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CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Sunday that his government has agreed to buy 10 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19. The vaccines will come in the first quarter of 2021, Maduro said at an event in Caracas broadcast on government television, adding that “Venezuela will manufacture the Russian vaccine in the Venezuelan laboratories.” In August, Russia became the first country to register a vaccine against Covid-19, which it […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday failed to push through additional curbs to combat the coronavirus, as she said ongoing restrictions have helped to halt a runaway rise in infection numbers. Speaking after talks with the leaders of Germany’s 16 states, Merkel said the country had managed to “break the dynamic of new infections” after restaurants, leisure facilities and cultural sites were ordered to close again from the start of November. But […]
by Shingo ITO Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s economy exited recession in the third quarter, growing a better-than-expected 5.0 percent, government data showed Monday, following a record contraction. A rise in domestic demand as well as exports helped drive the quarter-on-quarter growth, after the coronavirus pandemic and a consumption tax hike slammed the economy into reverse earlier in the year. The positive figures come after three quarters of contraction in the […]
by Joseph SOTINEL Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Bitcoin’s rally above $15,000 has reignited debate over whether the cryptocurrency is so-called digital gold or a perilously risky bet as investors grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. The world’s most popular virtual unit has gained over 30 percent in value in almost three weeks up to Friday (November 6), taking it close to its December 2017 peak when it reached nearly $20,000. After […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — More than 1.3 million people have been killed by the novel coronavirus worldwide, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP. In total, there have been at least 1,303,783 deaths for 53,380,442 declared cases of Covid-19, although experts say the official data is likely to capture only a fraction of the number of total infections and fatalities. New cases and deaths are accelerating again as a second wave […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Secret Service, which guards President Donald Trump, President-elect Joe Biden, and the White House, has been struck by an outbreak of Covid-19, US media reported Friday. The Washington Post said that more than 130 Secret Service agents were infected by coronavirus or in quarantine due to contact with infected people. The outbreak came after numerous agents traveled to campaign rallies with Trump where many officials and most […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — A spike in coronavirus infections across the United States and Europe hit Asian markets again Friday as traders fear another wave of lockdown measures will throw an already shaky economic recovery off course. The rally fuelled by excitement over a possible vaccine before 2021 and relief at Joe Biden’s US election win has given way to the reality that while there is light at the end of the tunnel, […]
by Nina LARSON Agence France-Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Data indicating that a vaccine being developed against Covid-19 is highly effective is the “best science news of the year”, a pharmaceutical industry association chief said, voicing hope that other vaccine candidates would show equally good results. “A vaccine that has 90 percent efficacy and is pretty safe, that is a historic breakthrough,” the head of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), Thomas […]
by Ivan Couronne Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States could be the first country to launch one of the most ambitious vaccine operations in history: distributing and administering up to 600 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine in just a few months. Massive vaccine campaigns are nothing new — they have been carried out for decades in the fight against the measles and flu, for example. But stamping out […]
by Pia OHLIN with AFP bureaus Agence France Presse STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) — The European Union expressed hope Wednesday that it could start vaccinating people against the novel coronavirus as early as next year, as Italy recorded more than one million cases and Britain said its death toll has surpassed the 50,000 mark. The head of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Andrea Ammon, told AFP that a vaccination programme could […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AGP) — Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla sold $5.6 million of his stock in the US pharmaceutical company on the same day it announced promising results for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, filings showed Wednesday. The company, however, has reportedly said the sale was part of a pre-arranged periodic divestment plan when the stock reaches a certain price. According to a disclosure with US market regulator SEC, Bourla sold 132,508 shares at $41.94 each […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine is 92 percent effective according to initial test results, its developers said on Wednesday, as Moscow races against its competitors in the West. The calculations were based on results from 16,000 individuals who received both doses of the vaccine, Russia’s health ministry, the state-run Gamaleya research center and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement. “The Sputnik V vaccine had an efficacy rate […]
