International

Pompeo vows to hold Iran ‘accountable’ over satellite launch

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday accused Iran of violating a UN Security Council resolution through a satellite launch and vowed repercussions. “I think Iran needs to be held accountable for what they’ve done,” Pompeo told reporters. Iran announced Wednesday that it had put its first military satellite in orbit after repeated tries and despite intense economic and military pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration. The Trump administration […]

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France reports 544 new coronavirus deaths, total toll 21,340: official

PARIS, France (AFP) — France on Wednesday reported 544 more deaths from COVID-19 in hospitals and nursing homes over the last 24 hours but registered new falls in the total numbers of coronavirus patients. The total toll from the epidemic in France has now risen to 21,340, top health official Jerome Salomon told reporters while adding that there were now 365 fewer coronavirus patients in the hospital and 215 fewer in intensive care compared with […]

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UK virus measures could last for months, health official warns

by Alice RITCHIE Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Social-distancing measures to tackle coronavirus are likely to be in place for many more months, one of Britain’s top health officials warned on Wednesday, as the world waits for either a vaccine or drugs that can stop people dying. “Until we have those — and the probability of having those any time in the next calendar year is incredibly small… we are going to […]

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WHO warns ‘long way to go’ in virus crisis, deaths top 180,000

by Robin Millard, with AFP bureaus Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization on Wednesday warned that the coronavirus crisis would not end any time soon, with many countries only in the early stages of the fight, as the global death toll surpassed 180,000. The pandemic has sparked not only a health emergency, but a global economic rout, with businesses struggling to survive, millions left jobless, and millions more facing starvation. […]

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Iran reports 94 virus deaths but cases going down

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran announced on Wednesday 94 new deaths from the novel coronavirus but said the cases of people infected in the country was on the way down. Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said the fatalities detected in the past 24 hours took Iran’s overall death toll to 5,391. The number of people infected with the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease rose by 1,194, bringing the total to 85,996. “The gradual downward […]

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Watch: PHL Consul General in UAE talks about the situation of Filipinos there

The Philippine consul general in the United Arab Emirates said Filipinos there are being helped by the UAE government in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes said that Filipinos, along with the other migrants in UAE, who have been affected by the lockdown measures, are also being provided with food and testing for COVID-19. There is also a program in UAE who are helping people who had to stop work […]

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Eight babies and toddlers catch coronavirus at Tokyo centre

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Eight babies and toddlers at a Tokyo care centre have tested positive for the coronavirus after a staff member contracted the disease, its operator said on Wednesday. Tokyo Saiseikai Central Hospital, which operates the facility, said the affected children had been hospitalised, while another 21 tested negative and were under observation. The facility is for orphans or children separated from their parents because of possible abuse or neglect. A staff member […]

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Germany to start first clinical tests on coronavirus vaccine

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany has authorized its first clinical test of a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, the country’s regulatory body said Wednesday, green-lighting trials on human volunteers for an RNA vaccine developed by German firm Biontech and US giant Pfizer. “The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut… has authorized the first clinical trial of a vaccine against COVID-19 in Germany,” the regulatory body said in a statement. It added that approval was the “result of a careful assessment […]

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China’s northeast tightens restrictions as virus resurges

BEIJING, China (AFP) — New clusters of coronavirus infections in northeastern China near the Russian border forced officials Wednesday to tighten restrictions on movement as they seek to prevent a second outbreak of the contagion. China has largely curbed the spread of the deadly virus, but there are growing fears of a second wave of cases and Heilongjiang province has emerged as a new front in the battle. The region has seen an influx of […]

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Half of French private-sector workers now unemployed: minister

  PARIS, France (AFP) — More than 10 million employees in France — one out of every two in the private sector — have been laid off during the coronavirus lockdown and are now benefiting from an extended indemnity programme to weather the crisis, the government said Wednesday. “Today in France there are 10.2 million employees whose salaries are being paid by the state,” Labour Minister Muriel Penicaud told BFM television. Around 820,000 employers, or […]

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Autopsies reveal US virus deaths weeks before first reported fatality

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Two people who died in California in early and mid-February were confirmed Tuesday as coronavirus cases — weeks before the first reported COVID-19 fatality in the United States. Autopsies on the two individuals who died at home on February 6 and February 17 showed they had succumbed to COVID-19, the Santa Clara County coroner said, after receiving confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Another person […]

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34 crew have virus on cruise ship docked for repairs in Japan

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — At least 34 crew members aboard a cruise ship docked in the Japanese city of Nagasaki have tested positive for coronavirus, local authorities said on Wednesday. The Costa Atlantica first arrived in Nagasaki in January to undergo repairs, with several hundred crew on board. Over the weekend, the ship’s operator contacted local authorities seeking help to test suspected cases on board. An initial four tests carried out on the ship revealed […]

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