International

US suspends routine visa services: State Dept

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States is suspending routine visa services in most countries because of the coronavirus pandemic, the State Department announced late Wednesday. It said embassies and consulates in “most countries worldwide… will cancel all routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments as of March 18, 2020.” It did not specify which countries would be exempted from the suspension, which was in response to “worldwide challenges” related to the deadly pandemic. © […]

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Australia bans non-residents from arrival: PM

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia on Thursday unveiled an unprecedented ban on any non-residents arriving into the country, ratcheting up efforts to seal the country off from transborder coronavirus infections. “A travel ban will be placed on all non-residents, non-Australian citizens coming to Australia, and that will be in place from 9:00 pm tomorrow evening,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced. © Agence France-Presse

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Two US members of Congress test positive for coronavirus

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Two US lawmakers including a Florida representative on Wednesday became the first members of Congress to announce they have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart’s office said in a statement that “just a short while ago, he was notified that he has tested positive for COVID-19.” The Republican who represents part of Miami follows that city’s Mayor Francis Suarez, who announced that he had tested positive for […]

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Chinese PM pledges two million anti-virus masks to EU

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The EU Commission chief said Wednesday that China will send Europe 50,000 coronavirus testing kits and two million surgical masks, as the continent battles to contain the pandemic. In a phone conversation, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said China was also ready to provide 200,000 respirator masks for more serious cases, Ursula von der Leyen said in a video statement. “We are ramping up our production, we are converting our production lines, […]

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Trump signs $100 billion coronavirus relief package

by Michael Mathes WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a $100-billion emergency aid package that ensures sick leave to Americans workers who fall ill from the new coronavirus, with more federal assistance in the pipeline. The bipartisan House-passed measure easily cleared the Senate by a vote of 90 to eight earlier Wednesday. Hours later Trump said in a statement that he signed the legislation into law, providing a rare […]

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Staff ‘worked while symptomatic’ at US care home with 35 virus deaths

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The devastating coronavirus outbreak at a nursing home near Seattle where 35 have died was likely fueled by infected staff members continuing to come to work, a report found Wednesday. The care home is responsible for over half the deaths in the northwestern state of Washington — itself the US epicenter of the deadly pandemic. After visiting homes in the region, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found “staff […]

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China reports no new domestic virus cases for first time, but 34 imported

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Thursday reported no new domestic cases of the coronavirus for the first time since it started recording them in January but recorded a spike in infections from abroad. The lack of domestic infections marks a major milestone in China’s containment efforts, but the rise in imported cases threatens to unravel its progress. There were 34 cases that were brought in from abroad, the biggest daily increase in two weeks, […]

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Merkel calls coronavirus ‘biggest challenge since WWII’

by Michelle FITZPATRICK / Tom BARFIELD BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany is facing its biggest challenge “since the Second World War” in the fight against the coronavirus, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday, in what observers called a “final warning” for citizens to heed sweeping confinement measures. In a dramatic television appeal, Merkel said everyone played a part in slowing down a pandemic that has raced across the globe and triggered unprecedented peace-time lockdowns. “The situation […]

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France reports 89 new coronavirus deaths in last 24 hours: official

PARIS, France (AFP) — The coronavirus epidemic has caused 89 new deaths across France over the last 24 hours bringing the total death toll in the country to 264, the top French health official said on Wednesday. “We have an epidemic that is rapidly becoming more serious,” Jerome Salomon told reporters, adding that France now had 9,134 confirmed cases, 3,626 of whom were in the hospital. He said that the number of new cases was […]

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First US Congress member tests positive for coronavirus

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A Florida lawmaker became the first member of the US Congress to test positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday. Representative Mario Diaz-Balart’s office said in a statement that “just a short while ago, he was notified that he has tested positive for COVID-19.” The Republican, who represents part of Miami, follows Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus last week. Diaz-Balart said that […]

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Canada announces Can$82 billion coronavirus aid package

by Michel COMTE OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Can$27 billion in direct aid Wednesday to help workers and businesses cope with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. He said tax payments worth an estimated Can$55 billion could also be deferred until August. The combined amount equals three percent of this G7 nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). “This is a time where you should be focused on your health, not […]

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WHO chief calls COVID-19 ‘enemy against humanity’

by Nina LARSON GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The head of the World Health Organization on Wednesday called the new coronavirus an “enemy against humanity”, as the number of people infected in the pandemic soared past 200,000. Worldwide fatalities topped 8,000 and more deaths have now been recorded in Europe, the new virus epicenter, than in Asia since the outbreak first emerged in China in December. “This coronavirus is presenting us with an unprecedented threat,” Tedros […]

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