International

Trump says immigration suspension to last 60 days

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was suspending immigration for green card seekers for 60 days, arguing the controversial move would help Americans find work again after coronavirus caused a surge in unemployment. Trump told reporters at the White House the suspension would come into force through an executive order that he would likely sign on Wednesday as he offered the first details about a vague announcement he made […]

UK coronavirus death toll rises by 828 to 17,337: ministry

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — A total of 17,337 people in hospital with coronavirus have died in Britain, new health ministry figures showed Tuesday, an increase of 828 on the previous day. The daily increase in deaths, which excludes those in care homes, is a significant increase on Monday’s tally but numbers are always lower at the start of the week due to reporting delays over the weekend. © Agence France-Presse

Dozens killed in eastern DR Congo floods

BUKAVU, DR Congo (AFP) — Forty-six people have died in heavy flooding that struck the town of Uvira in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, destroying thousands of homes, local officials said on Tuesday, warning the tally could be much higher. “The updated toll is 30 dead, but it’s still very provisional as there are still people trapped in the rubble” of their homes, deputy mayor Kapenda Kyky Kifara told AFP. “It will take weeks […]

Beijing names islands in disputed South China Sea

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Tuesday defended its naming of 80 islands and other geographical features in the South China Sea in a move likely to anger neighbors as the country asserts its territorial claims. A joint announcement of the names on Sunday from the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Civil Affairs came a day after China established new administrative districts for the contested Spratly and Paracel island chains. The notice […]

DFA repatriates 60 Filipinos, their dependents from New Zealand

(Eagle News) — Sixty Filipinos and their dependents were repatriated from New Zealand amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement on Monday, April 20, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Filipinos had been stranded due to the alert level 4 and border lockdown imposed by the New Zealand government to flatten the COVID-19 curve. The New Zealand government has since then lowered the alert to level 3. “The Embassy has been working closely with […]

Italy sees second successive drop in active virus cases

ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy reported its second successive drop Tuesday in the number of current coronavirus cases as it neared a crucial decision on whether to extend its national lockdown. The civil protection service said the number of people officially being treated for COVID-19 fell by 528 to a total of 107,709. The number went down by 20 on Monday — its first decline since the Mediterranean country reported its initial cases two months […]

Trump curbs immigration as UN warns of food shortages

by Chris Lefkow with AFP bureaux Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump announced partial curbs on immigration Tuesday to “protect American workers” amid the economic carnage of the coronavirus pandemic. As Trump announced a 60-day pause in the issuing of “green cards” to people seeking permanent residency in the US, the United Nations warned that the virus could trigger famine in already vulnerable countries. The bleak warning came as […]

More than 2,700 dead in US from coronavirus in last 24 hours

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The coronavirus death toll in the United States — the country with the most fatalities in the pandemic — has climbed by 2,751 in the past 24 hours, the latest tally from Johns Hopkins University showed Tuesday. The US has recorded more than 800,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to the Baltimore-based university, with 44,845 deaths. Nearly 40,000 new cases were reported between Monday […]

Cuomo presses Trump for more federal help in coronavirus testing

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo pressed President Donald Trump Tuesday for more help from the federal government to carry out coronavirus testing during a face-to face-meeting he described as cordial and productive after weeks of sometimes nasty exchanges. As the virus death toll in the US keeps rising and now stands at nearly 45,000, widespread testing is viewed as key to states being able to lift stay-at-home orders and reopen […]

Coronavirus takes mental toll on New York’s medical staff

by Laura BONILLA Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Battling to keep intensive care patients alive at a hospital in one of New York City’s worst-affected coronavirus neighborhoods is taking a toll on nurse Debbie Sanchez’s mental health. “I have extreme anxiety,” said Sanchez, who has been working 12-hour shifts covered head-to-toe in protective clothing since New York became the epicenter of America’s COVID-19 outbreak last month. Sanchez, 57, was working in […]

Trump says immigration suspension to last 60 days

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was suspending immigration for green card seekers for 60 days, arguing the controversial move would help Americans find work again after coronavirus caused a surge in unemployment. Trump told reporters at the White House the suspension would come into force through an executive order that he would likely sign on Wednesday as he offered the first details about a vague announcement he made Monday […]

France reports 531 new coronavirus deaths, total toll 20,796

PARIS, France (AFP) — France on Tuesday reported 531 deaths from COVID-19 in 24 hours as the number of people in hospital and intensive care continued to decline. The daily tally — 387 deaths in hospital and 144 in nursing homes — brought France’s total epidemic death toll to 20,796, top health official Jerome Salomon told reporters. There were 30,106 infected people in hospital, he said — a daily decline of 478 in an encouraging […]