International

US reversal prevents UN vote on pandemic truce

  by Philippe RATER Agence France Presse The United States on Friday stunned other members of the UN Security Council by preventing a vote on a resolution for a ceasefire in various conflicts around the world to help troubled nations better fight the coronavirus pandemic, diplomats said. Washington’s reversal came a day after it agreed to the text, negotiators said under cover of anonymity. “The United States cannot support the current draft,” the country’s delegation […]

US suffers biggest job losses in history amid coronavirus pandemic

by Heather SCOTT Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — With shops and factories closed nationwide due to the coronavirus pandemic, nearly all of the jobs created in the US economy in the last decade were wiped out in a single month. An unprecedented 20.5 million jobs were destroyed in April in the world’s largest economy, the biggest amount ever recorded, the Labor Department said in a report released Friday, the first to capture […]

US VP Pence spokeswoman tests positive for COVID-19

  by Sebastian Smith Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US vice president’s spokeswoman became the second White House staffer this week to test positive for coronavirus, officials said Friday, even as President Donald Trump continued to go mask-free at a World War II ,commemoration with veterans in their 90s. News that staffer Katie Miller had fallen ill boosted fears that the White House is at risk of becoming a viral hot […]

Australia plans to lift most virus restrictions by July

  by David MILLIKIN Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s government on Friday unveiled a three-stage plan to get the economy back to a new “COVID-safe” normal by the end of July. Federal authorities have left details of the plan’s implementation up to the country’s diverse states and territories, meaning coronavirus restrictions will remain in place for weeks or months longer in areas hardest hit by the disease. Australia has been one of […]

UN chief says coronavirus has sparked ‘tsunami of hate and xenophobia’

  United Nations (AFP) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Friday for an “all-out effort” to end the “tsunami of hate and xenophobia” sparked by the novel coronavirus pandemic, without naming specific countries. “The pandemic continues to unleash a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scaremongering,” Guterres said in a statement. “Anti-foreigner sentiment has surged online and in the streets. Anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have spread and COVID-19-related anti-Muslim attacks have occurred.” According to Guterres, […]

NKorea’s Kim sends ‘verbal message’ to China’s Xi

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has sent a “verbal message” to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, state media KCNA reported Friday, after weeks of speculation about his health. The news agency did not explain what it meant by a “verbal message,” and it was not clear if Kim and Xi had spoken directly. The message was “in connection with the fact that China is registering success in preventing the COVID-19 infection,” […]

Up to 190,000 could die in Africa if virus containment fails: WHO

  KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) — Up to 190,000 people in Africa could die of coronavirus in the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail, the World Health Organisation warned on Thursday. The UN health agency cited a new study by its regional office in Brazzaville which found that between 83,000 and 190,000 could die and 29 to 44 million be infected during the period. The research is based on prediction modelling and […]

Gas leak at Indian chemical plant kills 11

VISAKHAPATNAM, India (AFP) — Eleven people were killed and hundreds hospitalized after a pre-dawn gas leak at a chemical plant in eastern India on Thursday that left unconscious victims lying in the streets, authorities said. Fears that the death toll from the incident on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam, an industrial port city in Andhra Pradesh state, might rise significantly were not borne out however. The gas escaped from tanks at a complex owned by South […]

Quake jolts Iran capital, sparking panic

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — An earthquake jolted Tehran shortly early on Friday, causing panicked residents to flee buildings for the safety of the streets, AFP journalists reported. The quake struck the Iranian capital at around 00:45 am (2015 GMT) and lasted several seconds, the AFP journalists reported. The website of the Tehran University Seismological Centre was inaccessible. However, according to the Twitter account of the EMSC earthquake monitoring service, it was 4.8 magnitude and its […]

Johnson warns ‘maximum caution’ needed as UK poised to ease lockdown

by Joe JACKSON Agence France Presse LONDO, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told senior ministers on Thursday the government would adopt “maximum caution” as he prepared to outline how lockdown measures imposed to combat the coronavirus outbreak could be eased. Johnson will address the nation on Sunday evening to set out a “roadmap” for relaxing social distancing rules announced in late March, but is not expected to make any major changes […]

At Shanghai High, new back-to-school realities under coronavirus

by Dan Martin Agence France Presse SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — At Shanghai High School, masks and social distancing have muted the adolescent buzz, classmates talk through glass in the canteen, and graduation ceremonies remain in doubt. As schools in coronavirus-hit countries worldwide ponder how the pandemic will alter campus life, China’s phased reopening of in-person classes points to a radically different atmosphere. Students in a number of cities including Shanghai and Beijing began returning to […]

UK to review easing of virus lockdown

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The British government was on Thursday reviewing lockdown measures introduced to combat the coronavirus outbreak, with a partial easing expected to be announced this weekend. Prime Minister Boris Johnson meets Cabinet colleagues, with predictions that unlimited exercise and picnics will soon be allowed as part of the first step of easing restrictions. “We’ll want if we possibly can to get going with some of these measures on Monday. I think […]