International

WHO calls for new lockdowns in Pakistan as virus surges

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AFP) — The World Health Organization has told Pakistan it should implement “intermittent” lockdowns to counter a surge in coronavirus infections that has come as the country loosens restrictions, an official said Tuesday. Since the start of Pakistan’s outbreak in March, Prime Minister Imran Khan opposed a nationwide lockdown of the sort seen elsewhere, arguing the impoverished country could not afford it. Instead, Pakistan’s four provinces ordered a patchwork of closures, but last […]

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UK passes 50,000 coronavirus-related deaths

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The number of suspected and confirmed deaths from coronavirus in Britain has passed the grim milestone of 50,000, the government said on Tuesday. Business Secretary Alok Sharma cited analysis from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which said 50,107 people had died in the outbreak. The ONS assessed all deaths where COVID-19 was mentioned or suspected on the death certificate up to May 29. Officially, the government only counts the […]

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Vietnam’s lychee crop not bearing fruit as prices slump

BAC GIANG, Vietnam (AFP) — Hundreds of lychee farmers sorted and graded huge piles of the tropical fruit at a busy wholesale market in northern Vietnam on Tuesday, but many bemoaned slumping prices as foreign traders were held up in quarantine. After mounting an aggressive response to the coronavirus pandemic, life in the country is back to relative normality and workers clustered together mask-free at dawn in Bac Giang province, their motorbikes fitted with baskets […]

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Iran will execute spy who helped US target general

by Amir Havasi TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Tehran said Tuesday it will execute an Iranian for spying for the United States and Israel after his conviction was upheld for helping the US to locate a top Iranian general killed in a drone strike. Mahmoud Mousavi Majd was convicted of spying on Iran’s armed forces, “especially the Quds Force and on the whereabouts and movements of martyr General Qasem Soleimani”, judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said in […]

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Ebola vaccinations underway in new DR Congo outbreak

KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) — Health workers in northwest Democratic Republic of Congo have begun administering vaccinations after the country’s 11th known outbreak of Ebola erupted last week, the authorities said Monday. Six people have died of the much-feared haemorrhagic virus since June 1, when the first cases came to light in Mbandaka, capital of Equateur province. The outbreak coincides with a waning epidemic in the east of the country where 2,280 have died since […]

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WHO says coronavirus situation ‘worsening’ worldwide

by Robin MILLARD GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization said Monday that the coronavirus pandemic situation was worsening around the globe, as it warned against complacency. The WHO said it had recorded its highest daily tally of new infections, with COVID-19 raging in the Americas. And as mass protests for racial justice sweep across the United States and beyond, the United Nations’ health agency urged anyone demonstrating to do so safely. The novel […]

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N. Korea to cut communication lines to ‘enemy’ South: KCNA

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea will cut military and political communication lines to “enemy” South Korea on Tuesday, state media said, after threats over activists sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets over the border. Pyongyang “will completely cut off and shut down the liaison line between the authorities of the North and the South, which has been maintained through the North-South joint liaison office,” as well as other communication links “from 12:00 on June 9, 2020,” […]

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Pakistan hospitals running out of beds as virus cases surge past 100,000

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AFP) — Pakistan has recorded more than 100,000 cases of coronavirus, health authorities said Monday, as hospitals warned they are running out of beds to treat patients. Pakistan — and neighbors India and Afghanistan — have lagged behind Western nations in virus tolls, but experts warn a lack of testing or accurate reporting in rural areas could be hiding true figures. In recent weeks, however, the country of more than 210 million has […]

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Joyful PM Ardern declares New Zealand virus victory

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand lifted all domestic coronavirus restrictions on Monday after its final COVID-19 patient was given the all clear, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealing she danced around her living room when told about the milestone. While strict border controls will remain in place, Ardern said restrictions such as social distancing and limits on public gatherings were no longer needed. “We are confident we have eliminated transmission of the virus […]

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Minneapolis council vows police dismantling as protests continue

by Diane DESOBEAU / Brian KNOWLTON WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Councilors in the US city of Minneapolis pledged late Sunday to dismantle and rebuild the police department, after the death in custody of George Floyd sparked nationwide protests about racism in law enforcement, pushing the issue onto the national political agenda. Floyd was killed on May 25 when white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on the unarmed black man’s neck for […]

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Tropical Storm Cristobal makes landfall in Louisiana

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Tropical Storm Cristobal made landfall in southeast Louisiana on Sunday, bringing strong winds, heavy rains and the threat of damaging storm surges, the US National Hurricane Center said. The storm hit at 2200 GMT along the southeast coast of the state, the NHC said, with maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour). A nearby island off the coast of Mississippi recorded gusts of 64 mph. […]

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Strong earthquake shakes Papua New Guinea, no tsunami warning

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A strong 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea early Monday, the US Geological Survey that tracks worldwide quakes reported. The quake struck at 20:06 GMT Sunday with an epicenter on land 131 kilometers (81 miles) southwest of the city of Kokopo, and at a depth of nearly 53 kilometers, the USGS said. No tsunami warning was issued, and there were no initial reports of casualties or damage. © Agence France-Presse

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