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DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s King Salman invited Qatar’s ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to visit the kingdom, the emir’s office said Monday, the latest sign of improving relations between the former rivals. Riyadh and allies broke off ties with Qatar in June 2017 over claims it was too close to Iran and backed radical Islamist groups, allegations Qatar has always denied. But in January, the boycotting countries agreed to reestablish ties […]
by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States will send up to 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine abroad, officials announced Monday, as President Joe Biden pledged to “be there” for India in its hour of need. Critics have accused Washington of “hoarding” the British-developed vaccine, which is not authorized in the country and will likely not be required to vaccinate Americans. The issue has risen to the fore in […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden will propose a tax hike on the investment gains of the wealthiest individuals to pay for his new plan to help US families, a top White House economist said Monday. Biden this week is expected to lay out his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan that would provide national child care, paid family leave and free community college, using higher taxes on the rich to offset the hefty […]
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Authorities in northern Italy announced Monday they had identified two cases of the Indian variant of coronavirus, in a father and daughter recently returned from India. The news follows reports of another case in the central region of Tuscany last month, and comes after the Italian government banned arrivals from the virus-hit country. “Today in (the city of) Bassano we have the first two patients, two Indians,” announced Luca Zaia, head […]
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — South Africa announced Monday it would shortly resume using Johnson & Johnson anti-Covid vaccines, two weeks after the jab was suspended to vet risks over blood clots. The vaccine will be included in South Africa’s much-delayed anti-Covid vaccination campaign from Wednesday after being given the green light by SAHPRA, the country’s health watchdog. “It has since been established there is a one in a million chance of getting the clot […]
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (AFP) — Kazakhstan on Monday rolled out its homegrown coronavirus vaccine, with the Central Asian country’s health minister receiving the jab on live television. QazCovid-in, also known as QazVac, is a two-shot vaccine that is currently in third stage trials. The state broadcaster Khabar said that 50,000 doses of the vaccine developed by the state-backed Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems have been distributed across the vast oil-rich country. Health Minister Alexei Tsoi told […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong and Singapore on Monday announced plans to resurrect their scrapped coronavirus travel bubble with dedicated flights between the two cities starting on May 26. The two business hubs had to abandon a highly anticipated quarantine-free travel corridor late last year after Hong Kong was hit with a fourth wave of infections. From May 26, one flight per day carrying up to 200 passengers will shuttle between the two […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australian authorities on Monday lifted a snap three-day lockdown of Perth, but faced pointed questions about how the coronavirus leaked from a quarantine hotel for returning travellers. Stay-at-home orders for Perth and surrounding areas will expire at midnight Monday, after just two people contracted Covid-19 out of thousands tested in the region. “It was a circuit breaker we needed to limit community spread and keep our community healthy,” Western Australia state […]
by Murielle KASPRZAK and Joseph SCHMID RAMBOUILLET, France (AFP) — A Tunisian man who stabbed to death a police employee outside Paris watched jihadist propaganda videos just before the attack, France’s anti-terror prosecutor said Sunday, adding that a fifth person was detained for questioning. Based on an analysis of the killer’s cellphone as well as his social media postings, “his radicalisation appears little in doubt,” Jean-Francois Ricard said at a press conference. The 36-year-old attacker, […]
by Jalees Andrabi and Glenda Kwek with Bhuvan Bagga NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India’s capital New Delhi on Sunday extended its lockdown, as the country’s Covid-19 crisis grew with infections and deaths hitting record highs. The healthcare system has struggled to cope with the huge surge, with reports of severe oxygen and medicine shortages and patients’ families pleading for help on social media. India recorded 349,691 new cases and 2,767 deaths in the past […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccinations can restart, US health regulators said Friday, after the shots’ rollout was paused due to worries over blood clotting. Health authorities in the United States on April 14 proposed a halt on the vaccine following instances of severe blood clots among a handful of the millions of Americans who received the vaccine. The news came shortly after an expert panel recommended lifting the pause because […]
by AFP Bureaus PARIS, France (AFP) — The number of Covid-19 jabs administered globally surpassed the one billion mark on Saturday, offering hope even as the number of virus cases worldwide hit a new daily record mainly due to an explosion of infections in India. At least 1,002,938,540 vaccine doses have been administered in 207 countries and territories, according to an AFP tally. Nevertheless, the number of new infections topped 893,000 worldwide on Friday, a […]
