International

After fire and floods, Aussie farmers suffer devastating mouse plague

  by Andrew LEESON Agence France Presse Dubbo, Australia (AFP) — After surviving years of crippling drought, farmers in eastern Australia are locked in a months-long battle with hordes of mice that are pouring through fields and devouring hard-earned crops. Farmer Col Tink uses a broom to skittle hundreds of roving mice toward a makeshift industrial trap — essentially a large tub of water where they drown. It is a brutally simple attempt to slow […]

More than 150 Texas hospital staff fired or quit over vaccine ruling

HOUSTON, United States (AFP) — More than 150 employees at the Houston Methodist hospital in Texas were fired or resigned after failing to comply with orders to get a Covid-19 vaccination to continue working there, a hospital spokeswoman said Tuesday. Officials Houston Methodist told its staff they needed to have received a Covid vaccination by June 7 or be suspended for two weeks. Hospital spokeswoman Gale Smith told AFP that 153 employees “either resigned in […]

Strong earthquake shakes Peru’s capital

LIMA, Peru (AFP) — A strong earthquake shook Lima and regions of central coastal Peru late Tuesday, with no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Peru’s Seismological Center said it was magnitude 6, while the US Geological Survey which monitors earthquakes worldwide pegged it at magnitude 5.8. It struck at 9:54 pm local time (0254 GMT Wednesday), with an epicenter 33 kilometers southwest of Mala — some 100 kilometers south of Lima — and at […]

Sydney residents banned from leaving city as coronavirus cluster grows

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Sydneysiders were largely banned from leaving the city Wednesday as Australian authorities rushed to stop a growing outbreak of the highly contagious Delta Covid-19 variant from spreading to other regions. More than 30 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 since the cluster emerged in the city’s Bondi Beach area last week, the latest in a string of flare-ups that highlight Australia’s difficulty in extinguishing outbreaks. New South Wales state Premier Gladys […]

US experts to review heart problems among teens after Covid shots

by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A panel of experts convened by the top US health agency will hold a meeting Wednesday to review data surrounding more than 300 confirmed cases of heart muscle inflammation among adolescents and young adults after receiving mRNA Covid vaccines. The committee, hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will hear a risk-benefit analysis as researchers explore whether the shots can cause myocarditis, as well […]

China gives one-billionth Covid shot as Brazil toll hits milestone

by AFP bureaus BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Sunday announced it had administered its one-billionth shot in the world’s biggest coronavirus inoculation drive as Brazil’s death toll from the pandemic passed 500,000. The global death toll from Covid-19 is now more than 3.8 million and many nations are still battling outbreaks, but vaccine drives in some countries are allowing activities that were unthinkable a few months ago. China’s vaccine milestone comes after the number […]

Moscow melts in historic June heat wave

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Moscow has been hit by a historic heat wave this week, with temperatures reaching a 120-year record due to the effects of climate change, Russia’s weather service said Tuesday. On Monday the Russian capital sweated under 34.7 degrees Celsius (94.5 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Roshydromet, matching the record for a June day from in 1901. The weather service, which has kept records since 1881, is forecasting temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius […]

Portugal fears a fourth wave from the Delta variant

by Thomas CABRAL LISBON, Portugal (AFP) — Portugal fears a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic may take hold with the highly contagious Delta variant now accounting for more than 60 percent of new cases in the capital. Lisbon is among a dozen places that did not move into the final phase of easing the lockdown that much of the country has enjoyed. Travel between the capital region and the rest of Portugal was banned […]

Israeli PM warns of new virus outbreak as cases rise

TEL AVIV, Israel (AFP) — Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned Tuesday of a “new outbreak” of coronavirus in Israel after a rise in infections he said was likely due to returning travellers carrying the Delta variant. “Our goal is to end it, to take a bucket of water and pour it on the fire when the fire is still small,” Bennett said at Ben Gurion airport, where the government announced an expanded testing facility would […]

US to miss July 4 goal of one Covid shot for 70% of adults: W.House

by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US government won’t meet its goal of administering one or more doses of a Covid vaccine to 70 percent of US adults by July 4, White House Covid response team coordinator Jeffrey Zients conceded Tuesday. But he said President Joe Biden’s administration had “succeeded beyond our highest expectations” in returning the nation to a pre-pandemic normal, as the infection rate has plummeted and large gatherings of […]

Covid eases but US won’t join EU in opening borders

  by Francesco FONTEMAGGI Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — As the Covid pandemic recedes dramatically in the West, Europe is opening its doors to Americans — but the reverse is not holding true, with the United States not budging on restrictions imposed 15 months ago. US President Joe Biden has hailed progress on vaccination, with a goal of reaching 70 percent of Americans with at least one dose by July 4, and […]

Tornado kills one, wounds others near Montreal

MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — A tornado killed one person near Montreal, the deputy premier and minister of public safety of Quebec announced Monday. “Extreme weather phenomenon in Mascouche,” a city a few dozen kilometers (miles) north of Montreal, Genevieve Guilbault wrote on Twitter. “We unfortunately can confirm the death of one man. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.” “Our government teams are mobilized on the ground to help victims and support municipal […]