International

In an African forest, a fight to save the endangered pangolin

by Camille LAFFONT Pictures by FLORENT VERGNES Agence France-Presse DZANGA-SANGHA NATIONAL PARK, Central African Republic (AFP) — The prehistoric shape is hard to make out as it moves slowly through the gloomy forest, so trackers listen for the rustle of scales against the leaves to pick up its trail. Their target is the long-tailed pangolin — a little mammal also called the scaly anteater, which will be lucky to survive to the end of this century. […]

Sixty Australian newspapers to stop printing

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Rupert Murdoch’s Australian flagship media group News Corp announced Wednesday it will stop printing around 60 regional newspapers, as the troubled sector received a fresh blow from a COVID-19 advertising downturn. News Corp said papers in the states of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia would cease printing and move online. “We have not taken this decision lightly,” News Corp Australasia Executive Chairman Michael Miller was quoted as […]

US virus deaths pass 4,000: Johns Hopkins

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The total US death toll from the coronavirus pandemic topped 4,000 early Wednesday, more than double the number from three days earlier, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The number of deaths was 4,076 — more than twice the 2,010 recorded late Saturday. More than 40 percent of recorded deaths nationally were in New York state, the Johns Hopkins data showed. On Tuesday the United States exceeded the […]

WATCH: A daughter’s plea in a time of crisis

WASHINGTON DC (Eagle News) — COVID-19 is undeniably changing the way we interact. Not just with other people but even with those dear to us. Watch how a daughter and her eighty year-old mother from New Jersey, are handling the complications of social distancing with a “high-risk” person in the house.

Trump, Erdogan stress need for Syria, Libya ceasefires: W.House

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan underlined Tuesday the need for ceasefires in Syria and Libya during the coronavirus pandemic, the White House said. The two spoke by phone on efforts to “defeat the virus and bolster the global economy,” the White House said in a statement. And they “agreed it is more important now than ever for countries in conflict, particularly Syria and Libya, […]

Italy doctors warn of ‘bio bombs’ from patients sent to care homes

by Ella IDE ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italian doctors and unions have warned that a government policy to send patients discharged from a hospital but still positive for coronavirus to care homes is like priming “biological bombs”. With over 28,000 people in hospital including more than 4,000 in intensive care, beds need to be freed up as soon as possible, and those unable to convalesce in isolation at home are being moved to care homes […]

WATCH: Maryland State Police issues instructions on stay-at-home order

WASHINGTON DC (Eagle News) — Maryland State police superintendent , Col. Woodrow Jones, III, releases new and specific instructions to state residents. EBC Maryland Bureau Correspondent, Ken Cruz, further explains the new specific stay-at-home orders. Specifics include: State Troopers will not make traffic stops to check where residents are going Suggested to have travel documentation if you’re an “essential employee” Enforce action if a business or gathering has more than 10 people. The new instructions […]

Coronavirus: Las Vegas parking lot becomes homeless shelter

LAS VEGAS, United States (AFP) — A parking lot in Las Vegas has been turned into a temporary emergency zone for homeless people after a man staying at a local charity tested positive for coronavirus, prompting the facility to close. City officials said they were forced at the weekend to transform the upper parking lot of the Cashman Center as a refuge after the closure of the Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada left 500 people […]

Water crisis could sabotage Zimbabwe’s coronavirus lockdown

by Ish MAFUNDIKWA HARARE, Zimbabwe (AFP) — Buckets and jerrycans in hand or in wheelbarrows, dozens of Zimbabweans stand close to each other in a long queue, patiently waiting at a borehole in Harare’s middle-class Mabelreign suburb to collect water. While this is a daily sight, this week things are different. The water-short southern African country is starting to enforce a 21-day lockdown to try contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus. People are supposed […]

US working on plan to allow virus-hit ship to dock

by Leila MACOR FORT LAUDERDALE, United States (AFP) — US authorities were finalizing a plan on Tuesday to allow a coronavirus-stricken cruise ship, the Zaandam, to dock in Florida after its operator warned that more passengers may die if it is left out at sea. “Already four guests have passed away and I fear other lives are at risk,” Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line, said in a column published in the South Florida […]

China lockdown may have blocked 700,000 virus cases: researchers

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — China’s decision to lock down the city of Wuhan, ground zero for the global COVID-19 pandemic, may have prevented more than 700,000 new cases by delaying the spread of the virus, researchers said Tuesday. Drastic Chinese control measures in the first 50 days of the epidemic bought other cities across the country valuable time to prepare and install their own restrictions, according to the paper by researchers in China, the […]