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PARIS, France (AFP) — US pharmaceutical firm Moderna said Thursday it expects to increase global production of its cutting-edge Covid vaccine to up to three billion doses in 2022. The company said in a statement that it would make new funding commitments to increase supply at its manufacturing facilities in Europe and the United States. The investments will double the manufacturing of drug substance at its Swiss partner Lonza and more than double output by […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A man with a knife attacked a kindergarten in southern China on Wednesday, killing two children and wounding 16 other people, state media reported. The Xinhua news agency said the “knife-stabbing incident” took place in Beiliu, a city in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region. Police arrested a suspect and a probe of the attack is under way, the agency said. Knife attacks are not uncommon in China, which heavily restricts access […]
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey announced on Wednesday it has signed a deal for the delivery of 50 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said the first deliveries will arrive in May as Turkey tries to speed up the innoculation effort. The nation of 84 million has delivered one shot to more than 13.5 million people and the full two doses to nearly nine million since launching its vaccination […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain announced Wednesday it was sending three oxygen generation units to Covid-struck India following a first consignment of aid this week, but said it had no spare vaccines to offer. The three units, dubbed oxygen factories, are each the size of a shipping container and can produce 500 litres of oxygen per minute, the UK government said. “We stand with our Indian friends in their fight against Covid-19,” Foreign Secretary […]
by Hiroshi HIYAMA TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Hundreds of Japanese towns and cities have been forced to rethink plans to host Olympic teams because the coronavirus will prevent public appearances and require costly safety measures. The western town of Okuizumo spent more than $5 million preparing to welcome India’s hockey team for a pre-Games training camp, only to scrap the visit because of Covid-19. After sinking money into upgrading sports facilities, Okuizomo balked when it […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Myanmar’s military launched air assaults for the second day in a row into rebel-held territory after gunfire was heard from neighbouring Thailand, a Thai official said Wednesday, as fighting escalates along the border. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the junta ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a February 1 coup, its power grab angering much of its population. The anti-junta movement has also garnered some support from some […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia will deliver emergency aid to coronavirus-hit India, President Vladimir Putin told Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a phone call Wednesday, the Kremlin said. India has become the global epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, recording 360,000 new infections — a world record — and more than 3,000 deaths on Wednesday. “Vladimir Putin expressed words of support to Narendra Modi in this difficult period in the fight against the spread of the […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — BioNTech co-founder Ugur Sahin on Wednesday voiced confidence that the vaccine that his company jointly developed with Pfizer works against the Indian variant of the coronavirus. “We are still testing the Indian variant, but the Indian variant has mutations that we have already tested for and which our vaccine works against, so I am confident,” said Sahin. © Agence France-Presse
India reports record-high 360k new infections, over 3,000 deaths on Wednesday These aerial photos from Agence France Presse show burning pyres of victims who lost their lives due to COVID-19. The virus has now killed more than 3.1 million people worldwide, with India driving the latest surge, recording 360,000 new infections — a global record — and over 3,000 deaths on Wednesday. In the capital of New Delhi, carparks have been converted to crematoriums […]
by Yussel Gonzalez MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday welcomed signs of an easing of the pandemic in his hard-hit nation, in stark contrast to the new wave of cases hitting other parts of Latin America. “Covid-19 infections are falling. The harmful effects of the pandemic are decreasing across the country,” Lopez Obrador said at his daily news conference. “It’s more encouraging. It’s a breath of fresh air,” […]
GUWAHATI, India (AFP) — A strong earthquake and nerve jangling aftershocks cracked walls and sent inhabitants pouring onto the streets in several towns across northeastern India on Wednesday. There have been no reports of casualties so far, with residents saying the main human toll was stress, minor cuts and bruises. The US Geological Survey said the epicentre of the 6.0 magnitude quake was in a hilly region in Assam state near India’s border with Bhutan. […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia announced Wednesday it would upgrade military bases in its far north and expand joint drills with US forces after warnings about the “drums of war” beating in the Pacific region. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a plan worth more than half a billion US dollars to revamp four military training facilities in the remote north over the next five years. The package of upgrades is more extensive and more costly […]
