International

France police turn to drones to help ensure virus confinement

by Jules BONNARD PARIS, France (AFP) — With millions locked down across France during the COVID-19 pandemic, overstretched police are struggling to ensure people stay indoors, especially with spring approaching. Authorities are increasingly turning to drones to patrol streets, parks and riverbanks, and manufacturers are more than happy to meet the demand. Authorities struggle at times to convince people to curb their instincts and spend less time outside, especially when the weather is good. The […]

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France reports 365 more coronavirus deaths, including 16-year-old

PARIS, France (AFP) — France on Thursday reported that 365 people, including a 16-year-old girl, had died from the coronavirus over the last 24 hours, the country’s highest daily toll. Top French health official Jerome Salomon told reporters that a total of 1,696 people had died in hospital in France from the virus, emphasizing that the toll does not include those who died at home or at retirement homes. He said that 29,155 people had […]

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Dogs being trained to sniff out COVID-19: charity

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — A British charity has teamed up with scientists to see whether dogs could help detect COVID-19 through their keen sense of smell, they said on Friday. Medical Detection Dogs will work with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Durham University in northeast England to determine whether canines could help diagnoses. It follows previous research into dogs’ ability to sniff out malaria and is based on a […]

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Trump to discuss coronavirus with China’s Xi later Thursday

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump said he will speak by phone with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping later Thursday as the United States overtook China as the country with the most coronavirus cases. Trump told a press conference he would be speaking to Xi at 9:00 pm (0100 GMT Friday). With 82,404 cases of infection, the United States has now surpassed virus hotspots China and Italy, according to a tracker run by […]

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US has world’s most confirmed coronavirus cases: trackers

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The United States now has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the world, according to data gathered both by Johns Hopkins University and The New York Times. In reaching the grim milestone on Thursday, the country of 330 million people surpassed virus hotspots China and Italy. Johns Hopkins said the US has 82,404 cases, while the Times said there were at least 81,321 people who tested positive […]

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UK records over 100 daily COVID-19 deaths for first time

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain recorded more than 100 coronavirus deaths in a 24-hour period for the first time on Thursday, with 115 people who tested positive for the virus dying. “As of 5pm (1700 GMT) on 25 March 2020, 578 patients in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) have died,” said the official government website, up from 463 on Wednesday. A total of 11,658 cases have now been confirmed in Britain, […]

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France stages first train evacuation of coronavirus patients

PARIS, France (AFP) — France on Thursday carried out its first train evacuation of coronavirus patients from the hard-hit east of the country, which has registered over 1,300 hospital deaths in the fast-spiraling epidemic. The specially adapted high-speed TGV train, which in normal times whizzes travelers between France’s main cities and to other European capitals, evacuated 20 patients from the Alsace region bordering Germany and Switzerland to help relieve overstretched facilities there, officials said. The […]

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Saudi king urges ‘effective’ G20 response to virus crisis

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Thursday urged G20 leaders to take “effective and coordinated” action to combat the global crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and called on them to assist developing nations. While wealthy nations including the US have unveiled mammoth stimulus packages, there has so far been no collective action plan from the G20, and it has been criticized for its slow response. In opening remarks as G20 […]

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Coronavirus pushes 3.3 million to claim US jobless benefits

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic sparked an explosion of Americans filing for unemployment benefits, surging to 3.3 million last week — the highest number ever recorded, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The normally routine report is at the frontlines of the economic crisis caused by the outbreak, which has forced widespread closures of restaurants, shops and hotels and brought airline travel to a virtual halt, prompting the […]

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Spain virus death toll tops 4,000

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — The coronavirus death toll in Spain surged to 4,089 after 655 people died within 24 hours, the health ministry said on Thursday. It was a 19 percent increase in figures released Wednesday by the authorities in Spain, which has the world’s second-highest death toll from the disease after Italy. The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 rose to 56,188, the ministry said. Despite a national lockdown imposed on March 14, which […]

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Chinese city eases virus lockdown but life is far from normal

by Jing Xuan TENG HUANGGANG, China (AFP) — Banners warning that playing cards together is suicide and guards yelling at crowds to separate: a Chinese city near the coronavirus ground zero remains far from normal even after emerging from a two-month lockdown. Huanggang, home to 7.5 million people, was among the worst-affected areas in Hubei, the province where the new coronavirus first emerged late last year before morphing into a deadly pandemic. Travel restrictions were […]

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Romania health official resigns as country struggles to stem virus

BUCHAREST, Romania (AFP) — Romania’s Health Minister Victor Costache resigned on Thursday following criticism of the government over its handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Costache did not give a reason for his resignation while Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said it was for “personal and professional reasons.” Orban added: “I regret his resignation, I understand it and I want to thank him for the good collaboration.” The government has come under fire as Romania’s hospitals […]

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