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TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck off Japan’s northeastern coast on Saturday but no tsunami warning was issued, Japanese and US authorities said, with no immediate reports of damage. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the mid-morning quake hit at a depth of 47 kilometres (29 miles) in the Pacific, off Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture — near the epicentre of a huge 2011 quake which triggered a towering tsunami, killing more than […]
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — Persistent drought in southern Madagascar has left hundreds of thousands of people on the brink of famine and stoked acute malnutrition among children, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned Thursday. Ministry of Health data revealed that 16.5 percent of children under five now suffer from acute malnutrition, almost double the proportion four months ago, the agency said. The Ambovombe district in the Indian Ocean island’s far south has […]
MERON, Israel (AFP) — A massive stampede at a densely packed Jewish pilgrimage site killed at least 44 people in northern Israel on Friday, with rescue workers facing chaotic crowds while trying to evacuate the injured. The disaster occurred in Meron at the site of the reputed tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a second-century Talmudic sage, where mainly ultra-Orthodox Jews flock to mark the Lag BaOmer holiday. Closed last year due to coronavirus […]
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — A US military plane on Friday brought the first emergency coronavirus supplies to help India battle its devastating surge in the pandemic. The military jet carrying more than 400 oxygen cylinders and other hospital equipment and nearly one million rapid coronavirus tests landed at New Delhi’s international airport as the Indian capital battles a major pandemic crisis. © Agence France-Presse
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Former US leader Donald Trump complained Thursday that an FBI raid on his ex-personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani’s home was “so unfair,” as President Joe Biden defended the integrity of the investigation, saying he had not been involved in the move against New York’s one-time mayor. Under Trump’s turbulent presidency, he frequently accused US government institutions of playing political favorites but also used the power of his office to try […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday that the city hopes to “fully reopen” on July 1. The mayor did not specify exactly how or when pandemic restrictions would be lifted, which is actually a decision for New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo, with whom he has a difficult relationship. “We are ready for stores to open, for businesses to open, offices, theaters, full strength,” de Blasio told […]
by Valeria PACHECO / with Andrea PALASCIANO in Moscow BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s health regulator said Thursday its decision to reject the Russian-made Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine was based on the developer’s own data, after the latter threatened to sue for defamation. Brazilian regulators’ decision Monday to deny emergency use authorization for the vaccine has blown up into an all-out international row, with Sputnik V’s makers accusing them of “knowingly spreading false and inaccurate […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States is looking to help India quickly and sharply scale up oxygen supplies available for Covid patients as it rushes in aid, officials said Thursday. A first military plane loaded with emergency supplies including nearly one million instant tests and 100,000 N95 masks was arriving early Friday in New Delhi, part of what the White House said was more than $100 million in support. The first priority “is […]
BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s death toll in the coronavirus pandemic surpassed 400,000 Thursday, as the country struggled to secure enough vaccines and the Senate investigated whether President Jair Bolsonaro’s government has exacerbated the crisis. The health ministry reported 3,001 Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing Brazil’s overall toll to 401,186 — second only to the United States. With 212 million people, the South American giant also has one of the highest mortality […]
FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) — BioNTech said Thursday that it expected its Covid-19 vaccine, jointly developed with Pfizer, to be available to 12 to 15-year-olds in Europe from June. The German firm’s CEO Ugur Sahin told Der Spiegel weekly that it was “in the final stretches” of preparing its submission for European regulatory approval. The evaluation of the trial data “takes four to six weeks on average”, he added. Vaccinating children is seen as a crucial […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States said Wednesday it was sending more than $100 million in supplies to Covid-ravaged India, including nearly one million instant tests on a first flight. The White House said the first flight would arrive Thursday in New Delhi on a military plane, days after President Joe Biden promised to step up assistance to the emerging US ally. The first shipment includes 960,000 rapid tests, which can detect Covid […]
by Sailandra Sil, with AFP Bureaus KOLKATA, India (AFP) — India’s coronavirus disaster deepened on Thursday with its daily death toll climbing above 3,600, as more international aid was flown in with the United States sending nearly one million test kits. The United States and several European nations have started to ease restrictions this week following successful vaccination campaigns, but the pandemic continues to worsen in many parts of the world. Among the most devastating […]
