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MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — One of the world’s most locked-down cities will reopen late Thursday, with Melbourne residents hoping this sixth bout of stay-at-home restrictions will be their last. Five million people in Australia’s second-biggest city have endured lockdowns totalling more than 260 days since the beginning of the pandemic. But now that 70 percent of eligible people in Melbourne and surrounding Victoria state are fully vaccinated, restrictions that began on August 5 will be […]
FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) — A third dose of the vaccine against Covid-19 developed by Pfizer/BioNTech is 95.6 percent effective against symptomatic infection, according to a study by the makers published on Thursday. The clinical phase three trial with “10,000 participants 16 years of age and older” showed “a relative vaccine efficacy of 95.6 percent against disease during a period when Delta was the prevalent strain”, the companies said in a statement. © Agence France-Presse
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo will lift curbs on bar and restaurant opening hours as virus cases in the Japanese capital hit their lowest level this year, officials said Thursday. It is the latest softening of virus restrictions in Japan, where cases have been in freefall for weeks, which experts ascribe to a rapid increase in the vaccination rate. Nationwide, new infections have plunged from record highs of over 25,800 in August to under 400 […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A gas explosion at a restaurant ripped through a busy street in a major Chinese city on Thursday, killing at least four people and injuring dozens, local authorities said. Dramatic footage from a nearby car’s dashboard camera, published by state media, showed a large cloud of smoke and dust erupting over the street as people ran to safety. State broadcaster CCTV showed windows ripped out of several buildings in a street […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — More than 250,000 homes in France were without electricity on Thursday after gale-force winds swept the north of the country overnight, power grid operator Enedis said. Rail traffic was also affected by storm “Aurore”, which has been causing devastation since Wednesday afternoon. Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said in a tweet that the Ile-de-France region around Paris, Normandy, northern France and eastern Lorraine regions were the worst affected. Social media were abuzz […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s first domestically-developed space rocket failed to put its dummy payload into orbit after its maiden launch on Thursday, President Moon Jae-in said. The launch and all three stages of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle II worked, as did the payload separation, Moon said, but “putting a dummy satellite into orbit remains an unfinished mission”. © Agence France-Presse
(Eagle News) — Philippine National Police Chief Guillermo Eleazar on Thursday, Oct. 21, reiterated his appeal for the public to follow minimum health protocols when going out. Eleazar made the appeal following reports that health and safety protocols were violated by some people visiting Manila Bay following the easing of restrictions in Metro Manila over the weekend. Health authorities earlier said there was apparent complacency following the downgrading of the alert level in the region […]
(Eagle News) — COVID-19 cases in the Philippines rose to 2740111 on Thursday, Oct. 21, after the Department of Health reported 4806 additional cases. According to the DOH, of the total cases, 65835 were active. Of these, 78.7 percent were mild, 6.2 percent asymptomatic, 2 percent were critical, 4.6 percent were severe, and 8.53 percent were moderate. Recoveries rose to 2633039 with the addition of 5934 recoveries. The COVID-19 death toll is now at 41237 […]
(Eagle News) — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said he wants to be remembered as the health secretary who helped the country beat the COVID-19 pandemic. In an interview with the NET25-Radyo Agila program “Ano Sa Palagay N’yo?”, Duque said this is the second time that he was called to head the Department of Health, but this time, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the most challenging so far. “For one, I am […]
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) – Nearly 200 people have died in floods and landslides in India and Nepal, officials said Thursday, with whole families buried in their homes and two young girls swept away as forecasters warned of yet more heavy rain. Experts say that they were victims of the ever-more unpredictable and extreme weather that has hit South Asia in recent years caused by climate change and exacerbated by deforestation, damming and excessive development. […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) – New Zealand passed a law Thursday forcing banks to reveal the impact of their investments on climate change, describing it as a world-first move to make the financial sector’s environmental record more transparent. Climate Change Minister James Shaw said the law meant banks, insurance companies and investment firms would make mandatory disclosures about their portfolios’ global warming record from next year. Shaw, who will head to Glasgow later this month […]
by Aishwarya KUMAR Agence France Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India administered its billionth Covid-19 vaccine dose on Thursday, half a year after a devastating surge in cases brought the health system close to collapse. According to the government, around three-quarters of adults in the country of 1.3 billion people have had one shot and around 30 percent are fully vaccinated. However, hundreds of millions of Indians under 18 — who make up […]
