International

South Africa passes 700,000 coronavirus cases

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — The number of people in South Africa who have tested positive for coronavirus has topped 700,000, official figures showed overnight, another grim milestone for the continent’s worst-hit country. Statistics released by the health ministry showed 2,019 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, taking the country’s total to 700,203. Its total number of coronavirus-related deaths rose to 18,370 after 61 more were registered over the 24-hour reporting period. South Africa accounts for […]

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Trudeau: Canada will not be cowed by China on human rights

  OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada will continue to defend human rights in China, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged Friday, after a top Chinese diplomat warned Ottawa against welcoming Hong Kong pro-democracy activists. China’s ambassador to Ottawa, Cong Peiwu, warned Canada on Thursday against granting asylum to Hong Kong activists, which he said could have consequences for the “health and security” for the 300,000 Canadians living in the theoretically autonomous Chinese territory. The Canadian daily […]

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Japan to release treated Fukushima water into sea: reports

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan will release more than a million tonnes of treated radioactive water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea in a decades-long operation, reports said Friday, despite strong opposition from local fishermen. The release of the water, which has been filtered to reduce radioactivity, is likely to start in 2022 at the earliest, said national dailies the Nikkei, the Yomiuri, and other local media. The decision ends years […]

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10,000 protesters defy Thai crackdown after emergency decree, arrests

by Thanaporn PROMYAMYAI and Lisa MARTIN BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Some 10,000 Thai protesters gathered Thursday in defiance of a sweeping crackdown after authorities moved to crush months of pro-democracy demonstrations by imposing emergency powers and rounding up leading activists. Protesters chanted “Prayut get out!” and “Free our friends!” as they confronted police at Ratchaprasong, a busy junction in central Bangkok, despite a new decree that bans gatherings of more than four people — aimed […]

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France daily coronavirus cases top record 30,000

PARIS, France (AFP) — The number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus in France over the past 24 hours has exceeded 30,000 for the first time, official data showed on Thursday. France’s public health agency said that a total 30,621 confirmed cases of Covid-19 had been detected in the past 24 hours, a record daily total. The number of people who have died from the novel coronavirus over the same 24-hour period stood […]

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WHO warns Europe virus surge of ‘great concern’

  by Agence France Presse bureaus eausEuropean countries have unveiled tough new measures to try to curb a surge in coronavirus infections which the World Health Organization warned Thursday is of “great concern”. Underscoring the disruption wrought by Covid-19 even in the corridors of power, US presidential candidate Joe Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris suspended travel after a staffer contracted the disease and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen abruptly left a summit in Brussels […]

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‘Corona chaos’ as Germans baffled by virus rules

by Femke COLBORNE Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — When Covid-19 first struck Europe earlier this year, Germany’s federal system was credited with taking early and targeted measures that helped contain the virus better than many other countries. But as the second wave gathers momentum in Europe’s biggest economy, cracks in the federal system are starting to show. With different states implementing different travel restrictions, quarantine rules and test strategies, a confusing patchwork of […]

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Russia registers new Covid vaccine, EpiVacCorona, as cases hit record high

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — President Vladimir Putin announced on Wednesday that Russia has registered its second coronavirus vaccine, while the country reported a record number of new infections. “The Novosibirsk Vektor centre today registered the second Russian vaccine against coronavirus — EpiVacCorona,” Putin said during a video conference with cabinet members. Vektor, a top-secret laboratory in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, conducted biological weapons research in the Soviet era and stockpiles viruses ranging from Ebola […]

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13 cases, 10 million tests: China swabs city after coronavirus outbreak

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Almost 10 million people in the Chinese city of Qingdao have now been screened for the coronavirus, officials said Thursday, as authorities rushed to quash an outbreak through an ambitious program of mass testing. Deputy mayor Luan Xin said more than 9.9 million samples had been collected and 7.6 million results returned, adding that no new cases had been found. The city has now confirmed 13 cases, Luan told a regular […]

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Heavy rains kill 30 in southern India

HYDERABAD, India (AFP) —  least 30 people have been killed because of sudden torrential rains and flooding in southern India, officials said Thursday. In Hyderabad city, home to top IT companies, nine people were killed when a wall collapsed on them and 10 others died from electrocution and drowning, a local official told AFP. Dramatic images showed cars being washed away by swirling waters, bridges submerged by swollen rivers and trucks stranded on roads inundated […]

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France says to re-impose state of health emergency

PARIS, France (AFP) — The French government said on Wednesday it was re-imposing a state of health emergency to contain the spread of Covid-19. The move, announced shortly before President Emmanuel Macron was to appear on national television to announce fresh coronavirus measures, will allow “measures proportional to the health risks to be taken”, and will enter into force on Saturday, according to minutes from a cabinet meeting Wednesday. France was facing “a health catastrophe”, […]

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YouTube to remove Covid vaccine misinformation

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — YouTube said Wednesday it would take down content which contradicts expert consensus about Covid-19 vaccines, updating its policies on misinformation about the pandemic. The move is the latest by online platforms struggling to contain the spread of hoaxes and false information about the coronavirus and treatments. YouTube, the Google-owned video-sharing service, said it was expanding its medical misinformation policy “to remove claims about Covid-19 vaccinations that contradict expert consensus from […]

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