go to a cinema, attend a concert or visit a museum, will be needed to partake in […]

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Top aide to New York governor Cuomo resigns: reports

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A top aide to New York governor Andrew Cuomo resigned Sunday, US media reported, as the net closed further around a once-influential politician now facing the possibility of criminal charges over claims he sexually harassed 11 former and current state employees. Melissa DeRosa had served as secretary to the embattled governor since 2017 and had long been described by New York media as one of his closest confidants. But […]

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Nagasaki marks atomic bomb anniversary with sombre ceremony

by Kyoko HASEGAWA TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The Japanese city of Nagasaki on Monday commemorated the 76th anniversary of its destruction by a US atomic bomb, with the mayor calling for the global community to build on a new nuclear ban treaty. Nagasaki was flattened in an atomic inferno that killed 74,000 people, three days after the nuclear bomb that hit Hiroshima. The twin attacks rang in the nuclear age and gave Japan the bleak […]

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Brunei clamps down after first local virus cases in 15 months

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Brunei imposed strict curbs to halt the spread of Covid-19, after finding its first locally transmitted cases in the country in over a year. Seven community infections were found, the health ministry said Saturday, leading the government to close all places of worship and postpone social events for two weeks. Mass events were also limited to groups of 30 people over this period as school classes were moved online and […]

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