International

Brazil’s Bolsonaro installs fourth health minister of pandemic

  BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro formally installed his fourth health minister of the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday, ending a week of uncertainty over who actually held the post amid a deadly surge of Covid-19. The far-right president signed the decree installing cardiologist Marcelo Queiroga as health minister in a private ceremony, replacing army general Eduardo Pazuello, the health ministry said in a statement. “The new minister meets the technical requirements and has […]

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Brazil’s 24-hour Covid deaths surpass 3,000 for first time

  by Jordi MIRO Agence France Presse BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s daily Covid-19 death toll soared past 3,000 for the first time Tuesday as the hard-hit country struggled to contain a surge of cases that has pushed many hospitals to breaking point. The health ministry registered a record 3,251 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing Brazil’s overall death toll to nearly 299,000 — second only to the United States. The latest bleak milestone […]

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N.Korea tested missiles in first challenge to Biden administration: US official

by Paul HANDLEY WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — North Korea fired several missiles just days after a visit to the region by the top US defense and diplomatic officials, the White House said Tuesday, in Pyongyang’s first overt challenge to the Biden administration. But administration officials, speaking anonymously, downplayed the missiles as “common” military testing and said they would not block Washington’s efforts to engage with North Korea on denuclearization. Two missiles were fired on […]

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EU to tighten export rules to stop one-way flow of vaccines

  by Dave CLARK Agence France Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The European Commission will tighten its export guidelines on Wednesday to prevent what it sees as an unfair one-way flow of vaccines, according to a draft seen by AFP. Brussels has been infuriated that Britain has laid claim to vaccines produced at a plant in the Netherlands by AstraZeneca, while the UK-based firm falls short on deliveries promised to the EU. While negotiations with […]

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Russia forecasters warn over Siberia forest fires

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The vast Russian region of Siberia will face hot and dry weather this year leading to more forest fires, forecasters said on Tuesday, linking the blazes to climate change. Devastating forest fires have ripped across Siberia with increasing regularity over the past few years, which the country’s weather officials and environmentalists have linked to climate change and an underfunded forest service. Speaking to reporters to mark World Meteorological Day by video […]

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Huge blaze at Rohingya camp in Bangladesh kills 15, leaves 400 missing

by Suzauddin Rubel COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AFP) — Fifteen people have died and 400 are missing after a huge fire destroyed the shanty homes of tens of thousands of Rohingya in the world’s biggest refugee settlement in Bangladesh, the UN said Tuesday. Nearly one million of the persecuted Muslim minority — many of whom escaped a 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar that UN investigators concluded was executed with “genocidal intent” — live in squalid conditions […]

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Putin to be vaccinated in private: Kremlin

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — President Vladimir Putin will be vaccinated in private on Tuesday evening, the Kremlin said, as Russia looks to boost a vaccination campaign that is faltering despite having produced three home-grown jabs. Putin announced a day earlier that he would be vaccinated on Tuesday, joining other world leaders who have received jabs including US President Joe Biden, Pope Francis and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth. But unlike many others who were vaccinated in public […]

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Denmark announces reopening once all over 50s vaccinated

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) — Denmark, which has been under a partial lockdown for the last three months, says it will reopen most of society once everyone over 50 years old are vaccinated. In an announcement late Monday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen unveiled the plan for a return to normal which will see schools and universities, shops, restaurants and bars, libraries, museums and cinemas gradually reopen over a period of two months. “With a few exceptions, […]

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Multiple’ deaths in US mass shooting at Colorado grocery store

  by Jason CONNOLLY with Andrew Marszal in Los Angeles Agence France Presse BOULDER, United States (AFP) — A gunman killed multiple people including a police officer at a grocery store in Colorado on Monday, police said, in the latest shooting to hit the western state — scene of two of the most infamous US mass murders. One “person of interest” is injured and in custody, police commander Kerry Yamaguchi told reporters, following the incident […]

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Germany set to carry virus curbs into April as cases surge

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany is poised to prolong and tighten its partial lockdown into April as new virus cases soar, according to a draft document seen by AFP ahead of a strategy meeting on Monday. Europe’s biggest economy had begun easing restrictions, first reopening schools in late February, before allowing hairdressers and some shops to resume business in March. The strategy meeting between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of Germany’s 16 states was […]

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US health officials alarmed by rise in air travel

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A top US health official on Monday warned Americans it was too soon to resume traveling despite progress in the battle against the coronavirus, after data showed the country recorded its highest number of airport check-ins since last year. “Now is not the time to travel,” Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told reporters, urging people to keep up with measures to stem the […]

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Saudis offer ceasefire to Yemen’s Huthis as conflict escalates

by Anuj Chopra with Dana Moukhallati in Dubai RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia on Monday offered Yemen’s Huthi rebels a “comprehensive” UN-supervised ceasefire, as part of a series of fresh proposals aimed at ending a catastrophic six-year conflict. But the Huthis swiftly dismissed the initiative, which comes as the Iran-backed rebels escalate attacks on the kingdom — including its oil facilities — and push to seize the Saudi-backed Yemeni government’s last northern stronghold […]

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