International

Biden touts lead role in vaccinating the world as Delta variant surges

by Aurélia END WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States has distributed more than 100 million Covid-19 vaccine doses overseas — more than all other countries combined, President Joe Biden said Tuesday as he touted his record on countering the Delta variant cutting a deadly swath across the planet. The announcement, which follows the administration belatedly achieving its July 4 target for getting 70 percent of American adults at least one shot, marked “just […]

Fully vaccinated one-third as likely to get Covid: England study

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Fully vaccinated people in England were one-third as likely to test positive for Covid-19, according to an ongoing survey of the population released on Wednesday. The latest findings, from a long-running study by scientists at Imperial College London and market research company Ipsos MORI, were based on 98,233 swabs taken between June 24 and July 12. They showed one in 160 people infected with coronavirus, with a prevalence rate of […]

Bolsonaro lashes out at new probe: ‘Brazil is under attack’

BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — President Jair Bolsonaro lashed out Tuesday at electoral authorities for ordering an investigation of his campaign against Brazil’s electronic voting system, saying he refused to be “intimidated” and that the country “is under attack.” The far-right president, who is up for re-election next year, has recently stepped up his long-time criticism of Brazil’s voting system, claiming — without evidence — that it is riddled with fraud and insisting there will be […]

Singapore PM warns US against hard line toward China

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday warned the United States against aggressively challenging China, saying Washington’s increasingly hard-line views could be “very dangerous.” He said the United States had moved from an approach of healthy competition with China to the view that America “must win, one way or another.” “There is (US) bipartisan consensus today on one thing, which is relations with China,” he told the Aspen Security […]

New York is first US city to mandate vaccines for restaurants, gyms

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York will become the first major US city to require proof of vaccination for people attending indoor venues such as restaurants, gyms and shows, under a plan announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio Tuesday. The announcement comes as public bodies and private businesses in the United States step up vaccine requirements as the country battles the highly infectious Delta variant. “If you’re vaccinated… you have the key, you […]

New Covid restrictions in France as virus cases rise

AJACCIO, France (AFP) –Health officials in France on Tuesday activated an emergency plan on the Mediterranean island of Corsica as a fourth wave of Covid infections spread across the country. The government also announced it was reactivating a package of measures designed to support medical staff as they brace for a fresh intake of cases. More of France’s popular coastal areas meanwhile reintroduced the compulsory wearing of masks in a bid to stem the incoming […]

Colombia town orders vaccine refusers to stay home or face fines, jail

BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — Authorities in a Colombian town have run out of patience with people refusing coronavirus vaccines, ordering them on Monday to stay at home or face a fine, or even prison. “We have to take a strong stance as leaders… Everyone has to be vaccinated, if not, they cannot circulate in the municipality of Sucre,” the town’s mayor Elvira Julia Mercado said on Blu Radio. She decreed a stay-at-home order, lasting eight […]

Deadly wildfire races toward Turkish power plant

by Kadir DEMIR MARMARIS, Turkey (AFP) — A roaring blaze raced toward a Turkish thermal power plant Tuesday and farmers herded panicked cattle toward the sea as wildfires that have killed eight people raged on for a seventh day. The nation of 84 million has been transfixed in horror as the most destructive wildfires in generations erase pristine forests and rich farmland across swaths of Turkey’s Mediterranean and Aegean coasts. Frightened tourists have been forced […]

Bangladesh to vaccinate 10 million in seven days

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — Bangladesh extended its strict lockdown on Tuesday and announced plans to vaccinate at least 10 million people in a week as the country battles a major Covid-19 surge. The vaccination drive from August 7 will be led by tens of thousands of health workers at 14,000 health centres, senior minister A.K.M Mozammel Haque said. “More than 10 million people will be vaccinated in a week. Elderly people, workers and shopkeepers will […]

Spain extends virus aid until end of October

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain’s cabinet approved Tuesday the extension of measures to protect the most vulnerable from economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, including a moratorium on home evictions until November. Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s coalition government first approved the package of social measures in March 2020 during the height of the first wave of the pandemic in Spain, one of Europe’s hardest-hit nations. The so-called “social shield” includes a ban on leaving […]

Sixteen more killed, dozens rescued in India’s monsoon deluge

KOLKATA, India (AFP) — At least 16 people have been killed and a quarter of a million people displaced from their homes after heavy monsoon rains lashed eastern India, officials said Tuesday, as the air force joined rescue efforts. The latest deaths in West Bengal came a few days after 11 people were also killed in the state as the torrent of water swept away homes and triggered landslides. Flooding and landslides are common during […]

Over 100 charged with insulting king in one year of Thai protests: tally

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — More than 100 protesters have been charged under Thailand’s royal insult laws since last July, when rallies across the kingdom began demanding reforms to the unassailable monarchy, a lawyer representing the activists and an AFP tally showed Tuesday. A mostly youth-led movement kicked off last summer, fuelled by discontent with the government of Thai Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha, a former military chief who first came to power in a coup in 2014. […]