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PARIS, France (AFP) — The pace of the coronavirus pandemic slowed around the world for a third week in a row, although more than 4,100 people a day continue to die in India. Here is the global state of play according to a specialised AFP database. – Fourteen percent drop – The number of new daily cases around the world dropped by 14 percent last week to 638,600, according to an AFP toll to […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia announced on Friday it will impose a nationwide lockdown for the first time in over a year as it battles a rapidly escalating coronavirus outbreak that has strained the country’s healthcare system. Officials believe more infectious variants have contributed to the surge, as well as gatherings in the Muslim-majority country during the holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr holiday earlier this month. After a new daily record […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The alleged bomb threat cited by Belarus as the reason why it diverted a plane to Minsk before arresting a journalist on board was sent after the plane was redirected, the email provider said. Proton Technologies, which is headquartered in Geneva and says it is the world’s largest secure email provider, said the sent time confirmed it came after the Ryanair passenger plane was diverted to Belarus. The Athens-to-Vilnius flight carrying […]
by Jennifer Gonzalez Covarrubias MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — A steady decline in coronavirus cases and rising levels of immunity from vaccination or infection suggest that the worst of the pandemic may be over for hard-hit Mexico, experts say. The improvement has led to a gradual loosening of lockdown measures, paving the way for children to go back to classrooms and spectators to return to sports stadiums and wrestling tournaments. The outlook “is hopeful,” said […]
BRAZZAVILLE, Congo (AFP) — Africa needs at least 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine within six weeks if those who have had their first shot are to get the second in time, the WHO said Thursday. “Africa needs vaccines now,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization’s Regional Director for Africa. “Any pause in our vaccination campaigns will lead to lost lives and lost hope.” The WHO statement underlined the importance of respecting […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan will extend a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas on Friday until just a month before the Olympics, in a move that is likely to fuel concerns over whether the Games can be held safely. Tokyo and nine other parts of the country are currently under emergency orders which mostly involve closing bars and restaurants early and banning them from selling alcohol. The emergency was supposed to […]
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Five million weary Melbourne residents returned to lockdown Friday, straining local resolve and testing Australia’s “zero-Covid” strategy of smothering outbreaks however small. As authorities said the cluster of positive cases had grown to 39, streets in Australia’s second city emptied out for the fourth time since the pandemic began. “It’s just very difficult,” resident Gavin Catt told AFP. “This lockdown is affecting us. Many families and friends can’t work.” Melbournians have […]
HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Vietnam began vaccinating hundreds of thousands of factory workers in its industrialized north on Thursday to combat its largest Covid-19 outbreak so far, days after the country reported a daily record in new cases. The communist country has been widely applauded for its aggressive pandemic response — with mass quarantines and strict contact tracing helping keep infection rates low — but clusters have now been reported in around half of its […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany will start offering coronavirus jabs to children over the age of 12 from June 7, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday. But she stressed that vaccination would not be compulsory and would have no bearing on whether children can attend school or go on holiday. The European Medicines Agency is expected to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid jab for 12- to 15-year-olds on Friday. It is already authorised in the EU for […]
GOMA, DR Congo (AFP) — Orders on Thursday to evacuate Goma, a city lying in the shadow of DR Congo’s Mount Nyiragongo volcano, have shed light on a rare but potentially catastrophic risk — a “limnic eruption,” when volcanic activity combined with a deep lake can spew out lethal, suffocating gas. The phenomenon first came to the world’s attention in August 1984, when 37 people mysteriously died at Lake Monoun in western Cameroon. Scientists found […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The Covax global vaccine-sharing program said Thursday it needs $2.0 billion in additional funding by the beginning of June in order to boost coronavirus inoculation programs in lower-income countries. “We need an additional $2 billion to lift coverage… up to nearly 30 percent, and we need it by June 2 to lock in supplies now so that doses can be delivered through 2021, and into early 2022,” the mechanism’s organizers — […]
DAMASCUS, Syria (AFP) — Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has been re-elected with 95.1 percent of the votes cast, the parliamentary speaker announced Thursday, following an election criticised by the opposition and Western nations. The two other presidential candidates, former state minister Abdallah Salloum Abdallah and Mahmud Merhi, a member of the so-called “tolerated opposition”, received 1.5 percent and 3.3 percent of the vote respectively, according to the official results of Wednesday’s election. In a country […]
