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By Xinqi SU HONG KONG, July 19, 2024 (AFP) – Hong Kong microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung has done battle with some of the world’s worst threats, including the SARS virus he helped isolate and identify. And he has a warning. Another pandemic is inevitable and could exact damage far worse than Covid-19, according to the soft-spoken scientist sometimes thought of as Hong Kong’s answer to top US health expert Anthony Fauci. “Both the public and (world) […]
By Elodie MAZEIN The United States is grappling with a shortage of maintenance workers in the aviation industry, with baby boomers retiring and others changing jobs during the pandemic. This comes as the global fleet of commercial aircraft is set to balloon a third by 2034, involving more than 36,400 vessels, according to a recent study by consulting firm Oliver Wyman. In its wake, spending in the maintenance, repair and overhaul market is projected to […]
By Robin MILLARD GENEVA, March 28, 2024 (AFP) – Two years of talks aimed at striking a landmark global agreement on handling future pandemics failed to seal a deal in time on Thursday, and will restart next month for one final push. Scarred by Covid-19, which shredded economies, overturned societies, crippled health systems and killed millions, countries are trying to craft an international accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. But while they largely agree […]
By Robin MILLARD GENEVA, March 25, 2024 (AFP) – Here are 10 key dates on the pathway towards the signing of an international accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response: May 19, 2020 World Health Organization member states call for an “impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation” of the handling of Covid-19 which will “make recommendations to improve capacity for global pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response”. July 9, 2020 WHO launches the Independent Panel for Pandemic […]
WASHINGTON, June 24, 2023 (AFP) – The head of US intelligence said Friday that there was no evidence that the Covid-19 virus was created in the Chinese government’s Wuhan research lab. In a declassified report, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said they had no information backing recent claims that three scientists at the lab were some of the very first infected with Covid-19 and may have created the virus themselves. Drawing […]
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Monday 1/30/2023 by Robin MILLARD All countries remain “dangerously unprepared” for the next pandemic, the Red Cross warned on Monday, saying future health crises could also collide with increasingly likely climate-related disasters. Despite three “brutal” years of the Covid-19 pandemic, strong preparedness systems are “severely lacking”, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said. The world’s largest humanitarian network said building trust, equity and local action […]
Outside of China, many experts have their attention on the US and Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, which has been detected in 29 countries so far. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead, said it was “the most transmissible subvariant that has been detected yet.” However there is no indication as yet that XBB.1.5 — which has been spreading rapidly in the northeastern United States — causes more severe disease than other types of Covid. […]
Bangkok, Thailand (AFP) Thailand celebrated the arrival of its 10 millionth international visitor of 2022 on Saturday, according to the tourism authority, as the kingdom consolidated the recovery of its Covid-battered travel sector. Thailand welcomed some 40 million people in 2019, but then the pandemic hit and travel was decimated as nations tightened border controls to contain the coronavirus. With those restrictions easing worldwide Thailand’s travel numbers have begun a slow recovery and the government […]
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) – Passenger traffic at Dubai international airport returned to pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter, a statement said on Tuesday, with volumes nearing 18.5 million at the major aviation hub. Dubai, the world’s busiest airport for international passengers before the Covid-19 pandemic, had 18,455,938 visitors in the three months to September, the biggest number since 17.8 million in the first quarter of 2020. “The growth in passenger traffic has been terrific […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – Japan announced Thursday that it will lift tough Covid restrictions on foreign tourists, reopening the borders after two and a half years. Speaking at the New York Stock Exchange, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the pandemic had interrupted the free flow of people, goods and capital that had helped the nation flourish. “But from October 11, Japan will relax border control measures to be on par with the US, […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – US President Joe Biden said in an interview aired Sunday that the Covid pandemic in the United States is over. With Covid restrictions largely eliminated in the country and travel having rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, the comments were reflective of the current status of much of US society. “The pandemic is over. We still have a problem with Covid. We’re still doing a lot of work on it…, but the […]
Pres. Marcos Jr., to meet with various CEOs, economic partners after UN General Assembly speech (Eagle News) – Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said that he expects that the country would “finally begin to emerge” from the difficulties of the pandemic that have hounded the country since 2020. The 65-year old Philippine leader said that he is going to work hard on the country’s economy, which in his view is very much based on agriculture. […]
