International

Russia sets records for virus cases, deaths

  MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Thursday registered record numbers for daily infections and deaths from the coronavirus, as the country avoids reimposing a nationwide lockdown. Health officials reported 29,935 new infections, bringing the country’s caseload to 2,963,688 — the fourth-highest in the world. They also registered 635 deaths, increasing total fatalities to 53,096 since the beginning of the pandemic. Russia’s death rate is much lower than that of other badly hit countries, raising […]

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Israel announces third nationwide virus lockdown

  JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel announced Thursday that it will impose a nationwide lockdown from next week, its third of the Covid-19 pandemic, just days after it began vaccinations against the virus. “A general lockdown will be imposed from 17:00 (1500 GMT) on Sunday for two weeks,” a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said. “There is an option to extend the lockdown for an additional two weeks, unless the basic reproduction number (for […]

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Brazilian institute says Chinese vaccine effective

    SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Clinical trials of the CoronaVac coronavirus vaccine developed by Chinese laboratory Sinovac have “reached the efficacy threshold” demanded by the World Health Organization, the Brazilian institute charged with its production and distribution said on Wednesday. However, the Butantan Institute didn’t publish the results of those trials — the last before authorization. “We’re reached the efficacy threshold that allows us to seek an emergency use” authorization from Brazil’s Anvisa […]

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One million vaccinated as US eyes return to normal next summer

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — More than a million Americans have received the first dose of their Covid-19 vaccines, a senior official said Wednesday, as the US eyes a return to normal by next summer. The news comes as the winter surge in cases rages across the country, where the virus has claimed more than 320,000 lives and is on course to be the third leading cause of death in the year. Centers for Disease […]

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EU starts to ease bans over UK virus strain; WHO to meet

  by Martine PAUWELS with Agence France Presse bureaus LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Europe on Wednesday began lifting travel bans on Britain put in place to contain a new fast-spreading Covid strain while WHO experts were set to meet on a response to it. Meanwhile, in the United States, President Donald Trump rejected a massive Covid economic relief package passed by Congress, branding it “a disgrace” as millions of Americans are suffering fallout from […]

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Three police shot dead, fourth wounded in central France: prosecutors

LYON, France (AFP) — Three police were shot dead and a fourth wounded in Puy-de-Dome in central France on Wednesday, sources in the public prosecutor’s office told AFP. The police officers, who were responding to a call over domestic violence, were shot by a 48-year-old man as they attempted to rescue a woman. © Agence France-Presse

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Mexico to receive first batch of coronavirus vaccines

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexico will receive its first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccines on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Tuesday. “What they are confirming to us is that the first shipment to Mexico will arrive tomorrow,” he said. The first 1.4 million doses of the vaccine produced by the partnership between US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech will arrive from Belgium. Mexico has been promised 34.4 million doses by […]

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Biden says he will ask Congress to pass another Covid relief bill

WILMINGTON, United States (AFP) — President-elect Joe Biden said Tuesday he will ask the US Congress to pass another Covid-19 relief bill after taking office in January. “Congress did its job this week. And I can and I must ask them to do it again next year,” Biden said in a pre-holiday address to the American people. Biden was speaking a day after lawmakers approved a $900 billion relief package that will provide a long-sought […]

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Scientists scramble to assess mutated coronavirus

by Marlowe HOOD Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — As dozens of countries blocked the flow of people and goods from Britain to avoid a new and more contagious strain of coronavirus, scientists raced to understand how it emerged and the scope of its threat. Here are some of the key questions they are asking, and the answers that have emerged so far. – How often do viruses mutate? – All the time, but […]

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France rewards frontline Covid workers with citizenship

PARIS, France (AFP) — Hundreds of foreigners in France whose jobs expose them to high Covid-19 risks will be naturalised quickly for their commitment during the health crisis, the interior ministry said Tuesday. The ministry had in September invited people who “actively contributed” to the fight against the novel coronavirus to apply for fast-track naturalization. Of the nearly 3,000 people who responded, 74 had already obtained citizenship and 693 more were in the final stage […]

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US warship sails by China-claimed Spratly Islands

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — An American warship sailed through waters off the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on Thursday, in the latest challenge to Beijing’s sweeping territorial claims in the region. Guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain “asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the Spratly Islands,” the US Seventh fleet said in a statement. “This freedom of navigation operation… upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognized in […]

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BioNTech says can make mutation-beating vaccine in six weeks

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — The co-founder of BioNTech said Tuesday it was “highly likely” that its vaccine against the coronavirus works against the mutated strain detected in Britain, but it could also adapt the vaccine if necessary in six weeks. “Scientifically, it is highly likely that the immune response by this vaccine also can deal with the new virus variant,” said Ugur Sahin. But if needed, “in principle the beauty of the messenger technology is […]

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