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by Antoine POLLEZ ARRAS, France (AFP) — When the mayor of Arras, a town in northern France, asked her to stand as a candidate in upcoming municipal elections, Eleonore Laloux, who has Down Syndrome, did not hesitate. “I would like Arras to change, for there to be improvements… mainly with regard to cleanliness and respect, but also accessibility” for disabled people, the 34-year-old administrative agent and activist told AFP. “I am ready to make this […]
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran on Wednesday reported four more novel coronavirus deaths among 44 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of fatalities to 19 and infections to 139. Fifteen new COVID-19 cases surfaced in the Shiite holy city of Qom, nine in Gilan, four in Tehran, three in Khuzestan, two each in Sistan and Baluchistan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad, and Fars, and one in Markazi, Kermanshah, Ardebil, Mazandaran, Lorestan, Semnan […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — A 60-year-old man has become the first French victim of the coronavirus in the country, the health ministry announced Wednesday. The man died overnight after being rushed to a Paris hospital in serious condition on Tuesday evening, bringing the death toll in the country to two, said the ministry’s deputy head Jerome Salomon. The first victim was an 80-year-old Chinese tourist, who died in hospital in mid-February. France has reported four […]
by Ina FASSBENDER with Tom BARFIELD in Frankfurt VOLKMARSEN, Germany (AFP) — German authorities scrambled Tuesday to determine the motives of a man who ploughed his car into a carnival procession, injuring dozens and further unsettling a country rocked by a fatal mass shooting last week. In an afternoon statement, police said the number injured had now reached around 60 and asked those hurt in the incident or with possible evidence to come forward. The […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — An American soldier stationed in South Korea has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, commanders said Wednesday, as the country’s case total jumped again. The soldier, a 23-year-old man, is the first infection among the 28,500 troops Washington stations in the South to defend it against the nuclear-armed North. Based at Camp Carroll 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of Daegu, the serviceman has been put in self-quarantine at his home, […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Dozens of passengers who were allowed off a coronavirus-stricken cruise ship have developed symptoms including fever and will be asked to take tests for the virus, Japan’s health minister said Wednesday. The government has contacted 813 former passengers of the Diamond Princess. Around 970 were allowed off the boat last week after testing negative for the virus, but several have subsequently been found to be carrying the disease. The ministry found […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China quarantined 94 air passengers arriving from Seoul after three people on the flight were discovered to have fevers, state media reported Wednesday. The three passengers, all Chinese, arrived in the city of Nanjing on Tuesday morning and were discovered after customs personnel boarded the aircraft on the landing to screen passengers for symptoms, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said. The three were immediately sent by ambulance to a hospital for isolation […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s coronavirus case total jumped well into four figures Wednesday as authorities reported 169 new infections, taking the overall tally to 1,146, by far the largest outside China. An 11th person had died of the disease, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) added in a statement on its website — a Mongolian man in his 30s who became the first foreign national to fall victim to […]
by Lajla VESELICA ZAGREB, Croatia (AFP) — Croatia reported the first known case of the new coronavirus in the Balkans region on Tuesday after a man who recently returned from Italy was found to be infected. The announcement comes as Italy battles an outbreak of the virus, named COVID-19, with infections surging to nearly 300 in a matter of days, making it the hardest-hit country in Europe. “It has been confirmed that the first patient […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Switzerland reported its first case of new coronavirus on Tuesday after outbreaks were identified in its main neighbors Austria, France, Germany, and Italy. The case is a man in his 70s who was infected near Milan where he attended an event on February 15, federal health office chief Pascal Strupler told reporters. The man is from the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino on the border with Italy and has been with his […]
by Dario THUBURN with Laurent THOMET in Beijing GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The coronavirus epidemic caused more death and disruption on Tuesday, spreading to new countries as a top health official warned the world was “simply not ready” to contain it. Even as the number of fresh cases declines at the epicenter of the disease in China, there has been a sudden increase in parts of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Entire towns and […]
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran’s deputy health minister confirmed on Tuesday that he has tested positive for the new coronavirus, amid a major outbreak in the Islamic republic. Iraj Harirchi coughed occasionally and wiped the sweat from his brow repeatedly during a news conference in Tehran on Monday with government spokesman Ali Rabiei. At the time, he denied a lawmaker’s claim that 50 people had died from the virus in the Shiite shrine city of […]
